College of Hospitality, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Student Selected
ATLANTA, August 29, 2024– Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) and Hospitality Upgrade today announced the recipient of the 2024 John Cahill student seat is Andrew Pham, a student at the College of Hospitality, University of Nevada in Las Vegas (UNLV). In its 22nd year, the upcoming CIO Summit will be held Sept. 4-6, 2024, at the Thompson Hotel by Hyatt in Nashville, Tennessee.
The John Cahill Honorary Seat is awarded to one distinguished student from a selected university or four-year college with a hotel program. This student is recommended by his or her professors as an individual with great potential in the hotel technology industry.
Dr. Robert Rippee of UNLV said, “Andrew successfully participated in the Las Vegas annual President’s Innovation Challenge and 
introduced his team’s idea of using generative AI to personalize higher-education campus experience, thus strengthening student engagement on campus. He is a member of HFTP, Founder and President of UNLV Hospitality Entrepreneurship Association (HEA), and has held workshops to empower students’ usage of technology to achieve their career goals.”
UNLV Professor Dr. Mehmet Erdem said, “Andrew is a co-founder and event planner at the UNLV Vietnamese Student Association as he cares about creating a community for people with similar backgrounds. Also, he has successfully represented UNLV at two Sustainable Hospitality Competitions (2023 and 2024) as a semi-finalist. He participated as a founder of ZeroLabs, a Las Vegas technology entrepreneurship launchpad, representing his hospitality technology startup called OneTouchAway, aimed at improving exhibitors’ and attendees’ experiences attending conventions and exhibitions by utilizing existing UWB technology and integrating it with personalized user experience.”
The John Cahill Honorary Seat was created in memory of industry leader, technologist, mentor, and friend John Cahill, a big supporter of the CIO Summit from its inception in 2001. Over the course of his career, Cahill was the CIO for three hotel companies – ITT Sheraton, InterContinental Hotels, and The Denihan Hospitality Group. Cahill was an active HFTP leader, with his contributions including co-editing the inaugural Certified Hospitality Technology Professional (CHTP®) exam in 1995 and serving as HFTP Global President from 2001–2002.
Above all, Cahill was a mentor. HFTP and Hospitality Upgrade wish to see John’s memory live on by presenting one student each year with an exclusive opportunity to attend an otherwise closed-door, invitation-only CIO Summit, allowing the student to sit in John’s seat for the two-day event.
The previous recipients of this award include inaugural recipient Spencer Rung, a 2016 graduate of the Penn State School of Hospitality Management; the 2017 recipient, Andrew Trupia, a graduate of the University of Nevada – Las Vegas; the 2018 recipient Juan Jesus Trevino, a student of the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston; the 2019 recipient, Smit Patel a graduate student of the Boston University School of Hospitality Administration program; the 2021 recipient was Alana Agcaoili, an undergraduate student of the Kennesaw State University School of Hospitality Administration; the 2022 recipient was Shannon Regan, an undergraduate student of the NAU School of HRM in the W. A. Franke College of Business; the 2023 recipient was Dylan Emerson, an undergraduate student of the Conrad Hilton College at the University of Houston.
