On day two, the session “Technology
Talk in the C-suite: 2020 and
Beyond,” did an excellent job
exploring how top hotel brands are
placing priority in their technology
strategies. The panel was moderated
by William “Chip” Rogers – president
and CEO of AHLA – and featured
Ken Greene, president, Americas for
Radisson Hotel Group; Greg Mount,
president and CEO of RLH Corp.;
and Peter Strebel, president of Omni
Hotels & Resorts.
The closing general session was
presented by Jon Picard on day
3, “The Digital Transformation of
Sustainability: A Conversation
at the Edge of Now,” and did an
excellent job at looking ahead to
the future. Picard is a visionary and
design innovator who understood
the “internet of things” long before
connectivity became the driver that it
is today.
Aside from the stimulating keynote
sessions, another key event during
HITEC was the Entrepreneur 20X
(E20X) – HITEC’s competition
for outstanding innovation. The
competition featured 8 startups,
with TraknProtect taking home the
E20X Judge’s Award grand prize of
$5,000 USD, and SABA Hospitality
Technology Solutions was chosen
by conference attendees – via the
HFTP Multi-event app – as the E20X
People’s Choice Award winner.
Although there was a plethora of
innovative and exciting brands present
at the event, we managed to narrow
down our favorites – which was no
easy task, believe us!
In no particular order, here’s a
snapshot of who we think you should
have on your radar if you want to take
your property’s tech services to the
next level:
1. LG: Ahead of HITEC, LG
Business Solutions officially
launched the LG Transparent
OLED digital signage display in
the United States. The razor-
thin, see-through display can be
used to deliver a unique customer
experience. Video on the 55-
inch class display is augmented
by seeing objects and images
behind the screen. While at
HITEC, LG Business Solutions
and Amazon announced plans to
integrate Alexa for Hospitality
with LG’s hotel TVs. The LG TV
will also display real-time visual
notifications on-screen to inform
guests about activities happening
at the hotel, such as happy hour.
2. Cendyn/Hospitality Plus:
Cendyn, the world’s leading hotel
CRM provider, and Hospitality
Plus, the online distribution
and digital marketing experts,
have announced a collaborative
initiative that will enable hoteliers
to enhance the guest experience
throughout their travel journey.
Hospitality Plus work with
hoteliers across multiple regions
to future proof their digital
engagement strategies. Their
guidance and counsel for hoteliers
provides solutions for revenue
management, guest engagement,
digital marketing, website
performance, market intelligence
and online reputation. This
collaboration with Cendyn will
now enable hoteliers to enhance
how they engage with their guests
using the right message, at the
right time, through the right
channel, using the world’s leading
hotel CRM platform.
3. Broadband Hospitality/
Allin Interactive: Broadband
Hospitality (BBH) and Florida-
based Allin Interactive announced
that they have completed
a transaction to merge the
companies into a single-source
for innovative communications
technology solutions. The
company now offers hotels,
resorts, cruise lines, senior
living communities, student
housing and multiple dwelling
units (MDU) a total, unified
technology solution including
infrastructure, television content,
and interactive customer-facing
services delivered and supported
by a preferred provider with over
50 years of combined hospitality
technology experience.
4. Elavon: Elavon’s omni-channel,
global network provides a
reliable solution for hotels
to accept payments in all
environments including at the
front-desk, online, over the
phone or anywhere guests want
to check-out. They provide
full authorization, processing,
settlement and support for credit
and debit card transactions.
Elavon is the intermediary
between your hotel, the card
issuing bank and the credit card
network throughout the payment
process. Built exclusively for
hotels, Converge Hospitality
(CoHo) enables hotels to securely
send an invoice providing instant
payment for a hotel-related
charge.
5. Beekeeper: Last year’s winners
of HITEC’s E20X People’s
Choice, Beekeeper helps realize
the power, potential, and value
of every single employee. The
Beekeeper team communication
app provides real-time unified
communications for your
frontline and mobile workforce.
Internal teams benefit from
communication and productivity
tools such as secure messaging,
content management,
engagement analytics, employee
surveys, and more. Their platform
makes content accessible to
everyone, which in turn reduces
miscommunication, increases
engagement and retention, and
minimizes translation costs with
instant translation for any post or
comment.
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