HITEC 2014 offered a one-stop shop for essential education, access to experts and hospitality technology vendors, networking with top leaders in the industry and the resources to find cost-effective ways to improve company bottom lines.
AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA – The hospitality technology community came together last month to explore the industry’s best practices and latest innovations at the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC). 2014 was one of the highest attended HITEC‘s with 5,745 hospitality professionals representing 57 countries. The conference addressed important issues, including system selection, ethics, mobile and guestroom technology, data security, PCI Compliance and more.
HITEC 2014, a service of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), was held June 23–26 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, Calif. It offered a one-stop shop for essential education, access to experts and hospitality technology vendors, networking with top leaders in the industry and the resources to find cost-effective ways to improve company bottom lines.
“HITEC may be over for 2014, but there are many resources that will remain available to attendees year round,” said Frank Wolfe, CAE, CEO of HFTP. “The HITEC Mobile Experience site is a great place to start when trying to recall information from the busy four day event.”
The HITEC exhibit hall featured hundreds of exhibitors announcing new products and showcasing their signature technologies. Details on participating exhibitors and their products and services are available via the online HITEC Buyers Guide. Attendees also have access to a number of presentations from the education sessions available on the HITEC.org web site. New this year, was the opportunity for attendees to participate in the HITEC Virtual Trade Show. Attendees can watch as the Los Angeles Convention Center’s West Hall was transformed from an empty space through a time-lapse of the set-up to the final reveal of the big show.
HITEC’s education program officially began with the Opening Keynote from former Google CIO, Douglas Merrill, who spoke on analyzing security budgets and how to identify unmanaged risks. Tuesday’s Keynote Session featured social innovator and global thought leader Rachel Botsman, who explained how the power of collaboration and sharing through digital technologies is transforming the way we live, work and consume. To close HITEC on Thursday afternoon, Eric O’Neill, the former FBI agent and security expert explored a number of steps corporations and individuals can take to secure critical information.
To recognize innovation in the hospitality technology industry, HFTP inducted Barry Shuler, CIO and IT consulting principal with Design Management Associates, Inc., into theInternational Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame. Shuler was recognized for his role in developing a model for hotel industry enterprise architecture and IT strategic planning.
HITEC 2015 is slated for June 15–18 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin.
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