CHICAGO (February 16, 2015) – A robust agenda of current issues and emerging technologies awaits hospitality industry technology leaders in San Antonio, Texas at HTNG’s 2015 North American Conference. The agenda includes more than 60 experts sharing their knowledge in more than 30 sessions. It will feature an opening keynote session from Terry Jones, founder of Travelocity.com and founding Chairman of Kayak.com and Wayblazer, speaking about cognitive computing as the next wave of the digital revolution.
“Hoteliers who attend HTNG conferences consistently applaud the quality of the content, and this year will be no exception,” said Douglas Rice, Executive Vice President and CEO of HTNG, a nonprofit association governed by senior IT hospitality executives from around the world. “Technology leaders know that this is the conference to attend, and this year’s event promises to be the best-attended ever.”
The agenda includes both strategic and technical sessions. Strategic sessions on the agenda for Wednesday and Thursday, February 25-26, include:
- Next Generation Travel Technology
- Leading a 5-Star Service Team
- Do Central Reservations Systems Have a Future?
- 47,000 Access Points Later: The Mega Wi-Fi Project at Caesars
- Robot Room Service: Do Robots Have a Future in Hotel Operations?
- Brands, OTA, Search: A World of Technology Disruption
- Innovations in Payments: How to Place Your Bets
- IT Leadership Panel: Top Issues of the Day
Additionally, industry participants wishing to learn more about specific technologies will benefit from the “Tech Day” sessions on Monday and Tuesday, February 23-24. Sessions include:
- Micromarketing Building Blocks
- Securing Payment Data: Tales From the Front
- Cyber Security: The Enemy You Know
- Next Generation Door Locks: How Secure Are They?
- Upgrading to Digital TV
- Challenges in Bringing Your Own Content to the Hotel Room Television
- PBX: The Stampede to the Cloud
- Bluetooth Advances and Hospitality
- The Evolution of Location Based Services in Hotels
- The Maturing of Fiber Optics in Hotels
- Wi-Fi Roadmap: 2015 and Beyond
- Power Without Wires: Coming to Your Hotel Soon?
- Mobile Development – Native vs. HTML5
- Lightweight Messaging: REST is the New SOAP
- Automating “Group” Processes Part 1: Group RFPs and Online Booking
- Automating “Group” Processes Part 2: Attendee Reservation Capture and Delivery
- HEDNA Connectivity Workgroup Update
Forty-five technology and hospitality thought leaders from around the world are scheduled to present. Featured speakers for the general session are:
- Dave Berkus, President, Berkus Technology Ventures, LLC
- John Burns, President, Hospitality Technology Consulting
- Jeff Bzdawka, Senior Vice President, Global Hotel Operations, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
- Scot Campbell, Vice President IT Connectivity & Communications, Caesars Entertainment Inc.
- Steve Cousins, CEO, Savioke
- Gloria Colgan, Managing Director, Market Platform Dynamics
- Mark Haley, Partner, The Prism Partnership
- Mark Hoare, Partner, The Prism Partnership
- Jon Inge, President, Jon Inge & Associates
- Terry Jones, Chairman, Wayblazer
- Max Rayner, Partner, Hudson Crossing
- Vivek Shaiva, Executive Vice President/CIO, La Quinta Inns & Suites
- Richard Siegel, President and Publisher, Hospitality Upgrade
- Kris Singleton, CIO, Omni Hotels & Resorts
- Bryan Williams, Owner, B Williams Enterprise LLC
Additional industry experts presenting Tech Day sessions include:
- Alex Ajdelsztajn, Infrastructure Analyst, Marriott International
- Chris Avery, Vice President, Business Development, Lanyon
- Matthew Baio, Regional Director of Information Resources, Marriott International
- Jeremy Barndt, Senior Project Consultant, JBA Consulting Engineers
- John Bell, Founder, AjonTech LLC
- Steve Berrey, Vice President, IP Technology, Sonifi Solutions
- Mike Bitz, Vice President, Engineering, Sonifi Solutions
- Alistair Chatwin, Director of Product Management, Dish Network
- David Chestler, Executive Vice President – Global Enterprise Sales & Business Development, SiteMinder
- Robert Cole, Founder, RockCheetah
- Perry Correll, Principal Technologist, Xirrus
- Dean Fresonke, Senior Vice President Business Development, ClearSky Technologies
- Matthew FitzGerald, Senior Systems Engineer – Hospitality, Ruckus Wireless, Inc.
- R.J. Friedlander, Founder & CEO, ReviewPro
- Dave Gagne, Vice President Wireless and Services, Hospitality Markets, Zebra Technologies
- Jennifer Green, Director, Guest Services & In Room Technology, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
- Bill Gustafson, Vertical Solutions Architect – Hospitality & Travel, Cisco Systems, Inc.
- Ted Harrington, Executive Partner, Independent Security Evaluators
- David Heckaman, Vice President of Technology, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
- Don Jensen, Major Accounts Executive, Windstream Hospitality
- Frank Jewett, Executive Director of Product Solutions, UIEvolution, Inc.
- LeRoy Johnson, Engineering Consultant, Johnson Product Development, LLC
- Tim Kieschnick, Chief Technology Officer, Above Property
- Keith Konicki, National Sales-Hospitality, ComNet Communications
- Dayna Kully, Co-Founder, 5thGenWireless
- Steve Martin, Senior Vice President Engineering, Ruckus Wireless, Inc.
- Robert Martin, Vice President, Security Solutions, Ingenico
- Christian McMahon, Senior Product Manager – Lodging, Merchant Link, LLC
- Sanjay Nagalia, Chief Operating Officer, IDeaS
- Rachel Neal, Manager, Client Management and Implementations, Derbysoft
- Justin Pals, Senior Product Manager, DirecTV
- Boro Petrovic, Architect, Oracle Hospitality
- Tom Powell, Director Technical Planning Guest Internet, Hilton Worldwide
- Armand Rabinowitz, Senior Manager Product Innovation, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
- Bill Rosenberg, Senior Developer, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
- Al Saxon, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Vision Technologies, Inc.
- Neil Schubert, Vice President, IT Strategy, Marriott International
- Charlotte Somers, President, Somers Communications Meeting & Event Planning
- Steve Sommers, Vice President of Application Development, Shift4 Corporation
- Ron Tarro, Vice President, Hospitality Solutions, Broadsoft, Inc.
- Yvette Vincent, Director of Information Systems, Delaware North Companies, Inc.
- Dick Wagner, Director, Emerging Technologies, Marriott International
- Stephen Wang, VP, Information Technology, Marriott International
- Dan Wood, Director Technology Planning – Global Voice Technology, Hilton Worldwide
- Todd Wood, VP Technology, Americas & Global Applications, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
- Josh Wookey, HSIA Product Manager, Guest-tek
- Alan Young, Board Member, Groupize Solutions
- Cathy Zatloukal, Principal, 5thGenWireless
Innovation Award: The program also will feature HTNG’s newly redesigned TechOvation Award competition, recognizing the top technologies introduced in the past year. Eighteen participants will compete with live presentations in a qualifying round on Tuesday February 24. Three finalists selected by an industry expert judging panel will then present to the general session on Wednesday February 25, with the winner chosen by live audience voting.
To register: Conference registration is open to any full-time employee of a hotel owning, management or franchising company. For all other industry participants, HTNG membership is required. Technology providers, consultants and others who are not HTNG members should check with HTNG’s membership department to ensure eligibility.
Additional Opportunity for Senior-Level Hotel Technologists: Hotel CIOs, IT Directors and equivalent senior-level corporate technologists are also eligible to participate in the Hotel IT Leaders’ Roundtable, immediately following the main conference on Thursday afternoon. This hotelier-only session creates a real-time agenda based on the interest of the attendees.
The HTNG North American Conference will be in San Antonio, Texas, at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa from February 23-26, 2015. The program and speakers are subject to change.
For information or to register, visit http://www.htng.org/conferences/north-american.
