HITEC 2015 Wrap Up

Our team had a great time at HITEC 2015 in Austin, Texas, last week. They all had different thoughts to share on industry changes since last year, but the overwhelming sentiment was that hoteliers are more tech savvy than ever before.

“This year, the consumers are much more educated on what is possible through mobile apps.  Last year there was a lot of tire kicking and shopping features.  This year, they came with a mental list of must have items, and were well versed in discussing it. It was a much more focused group that was shopping mobile as well as lobby this year.

“HITEC 2015 brought the brightest minds in hospitality technology to Austin.  It was refreshing to see how well educated and focused on the product they were.”  ~ Kristen Tsitoukis

“It was amazing to see the difference in the questions and understanding that the buyers had this year.  Last year, mobile seemed like a ‘cool idea’ and not really defined. This year, they knew it was a must have and understood the type of questions they needed to ask.  It was interesting to see how far they had come in just a year. It spoke to how quickly the industry changes and how we must always be ahead of the curve.

“We had competitors congratulating us and buyers telling us our product was the best they had seen on the show floor.  It was an awesome feeling.” ~ Elizabeth Robinson

“HITEC allows for a large platform to build your network as well as work with today’s leaders.  Being able to see the transformation in technology is inspiring and it is exciting to be a part of the pivot happening in technology as a whole. Most importantly, for me, HITEC also allows for today’s leaders to grow and build the future of our industry with the students in attendance who will be the leaders of tomorrow.” ~ Daniel Salazar