E20X North America 2024: A Showcase of Innovation in Hospitality Technology
On June 26, 2024, the Charlotte Convention Center buzzed with energy and innovation as eight ambitious entrepreneurs presented breakthrough business concepts at E20X North America. Sponsored by Hospitality Net, this event was part of the expanding Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) program, designed to reinvigorate the hospitality technology industry.
Photo by Hospitality Net
Event Date: June 26, 2024
Venue: Charlotte Convention Center, Charlotte, N.C., USA
Sponsored by: Hospitality Net
On June 26, 2024, the Charlotte Convention Center buzzed with energy and innovation as eight ambitious entrepreneurs presented breakthrough business concepts at E20X North America.
Sponsored by Hospitality Net, this event was part of the expanding Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) program, designed to reinvigorate the hospitality technology industry.
Purpose and Format:
- E20X North America aimed to boost innovation in the hospitality technology sector.
- The competition featured eight entrepreneurs pitching their ideas to a room full of HITEC attendees and a panel of expert judges, including hospitality CIOs, angel investors, serial entrepreneurs, and industry insiders.
- Each startup had four minutes to pitch and a Q&A session with the judges.
Judging and Awards:
- Two awards were presented: the Judge's Choice Award and the People's Choice Award.
- The Judge's Choice Award, selected by the panel of judges, included a $5,000 prize.
- Audience votes determined the People's Choice Award.
Winners:
- Judge's Choice Award: Folio: Folio impressed the judges with its innovative procurement and payment platform that streamlines hotel operations.
- People's Choice Award: H2O Connected: H2O Connected captured the audience's favor with their wireless technology to monitor and save water in hotel toilets, showcasing environmental and financial benefits.
Event Highlights
The event started with a welcome message emphasizing the importance of preparation and concise communication. Each startup took the stage to present its innovative solutions, ranging from data-driven guest experiences to efficient procurement systems.
Afiixify: An AI-driven platform designed to help hotels select the best technology solutions based on their specific needs. It uses a proprietary matching algorithm to connect hoteliers with software that fits their requirements (website: https://www.getaffixify.com)
Away Together: A mobile app that enhances guest communication and experience by providing hotel information and enabling guest-to-guest interactions. It allows for pre-trip planning and post-trip nostalgia-building activities. (website: https://www.myawaytogether.com)
BonApp: This POS digital menu app enhances customer experiences and optimizes management in hospitality businesses. It offers features like multi-restaurant management, customizable digital menus, Q.R. code ordering and payments, and real-time data analytics (website: http://www.bonapp.group/)
Crqlar: A guest data platform that creates personalized experiences for luxury hotels by centralizing and analyzing guest data. It connects various hotel tools to provide actionable insights for enhancing guest services. (website: https://www.crqlar.com/)
Directful: A platform focused on automating hotel guest communication and marketing. It uses A.I. to send personalized messages to guests, encouraging repeat visits and improving engagement. (website: https://directful.com)
Folio: The Judge's Choice Award winner, Folio, presented their platform that simplifies procurement for hotels by integrating suppliers, digitizing invoices, and offering a user-friendly interface similar to Amazon. (website: https://folio.co)
H2O Connected: The People's Choice Award winner highlighted their technology to detect and fix water wastage issues in hotel toilets, aiming to save water and reduce costs. (website: https://www.leakalertorpro.com)
Yipy: A standards management software designed to help hotels organize, manage, and communicate operational standards. It aims to replace traditional pen-and-paper methods with a digital solution that ensures consistency and compliance. (website: https://yipy.io)
Conclusion
E20X North America 2024 showcased the innovative spirit driving the hospitality technology industry. With groundbreaking solutions presented by passionate entrepreneurs, the event highlighted the industry's ongoing evolution. The winners, Folio and H2O Connected, exemplified the potential of technology to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and guest experiences in the hospitality sector. The success of E20X North America underlines the importance of innovation and technology in transforming the hospitality industry, ensuring it continues to meet the ever-evolving demands of guests and operators alike.
About Hospitality Net
Founded in 1994 in Maastricht, the Netherlands, Hospitality Net is the #1 B2B portal for global hotel professionals and one of the longest-running independent hospitality B2B publications in the world. Hospitality Net acts as a neutral broker and publisher of hotel business information, built on a membership model for all stakeholders in the global hotel industry. Members use the platform to share and amplify content, join thought leadership initiatives, and strengthen their visibility and findability across search, AI platforms, and LLMs. With 100,000+ articles, reports, and expert commentary collected over more than 30 years, Hospitality Net offers one of the deepest knowledge bases in hospitality B2B media. It also publishes The Hotel Yearbook, one of the industry’s most cited annual reference publications. Visit www.hospitalitynet.org.
About Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP)
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), established in 1952, is a hospitality nonprofit association headquartered in Austin, Texas USA with offices in the EU and India. HFTP is recognized as a group supporting the finance and technology segments of the hospitality industry with an international network of members and stakeholders. HFTP offers expert networks, educational resources, career development programs, research, leadership opportunities and conferences and events. HFTP produces international events throughout the year, including the world's largest hospitality technology tradeshow and conference brand: HITEC. In addition, it oversees the publication of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI®), Hotel Online® and Hospitality Upgrade Magazine. Through its combined websites, the association has more than 140,000 site visitors a month. For more information about HFTP, visit www.hftp.org.
H2O Connected is excited to announce its alliance with -GAIN- (Growth Advisors International Network) a leading travel and hospitality innovation and growth advisory firm. With the definitive and quantifiable water-saving success hotels have realized installing our The LeakAlertor Wireless PRO, it made perfect sense to align with GAIN as an integral part of our growth strategy. We have already hit the ground running!
BonApp is a user-friendly point of sales and digital menu web-application that functions via QR code technology.