HFTP Connect

Modern hotel guests often expect the same comforts as home when they travel. And while the world continues to converge and hospitality technology becomes more accessible, there are still regions of the world that face technology challenges different than others.
Europe is one hot spot in the industry that has a unique set of issues that aren’t found in other parts of the world.

European Hoteliers Face Unique IT Challenges

In Europe, hospitality professionals must deal with various taxation rules, currency, vendors, information security, cultures and more as they cross borders to do business in each country.

Another major difference is the wide variety of hoteliers in Europe. While there are large hotel chains doing business in Europe, there are also many independent and small businesses running hotels throughout Europe. This poses a challenge in raising the awareness of technology available to these hoteliers.

Smaller hoteliers also have to worry about financing technology for their businesses to keep up with the larger chains. With guests bringing their own technology into their guest space hotels now more than ever before are expected to provide seamless integration with the home technologies which can put a heavy burden on IT budgets. Read More »

HFTP Annual Convention & Tradeshow Attendees:
Communicate With HFTP Online for a Chance to Win an iPad 2

Social media has become a part of our everyday lives. From checking out what friends and family are doing on Facebook to reading the latest hospitality news on the various online news sources.

Social media is still fairly new for the hospitality industry and ROIs are often hard to grasp. But one thing the industry recognizes is that it’s not all about generating revenue. Sometimes it’s about just getting out there and communicating with each other.

For years now, HFTP has been actively involved in conversations through social media outlets. To celebrate this and promote more online conversations among our members, HFTP Connect is hosting a Social Media Blitz for HFTP’s 2011 Annual Convention & Tradeshow attendees.

Here’s your chance to get involved in the conversation too and maybe even win an iPad 2!

Here’s How You Participate. It’s simple. Read More »

The events of September 11, 2001, changed the world forever. There are some things that no matter how bad things get, they either don’t change for the worse or just become stronger. There is no doubt that the HFTP community became stronger after that day.

HFTP Members Rally Together

While the world was still reeling from the shock of the day, our officers at the time, Don Walton, John Cahill, Wendy Zurstadt, Tina Samson, Ginny Burke and I began planning what we could do.

On the afternoon of September 12, the following was sent to our membership on behalf of HFTP:
Read More »

The Message: Relax and Stay Focused on Business Goals

I was fortunate to be a first-time attendee at HITEC 2011, the hospitality industry’s largest technology event, which was held in Austin during late June.

My company provides consulting services that focus on developing web solutions for clients and we have done a lot of work in the hospitality sector, so my goal was to learn about industry trends, absorb as much as possible about the business and use that knowledge to help our clients.

Volume and Variety of HITEC Exhibit Hall Can Leave You Dazed and Confused
After attending presentations throughout Monday and into Tuesday morning, I joined the throng of folks on “the floor” to peruse the various HITEC vendor booths. I have to admit to initially feeling a bit overwhelmed with trying to understand the details of some products and how they might be relevant to me, or more specifically, the clients that we support. The volume and variety of vendor offerings was enough to make you feel both amazed and confused.

Because we mostly focus on corporate-level custom web solutions that attract/retain guests and improve operational efficiencies, I concentrated mostly on web-based product offerings, which helped narrow down the field.
And after meandering through several HITEC aisles, it dawned on me that the challenge of understanding technological offerings, the value they can add, and which ones to ultimately choose was probably shared by a great number of attendees. Read More »

No Need to Be Confused About the Cloud Any Longer Thanks to the Recorded HITEC 2011 Super Session

Isn’t everyone a little bit confused by the cloud? The HITEC 2011 educational session on cloud computing made the cloud a bit clearer to its audience a couple of weeks ago. Infor’s Javier Buzzalino, senior vice president of development, was a featured panelist at this highly attended HITEC super session.

The session included an overview on the cloud, advice on choosing a cloud vendor, a look at the architecture of the cloud and a lesson on cloud security. Though geared toward the hospitality industry, the presentation included numerous tips for anyone curious about the cloud.

As the leader of our research and development team, Buzzalino gave the audience an in-depth look at application architecture for the cloud, moving applications into the cloud, potential issues, and common practices within cloud computing. Read More »

With the HITEC exhibit hall opening today, here is a success story of how an attendees met and fell in love with an exhibitor at HITEC.

Once Upon a Time

On the eve of HITEC 2008, hotel franchisor Hospitality International was in the market for a new central reservations system (CRS) for its five brands, including Red Carpet Inn, Passport Inn, Scottish Inns, Master Hosts Inns and Downtowner Inns. Rapid shifts in hotel buying behavior and reservations technology functionality led the corporate team in Tucker, Ga. to shop for a more advanced reservations solution.

Using HITEC as a springboard, the company met with all of the attending CRS providers. Many seemed to provide the technological capabilities Hospitality International was looking for, but were too small to handle the company’s nearly 300 locations. Others were too large, threatening to make the company’s needs insignificant in negotiating future software or service offerings. One was juuust right. Read More »

PCI Compliance Boot Camp Comes to HITEC 2011

In the U.S. military, the concept of “boot camp” brings to mind very physical and vigorous training that transforms the average citizen into a fully developed soldier who is combat ready. For the hospitality sector, there is a similar war happening: We have aggressive hackers trying to steal credit card data and we need to be fully trained in how to best serve and protect our guests.

Developing transaction security strategies and maintaining PCI compliance can be very daunting. It is time for the hospitality sector to experience a “boot camp” that will make any hotelier battle-ready. Fortunately, at the upcoming HITEC, there will be a PCI Compliance Boot Camp taking place on Monday, June 12 at 8:30 a.m. It will provide you with background on PCI technologies, best practices, how to pick a QSA, cloud computing and much, much more. Read More »

Austin, Texas not only is the host city of HITEC 2011, it’s also the headquarters city for HFTP, producers of HITEC. So from now until HITEC 2011, we’re going to give insights into the city from those that know the city best — HFTP staff.

For [Part 1] we’ll hear from:

Jan Dodson, accounting associate

Katy Walterscheidt, public relations and social media manager

What your favorite scenic locale in Austin?

Any tips for surviving the Texas heat? Read More »

With less than six weeks to go, everyone is starting to talk about HITEC 2011. And this year’s conference is going to be awesome. Not only has the HITEC Advisory Council put together a great education program with high-profile speakers, but the exhibit hall is going to have a lot of new products and solutions.

Plus, HITEC is going to be fun this year too. I mean, it’s in Austin, Texas – how could it NOT be fun?

In case you weren’t aware, HFTP (producers of HITEC) is headquartered in Austin, Texas. So this is our home town and we can’t wait to show it off to all the attendees. That’s why HFTP is rolling out the southern hospitality and sponsoring the HITEC Welcome Reception. Come hang out with us Monday, June 20 at Buffalo Billiards on the famous 6th Street for food, beverages, live music, games and more.

If you plan on attending HITEC, you should register by today (Friday, May 13) to receive the lowest rate.

And if you aren’t planning on attending HITEC,  you should rethink it.

And if you’re still not able to attend, than make sure you’re involved by being a part of the conversation. You can do that by following @HFTP on Twitter, joining us on Facebook, subscribing to the HITEC YouTube channel for the latest videos from the conference and of course commenting here at HFTP Connect.

Here’s a sneak peek into what HITEC 2011 has to offer:

(Having trouble viewing the video? You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezwb8Ah0aVQ)

Katy Walterscheidt is the public relations and social media manager for HFTP. Along with managing HFTP’s presence online, she also edits HFTP Connect. If you would like to be a guest blogger on HFTP Connect, e-mail Katy to find out more information.