HFTP’s 2026 Annual Convention Unites 300+ Hospitality Professionals for Education, Connection and Celebration

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) united 300+ members and industry stakeholders at the 2026 Annual Convention in Reno, Nevada at the grand Peppermill Resort, Spa & Casino, Sept. 22-24. The 74^th edition of the association’s flagship education and membership conference invigorated attendees with a packed, forward-focused education program, as well as networking events that centered on building connections and celebrating excellence.

The education program, developed by the HFTP Annual Convention Advisory Council, kicked off with an invigorating keynote session by American Ninja Warrior Alex Weber. In his presentation “The Unstoppable You,” Weber inspired the audience by sharing his life experiences and learned actionable insights in overcoming adversity. The next morning’s General Session featured practical ethics speaker, Danny Goldberg. He offered the audience a thoughtful look at how ethics programs can adapt in a rapidly changing environment.

The overall program consisted of three days of packed education sessions offering practical takeaways in technology, communication, ethics, finance, operations, marketing, strategic planning, fraud prevention, and more.

The education program closed out with another high-energy keynote from Michele Kline. Informed by neuroscience and driven by story, Kline’s session provided industry leaders with tools and insights to create cultures of trust and communication within their organizations.

This year, attendees also had the unique opportunity to give back in the experiential team-building session, "Get the Wheels Turning," where they transformed collaboration into community impact by building 10 children's bicycles together. These bicycles were donated to The Children's Cabinet, a local non-profit whose mission is to keep children safe and families together, providing programs and services at no cost to youth and their families in the Reno community. HFTP Helps also donated $5,000 to the organization. We invite you to make an individual donation to The Children's Cabinet to support their mission, as well.

A plethora of networking events seamlessly blended learning and knowledge-sharing with building connections and having fun.

I love the mentoring, and the younger generation that’s coming in, and getting to support them. I also really enjoy showing them that there can be some fun in this group of finance and tech people. Overall, it’s a great opportunity to network and stay connected with the people who can understand what you’re going through.

Samantha Sheffield, CFO at The TwinEagles Club

These opportunities also included designated networking hours with more than two dozen featured table-top exhibiting companies, who shared leading industry solutions designed to improve efficiency, streamline workflows, advance operations and more. HFTP extends a special thank you to this year’s exhibitors for their presence, as well as the sponsors for their generous support of the Annual Convention.

A major aspect of the Annual Convention is celebrating our members, chapters, and hospitality professionals for their outstanding contributions and dedication to the association and industry at large. We would like to extend congratulations to this year’s award recipients:

Association Awards

• 2026 President’s Award: Tessa Leverett

• 2026 CHAE of the Year: Mohammad Al Amin, CHAE

Chapter of the Year Awards

• HFTP Nashville Chapter - Tier A (1–35 members)

• HFTP North Texas Chapter - Tier B (36–70 members)

• HFTP Gulf Coast Chapter - Tier C (71+ members)

• Student Chapter of the Year: HFTP Cougar Chapter — University of Houston

Check out highlights in the official event photo album and mark your calendars for next year, when HFTP celebrates its milestone 75^th anniversary with a spectacular edition of HFTP’s flagship membership conference, Oct. 19-21, 2027, in Orlando, Florida.