In the world of hospitality, HITEC has become a household name. One of the most anticipated events of the year, HITEC is the world’s largest and oldest hospitality technology event, which brings together the brightest minds and most innovative technologies from around the globe.
Over the course of a few days, event attendees are invited to engage in top-notch educational opportunities, networking events, world-class panel discussions, exciting product demonstrations, and so much more. And of course, this year TraknProtect is also a major sponsor for the HITEC Opening Party presented by VENZA and CyberTek: An Evening at SeaWorld Orlando on June 27th from 6:00 — 11:00 p.m. with ticket proceeds directed towards hospitality scholarships.
Understandably, HITEC is always deemed as a ‘can’t miss' event for hospitality professionals eager to keep their finger on the pulse of hospitality technology trends and innovations – however, HITEC 2022 is poised as one of the most important events to grace our industry in recent times. In fact, if you ask us, this year’s HITEC is the most important hospitality event of the year. Here are a few reasons why.
1. Fuelling Our Industry’s Long-Awaited Recovery
For two years, we read about and discussed the realities of ‘the new normal’ that was ushered in on the heels of unprecedented times. The COVID-19 pandemic marked a truly historic time in our industry in terms of the challenges felt by travel and hospitality brands, as both domestic and international travel came to a standstill. Finally, over the last six months, we’ve witnessed the early days of the post-pandemic recovery era, and hospitality brands are once again in a position to thrive. After so much hardship and uncertainty, we’ve shifted away from a seemingly endless barrage of cancellations and sweeping restrictions to digital touch-points and experiences, and now, finally, we’ve arrived back at the face-to-face experiences that our industry specializes in.
HITEC 2022 represents a moment for us all to get together and unite in our industry’s fortitude and, more importantly, our industry’s long-awaited recovery. Taking time to connect with hospitality leaders and colleagues face-to-face is far too often undervalued and happens less and less in the daily rhythm of work. Although the ability to work from anywhere, at any time, has innumerable benefits that I do not wish to discount or discredit, it also helps to identify and reinforce the value and importance of in-person interactions. HITEC represents a unique (and undeniably large-scale) opportunity to celebrate the ‘human’ side of our jobs while gaining new resources and connecting with colleagues, prospects, media, and the larger community to identify ways to better support the recovery and success of our industry.
2. Innovation is More Critical Than Ever Before
At TraknProtect, one of our core values is the passionate belief that technological innovation can shape a better world and solve some of our world’s biggest problems. Within the hospitality industry, the problems we face are easy to identify and, with the help of new-age technology, easy to solve. First and foremost, we know that hotel brands of all types are currently struggling to bring back key talent or, in many cases, hire new staff. The industry-wide labor shortage has placed unprecedented pressure on our industry at a time when brand standards and guest expectations have never been higher. At the same time, hotels are left to address pent-up distrust and skepticism from guests, who are hyper-sensitive and vigilant with respect to public health and safety in a post-pandemic world.
With this in mind, hotels must seek out the support of digital platforms which help to offset the demand placed on hotel staff while automating and streamlining key duties and touch-points. More importantly, these platforms should offer features that help hotels enforce and maintain heightened brand standards and cleanliness regimes, to ensure guests feel safe and well taken care of during their stay. In an effort to mitigate (or eliminate altogether) operational bottlenecks commonly experienced by hoteliers, our location-based technology platform offers a variety of features, including:
Real-time inventory tracking
Room tray tracking
Vendor tracking
Housekeeping support (TraknKleen)
Staff safety functionality via our award-winning panic buttons
Our platform is the industry’s first Bluetooth Low Energy tracking system designed to not only protect lone staff members while performing their on-property duties but also keep hotel corridors and public spaces clean while tracking the whereabouts of vendors and inventory items. With fewer workers available to patrol the property and tend to guest requests, platforms like ours can be used to streamline daily operations and maintain a clear audit trail that helps keep properties accountable and aligned with brand standards.
3. Finding the Future of Hotel Technology
Though HITEC began a half-century ago, the event is now regarded as a defining and disruptive force for shaping hospitality’s future. Now, more than ever before, it is critical for leaders across our industry not only to be aware of – but actively embrace – those innovative trends, ideas, and practices that can move our industry forward. Gone are the days of legacy adherence; the hospitality brands which will thrive over the next decade are those which actively adopt forward-facing ideas while looking to build a future-proof infrastructure.
While HITEC offers countless opportunities to witness our industry’s latest innovations, the Entrepreneur 20X competition is an especially valuable tool in our arsenal. The competition introduces HITEC attendees to some of the most innovative startups our industry has to offer as they compete to bring their dreams to life. The event gives competitors a chance to win two different awards, the Judges Choice Award, which TraknProtect claimed in 2019 as the year’s most innovative technology solution, and the People’s Choice Award, which attendees can vote for via the HITEC app.
Every year I find myself counting down the days until HITEC, but this year feels especially monumental. More than ever, I look forward to connecting with my fellow hospitality professionals while we are provided a glimpse into our industry’s exciting future. If you are headed to HITEC, please visit us at booth 1516 to see all the exciting things we’ve been up.