HFTP’s Inaugural AHTEC@HOFEX Exceeds Expectations; Begins Planning AHTEC 2.0

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) announced today that its Asian Hospitality Technology Education Conference (AHTEC@HOFEX) exceeded all expectations for a first time event and will begin planning next year's conference AHTEC 2.0. HFTP, producer of HITEC - the world's largest hospitality technology exposition and conference - successfully brought its hospitality technology expertise to Asia in May 2011. The two-day event gathered more than 200 hospitality experts and professionals from eight countries, co-locating the first AHTEC with HOFEX at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. AHTEC@HOFEX was produced in conjunction with Hong Kong Exhibition Services Ltd (HKES) and Pertlink.

AHTEC 2.0 is slated for June 5, 2012 and will be co-located with Build4asia at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. Because HOFEX is a biannual event, AHTEC will co-locate with other shows when HOFEX is not being held. The conference will once again deliver a direct vehicle for expert perspectives on the evolving technology market to the Asian hospitality industry.

Illustrating the rapidly evolving technology market in Asia, topics discussed at AHTEC@HOFEX included cloud computing, social media, in-room entertainment, ERP systems, IT & finance, convergence, mobile technology, security and more. Senior decision-makers from hotels, resorts, clubs and other hospitality-related businesses represented New Zealand, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Macau, Philippines, Thailand and the Peoples Republic of China. When 2011 AHTEC attendees were surveyed, more than half said they attended HOFEX for the first time simply because of the quality of the education topics offered by AHTEC@HOFEX.

"The first conference was a huge success. HFTP was thrilled to be a part of this unique opportunity to bring hospitality technology educational opportunities to Asia," said Frank Wolfe, CAE, CEO of HFTP. "I have no doubt AHTEC will soon become the best hospitality technology conference in Asia. We are anxiously looking forward to the next event."

AHTEC@HOFEX education sessions were videotaped, allowing those who could not attend the conference to still gain knowledge and experience. The recorded sessions are available on the HFTP web site at www.ahtec.hk.

About HOFEX | HOFEX, established since 1987, is renowned as Asia's leading food and hospitality tradeshow which brings together 1,800 exhibiting companies and 35,000 professional trade buyers biennially. Staged at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on May 11-14, 2011, HOFEX 2011 continued to blend the best of food and beverages, as well as equipment, supplies, services and hospitality technologies. The show is featured as the premier meeting place for the industry and has a pioneering position in connecting China to the rest of the world.