HFTP’s Third HITEC Europe Builds Momentum for Hospitality Technology Gathering

Hospitality industry professionals from across Europe and beyond, representing 34 countries, came together in Palma, Mallorca, Spain this week to explore the industry's best practices and latest innovations at HITEC Europe. Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), producers of the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®), is building momentum for its annual event with its third successful European counterpart to its recognized, 47-year-old North American event. HITEC Europe was held from April 9-11, 2019 at the Palau de Congressos Palma.

The beautiful locale was a highlight to the event and delegates were honored with a greeting from Spanish officials — Spain's Secretary of State for Tourism Isabel Oliver and President of the Government of Balearic Islands Francina Armengol. Based on this year's successful show and welcoming location, HFTP has already scheduled HITEC Europe 2020 for April 21-23 in the same place.

The conference served as a concentrated forum to discuss the ins-and-outs of hospitality technology via networking, education and exhibits. HITEC Europe's educational program featured 30+ speakers, including a keynote presentation on the first day by award-winning futurist Rohit Talwar and a CIO panel discussing "The Next Industry Threat."

The education program addressed trending topics such as: GDPR, integration, InfoSec, employee technology, IoT and more. Delegates also had access to an exhibition hall that was home to 60+ exhibit booths showcasing the latest in hospitality technology products and services.

"Thank you to everyone who worked tirelessly to make HFTP's HITEC Europe an overwhelming success," said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe, CAE. "In its third year, the event has become a central forum for exploring the technological nuances that are essential to the success of a hospitality business."

Before the official start to HITEC Europe, HFTP hosted two pre-conference programs on April 9: the CIO/CFO Round Table Event and Entrepreneur 20X. The CIO/CFO Round Table Event was an invitation-only gathering for c-level executives to have high-level discussions on pressing industry issues. The half-day meeting was sponsored by FourteenIP, Chargifi and vtech.

Expanding on industry innovation, HITEC Europe also offered attendees the chance to witness HFTP's thrilling Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) innovation competition for hospitality startups. This year eight companies competed, and the contestant Hotelway won the Judges' Choice Award, including a cash prize. Oaky won the Peoples' Choice Award, presented at the conclusion of HITEC Europe and decided by vote via the HITEC Event app. This year's E20X Europe was exclusively sponsored by Datavision Technologies.

HITEC Europe was the first of three HITECs that HFTP will produce this year. Next up, the larger HITEC Minneapolis is slated for June 17-20, 2019 at the Minneapolis Convention Centre in Minneapolis, Minnesota USA. Ending the year is HITEC Dubai - a Middle Eastern counterpart - will take place November 12-13 at the Festival Arena by Intercontinental in Festival City Dubai, UAE in partnership with Naseba.

View the event photo gallery. Follow HFTP/HITEC on HFTP News, HITEC Bytes, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (@HFTP) and Instagram (@HFTP_HITEC). For more information about HITEC, contact the HFTP Meetings & Special Events Department at [email protected] or +1 (512) 249-5333.

About HFTP

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), established in 1952, is a hospitality nonprofit association headquartered in Austin, Texas USA with offices in the EU and Middle East. HFTP is recognized as the spokes group for the finance and technology segments of the hospitality industry with an international network of members and stakeholders. HFTP uniquely understands the industry's pressing issues, and assists its stakeholders in finding solutions to their challenges more efficiently than any organization. HFTP offers expert networks, educational resources, career development programs, research, leadership opportunities and conferences and events. HFTP produces international events throughout the year, including the world's largest hospitality technology tradeshow and conference brand: HITEC. In addition, it oversees the hospitality-specific Pineapplesearch.com® and the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI). For more information about HFTP, visit www.hftp.org. For the latest news, visit the HFTP News page at news.hftp.org and the HFTP Connect blog at blog.hftp.org.