AUSTIN, Texas—Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) announced additional steps to increase attendees’ comfort levels at its upcoming meetings. Co-located are the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC) North America and the HFTP Annual Convention on September 27-30, 2021 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. In consideration of the ongoing pandemic, health and safety guidelines and protocols are in place for the protection of all attendees. This includes a strong recommendation for attendees to be vaccinated.
For the adversely-hit hospitality industry, meetings are critical for industry professionals to share their experiences and strategies face-to-face and to meet with solution providers with tools to help recovery. These measures will potentially counter the transmission of COVID-19 and provide a safe space for the industry gathering.
“Unlike other major conferences and tradeshows, proof of vaccination will not be required to attend, but there will be many other safety measures implemented,” said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe, CAE, FIH. “As a global non-profit organization, HFTP has been entrusted with a leadership position in hospitality. We are a politically agnostic, non-medical organization, but we are suggesting our attendees become vaccinated if possible.”
“There are many events co-located with us this year in Dallas,” said HFTP Global Director Mark Pate, IT Director and Assistant Controller of Highpointe Hotel Corp. “All of them are doing their part to kickstart hospitality and they are looking at us for guidance in defining a new normal for face-to-face events.”
A non-comprehensive list of safety measures planned for HFTP meetings include:
- Daily sanitization of the meeting spaces, exhibit halls, and common areas
- Social distancing in all meeting spaces
- A different design of the HITEC trade show floor, including 20-foot cross aisles
- Required face coverings
- Minimization of touch areas and products for attendees
- Two onsite first aid centers and an isolation area in case of illness
- The welcome reception will be in an indoor/outdoor space
- All host hotel staff will be masked
HITEC Dallas has scheduled a four-day education program addressing the biggest industry topics such as emerging technology in food and beverage, decentralized ID, direct distribution versus third-parties, hyper-personalization, defining a digital hotel, ethical conundrums in technology, pressing cybersecurity threats, and more. In addition, HITEC features an exhibit hall that will host over 250 solution providers displaying a range of products and services to support the hospitality technology industry.
Co-located with HITEC Dallas is the HFTP Annual Convention with a program that centers on financial management topics for clubs and hotels, along with complementary subjects such as tax law, human resources, leadership development, and technology. HITEC full conference registrants have access to the Annual Convention full education program, an opportunity to expand the HITEC experience.
