HFTP Connect

As we lead up to HITEC 2013 in June, HFTP Connect will be talking to our keynote speakers about their expertise and how it relates to the hospitality industry through the Ask the Experts column.

An Expert View on Cybersecurity and the Hospitality Industry

Theresa Payton is one of America’s most respected authorities on Internet security, net crime, fraud mitigation and technology implementation. As White House Chief Information Officer from 2006 to 2008 — the first woman ever to hold that position — she administered the information technology enterprise for the President and 3,000 staff members. Prior to working in federal government, Payton held executive roles in banking technology at Bank of America and Wells Fargo. As founder of Fortalice, LLC, a security, risk, and fraud consulting company, she now lends her expertise to organizations large and small, helping them improve their information technology systems against emerging, amorphous cyber threats.

Q:  How is Internet security changing?

Consumers and business professionals alike should focus on the fact that Internet security will always be changing. Every new technology that we adopt becomes tomorrow’s targets for cybercriminals. Tools to block out the bad or only let in the good traffic are not enough. Combatting Internet threats requires a comprehensive approach, some of these components include: understanding your data architecture, knowing your vendors, sharing information within your peer group about cybercrime, developing relationships with law enforcement, implementing tools, updating processes to protect your digital assets and educating employees, contractors and suppliers on what you require them to do in order to safeguard your organization. Read More »

HITEC 2013 is just a couple of months away and there is already a ton of buzz surrounding this year’s show. If you have not registered, I suggest you do so before May 20th to save yourself or your employer some money.

If you are trying to justify your attendance and time away from the office, keep in mind the following reasons HITEC 2013 is not to be missed.

In no particular order:

1.High-profile Keynote Speakers

Once again, HFTP has managed to secure some pretty impressive keynote speakers for HITEC 2013. These speakers will knock your socks off with the level of expertise they have to share on the trending topics:

• Cyber-security Solutions — From the Firing Lines to a Fireside Chat: CIO to CIO with Theresa Payton, former Whitehouse CIO.
• The Monetary Revolution — The End of Money with author David Wolman and Wired magazine contributing editor.
• Hospitality IT — Meet the Techs: CIOs Discuss Today’s IT Challenges, moderated by Scot Campbell, vice president and CIO of Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. Read More »

Spoonbridge and Cherry, Minneapolis

Bookmark this post. Right now.

You’ll need it. With a visit to Minneapolis soon, you’ll need to know these five things about us.

1) You Like Technology? So Do We.

You’re a technology professional. We use technology.

Coincidence?

No, and that was a good ice breaker.

But, you should know this; we’re trend-setters in the tech game, and we are one of America’s techiest cities. The reason? We were one of the first cities to adopt WiFi AND the Geek Squad was founded here.

Even the grandparents here have Facebook accounts. Read More »

HFTP Connect is looking for hospitality professionals who would like to write original and educational posts about their HITEC experience for the blog.

HITEC 2013 is June 24 – 27 in Minneapolis, Minn.

See the information below for details on the opportunity and review posts from HITEC 2012 Guest Bloggers:

HITEC Official Blogger Benefits:

HITEC Official Blogger Requirements:

If you’re interested, please send a brief description on why you would be a good guest blogger to Sara Bailiff.

Deadline for submissions is Monday, May 6th.

Disclaimer: As an association, HFTP may not endorse or promote a product or vendor. HFTP Connect is educational in nature and blog posts must not be sales-oriented. Products or vendors may only be mentioned in an educational format.

One of the more important councils for HFTP is the Education Advisory Council, of which I had the pleasure of serving. Finding the right theme, keynote speakers and education topics for the HFTP Annual Convention and the Club and Hotel Controllers Conference are the most important tasks they face. This sets the tone for the events and what you take away from it. The council is currently planning for another fantastic year of education in 2013, so if you have any ideas for a session, please submit it to the council (submission guidelines)! You have a chance to share your knowledge and expertise with the attendees of the Club and Hotel Controllers Conference and/or the Annual Convention & Tradeshow. Read More »

HITEC 2012 is over. We’ve all gone home. E-mail inboxes have been emptied and the seemingly never ending list of to do’s whittled down to something a bit more manageable. It’s time for the Wrap Up Show … Hello, Hello.

Attendance

On day one, I was privileged to be in the first press gaggle to walk through GUESTROOM 20X. That first meeting ended right about the time the show floor opened, and as I walked from the back of the show floor towards the main entrance, I expected to be deluged by a horde of people sweeping down the aisles at me like a tidal wave. They weren’t there. I got worried … especially after the last couple of soft years.

Then I talked to vendors.

At first, they were worried too… right up until the people who did the attending started to talk. Universally, vendors told me that this year it wasn’t minions that showed up, but rather the decision makers. And they came to buy, with budgets, projects, and ideas about what they needed and wanted to see.

Talk about first impressions being wrong!

When the final figures were tallied, it turns out that attendance was pretty darn good; the count I heard was 5,200 hundred or so. That bodes well for the health and welfare of both our show and of our industry. Read More »

While “going green” can create more “green” for the hospitality industry – a property’s green initiatives involve more than the landscaping.

Senior hospitality executives are just beginning to get involved in sustainability technology planning and decision-making.

Current conversations center around using technology to reduce consumption.

However, electronic waste disposal is an increasingly important issue for the hospitality industry as new equipment is acquired to reduce consumption in other areas.

Naomi Stark, president of Stark Service Solutions; Sunny Kim, Ph.D, assistant professor at Texas Tech University; and Dan Connolly, Ph.D., associate dean at University of Denver Daniels College of Business shared key benefits, barriers and factors to successful sustainability technology initiatives during the HITEC “Green Initiatives” educational session.

Why Green Initiatives

Current market trends indicate that global demand for energy is expected to grow by 57 percent over the next 25 years. This increased demand is expected to double electricity prices from 2008 prices by 2015.

Additionally, more consumers and meeting planners are looking for green initiatives in destinations and the properties they ultimately select for their travel.

All good reasons for properties to consider long-term sustainability programs that reduce costs and waste. Read More »

I’m going to start with a caveat:
An old, jaded and cynical hospitality software developer wrote this post.

I think in terms of return on investment. If you think that hotels are gilded palaces to guest experience, then this post is not for you.

You are cordially invited to stop reading now.

Still here? Okay. Good.

Here is the underlying premise to Brad’s Unwritten but Logical Laws for Successful Hotel IT: Hotels are businesses.

They exist for the sole purpose of making money for their owners. Period. The End.

If you think differently, then this post is not for you and you are once again cordially invited to stop reading.

Still here? Wonderful.

You are hearty stock and shall be rewarded generously with the following knowledge. Here are the laws. Read More »

Finally, a moment to recharge – for both my smart phone and myself.

HITEC 2012 is my first experience with Hospitality Finance and Technology Professionals (HFTP). I am quite impressed with the organization and array of innovative technologies I see in the exhibit hall.

Now that I’ve seen the technologies on the HITEC exhibit hall floor, I can’t wait for my next trip! The top 3 guest technologies that I am most excited to experience on a future trip are:

1. Hotel room check-in and access via smart phone

I can’t remember the last time I checked into a hotel when I wasn’t tired and grumpy from travel.  I would love to be able to go straight to my room to freshen up before enjoying the property.

Two products I found especially useful are: Read More »

HITEC Vendors Offer Ways to Analyze Customer Data

Everyone seems to have a BIG opinion when it comes to Big Data. How much is too much? How should you be using it?

But like we used to say in a game of hide and seek, “Ready or not, here it comes!”

Hotels must embrace data in order to give guests a better experience.  If the approach is centered on knowing what guests want in order to give them a better experience AND to optimize revenue for your hotels then data isn’t “freaky” (as I heard it called in a HITEC education session), it’s relevant and necessary.

Orbitz has been busy this week addressing the fallout of a WSJ article in which CEO Barney Hartford indicated that their data tells them that Mac users pay more for hotel rooms than PC users and therefore they display higher priced properties to those users.

While this raised quite the eyebrow, I see a company analyzing data in order to put the hotels in front of travelers that they are likely to book. Read More »