The Travel Technology conference is back and this year it is taking place in San Francisco at Hilton Union Square on March 17, 2015. The event focuses on new-age technology systems and software for the travel industry, thereby, giving a chance to the attendees to explore the latest cutting-edge technologies, opportunities and strategies. The event will house up to 2,000 key decision makers, suppliers, tour operators, OTAs, transport providers and professionals from the hospitality industry. There will be interesting seminars that will cover the topics related to the emerging technology trends and future prospects that are going to impact the hospitality industry. The event is produced by Hospitality Upgrade where entrepreneurs, startups and established companies can look for funding opportunities by connecting with various investment communities.
It is highly recommended for hoteliers to attend the event to learn about the following:
– Booking and reservation systems: The various channels that travelers prefer to use
– CRM & customer loyalty: Latest products will be displayed by the CRM vendors to help increase customer loyalty
– Hotel marketing: Effective use various mediums like email, mobile, social and PPC campaigns to fit into the marketing strategies
Unmissable sessions:
“Know Your Guest, Know Revenue”
The session will be held by Stephen Brobst, Chief Technology Officer at Teradata Corporation. He will talk about the latest trends involved in Big Data that hospitality industry considers when implementing their strategies. Stephen will share the best practices, approaches and examples from his observation in the marketplace.
Big data is vital as it helps improve the hotel’s financial status and provides an insight into the guest preferences. Hotels and travel agencies use big data to their advantage to enhance their products and services for a satisfying guest experience and quick returns. Based on the big data analysis, hotels can set room rates, take well-informed investment decisions and prepare their marketing strategies on the basis of guest behavior.
“Restaurant Tech: The Next Battlefield”
The session will highlight the importance of restaurants in the hotel industry which contributes largely to the revenues.
American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) reported that hotel food service sales amount to about $ 12.3 billion across the nation. Tia T. Gordon, Manager of Media Relations for AHLA says hotels can improve their business through restaurants, lounges and other F&B outlets. They can also reach out to non-guests through their food operations. Therefore, F&B is the second most important item for a hotel after lodging.
The session will be moderated by Chris Hemmeter, Managing Director, Thayer Ventures and the session panelists will be:
Greg Dollarhyde, Chief Energizing Officer, Veggie Grill, Inc., Chairman, Zoes Kitchen, Inc., and Managing Member, Dollarhyde Investment Group.
Jay Ganatra, Senior Manager of Corporate Development, Yelp
Cory Glass, Sr ISV Director, travel and hospitality, salesforce.com
Alex Zoghlin, global head of technology, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, known for launching and running early stage companies including the founding CTO of Orbitz
The Travel Technology event has been happening every year since the last 11 years and over the years, the event has created a niche platform for vendors to showcase their products and services to enhance the business and performance.