HISTORY
Twenty years after the official inception of the international association, its forefathers recognized a growing segment in the hospitality industry — technology. In 1972, HFTP sponsored the first International Hospitality Conference to provide a forum for promoting and displaying the latest in hospitality technology.
Technology in 1972 did not involve customer relationship management applications, in-room Internet or hand-held computers; but instead the large hotels were looking into the first renditions of front office property management systems, electronic cash registers and point-of-sale systems.
Today, HITEC is a well-known, global event with thousands of attendees and hundreds of companies. HITEC serves as a vehicle for distributing the most innovative products and services to the industry worldwide.
Historically hosted annually in a different city throughout the United States, HFTP decided to expand its recognized event internationally by producing a European and Middle East counterpart. In 2017, HFTP hosted three HITEC events – including two inaugural events – all taking place outside of U.S. borders.