HITEC Launches New App for Show Attendees

For attendees to the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference (HITEC) taking place in Minneapolis next week, Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) today launched a mobile application. Powered by Cisco hardware and software – the company's Connected Mobile Experiences solution, the application includes conference information and schedules with the convenience of an indoor GPS-like way-finding system that helps attendees easily locate sessions, exhibitor booths, and conference amenities.

Once the HITEC app is downloaded, attendees get an indoor, way-finding feature that provides their smartphone with an internal view of the expo and convention center layout. Using the Cisco Wi-Fi network and location intelligence from the Cisco Mobility Services Engine – a platform that provides visibility into the network, conference mobile device users can determine where they are and receive turn-by-turn directions to any desired location within the convention center, similar to a GPS guidance system. In addition, location-based notifications are given to attendees – for example, when an attendee is standing near the keynote session that is about to begin, mobile users who've enabled the app for notifications by opting-in will receive a reminder to step into the session. With location analytics, movements and patterns can be analyzed to better understand in-venue behavior and trends to deliver better attendee experiences in the future.

"Having the new app with Cisco's way-finding system is the ideal tool for navigating a show like HITEC," said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe, CAE. "Within four days, there is so much going on and so much information to take in; it will be immensely useful to have the app act as a guide. And of course, with friendly reminders to stop chatting and get to the next session."

The mobile application is available for download in the Apple App Store and Google's Android Marketplace.