Shiji Group’s latest IPORT integration is redefining what all-in-one devices can deliver for the hospitality sector. Moving beyond traditional food and beverage solutions, the company has developed a hardware-agnostic platform designed to support workflows across an entire property – from POS and PMS to reputation management and HR applications.
Whitney Spratt, General Manager of the Hotels Division at Tripleseat, sat down with us at HITEC 2025 to share how technology can unlock growth, improve guest experiences, and preserve the soul of hospitality.
Tim Hansen, Vice President of Sales – Hotels & Resorts at Agilysys, joined us at HITEC 2025 to talk about the company’s impressive growth, the evolution of tech stacks in hospitality, and the delicate balance between automation and human connection.
At HITEC 2025 in Indianapolis, we sat down with Ryan King, Senior Vice President for the Americas at Shiji Group, to unpack how hotels can measure, interpret, and act on guest experience data. Ryan explained why reputation now depends as much on real-time feedback analytics as on human service, and how tools like the Guest Review Index (GRI) are helping hoteliers identify both standout moments and systemic breakdowns. He also weighed in on AI’s growing role in the industry - not as a replacement for people, but as a tool to enhance guest experience and operational focus.
At HITEC 2025 in Indianapolis, we sat down with Natalie Kimball, Vice President of Strategic Accounts for Americas and EMEA at Shiji Group, to explore the evolving role of hotel content management, data accuracy, and distribution, particularly in the complex Chinese market. Natalie also shared her candid views on AI in hospitality, the importance of operational control, and the risk of losing the entry-level roles that built today’s industry leaders.
Hotel technology can get complicated. If I had to explain why this is to a kid or a golden retriever, I would say it’s because we used the best tools at our disposal at the time, stitching things together as best we could over years or even decades, and then tried to continuously pivot to newer, better systems while keeping the engine running.
In a hospitality industry where boutique often means niche and scale often means compromise, GINTO Hotels is quietly proving that the two can coexist. On a recent trip to Paris, I had the opportunity to meet with Brice de Puymorin, Julien Kiefer, and Emmanuelle Pochat, the visionary trio behind GINTO, and to experience their philosophy firsthand during a stay at PILGRIM, their bold Left Bank property. What emerged from our conversation was more than a brand story—it was a blueprint for a new kind of urban hospitality: one that preserves the charm and substance of a neighbourhood hotel while delivering a business model designed for growth across Europe.
At HITEC 2025 in Indianapolis, we sat down with Klaus Kohlmayr, Chief Evangelist and Development Officer at IDeaS, to discuss how the company’s latest solution, Spotlight, is helping to close the gap between revenue management and marketing. Klaus shared insights into how unified data, AI fluency, and strategic thinking are shaping the future of commercial performance in hospitality.
At HITEC 2025 in Indianapolis, we caught up with Karen Stephens, Chief Marketing Officer at Revinate, to talk about how changes in leadership are fuelling product innovation, particularly around guest data, AI, and voice. With a fresh team of tech and data leaders on board, Revinate is doubling down on efforts to unify guest profiles and rethink how technology supports human connection in hospitality. Karen also shared insights on AI’s role in luxury travel, the future of voice, and why hospitality is safe from the AI job scare.
At HITEC 2025 in Indianapolis, we caught up with Jeremy Krol, COO of Phunware, a company helping hotels deepen guest engagement through mobile technology and data-driven personalization. In our conversation, Jeremy explained how Phunware uses mobile apps, behavioral data, and AI to improve the guest experience and generate additional revenue. From replacing paper maps with seamless digital navigation to enabling smarter upsell opportunities, Phunware is helping properties enhance their digital footprint without losing the human touch.
At HITEC 2025 in Indianapolis, we sat down with Justin Taillon, President of HFTP and professor of hospitality technology, for a closing reflection on what made this year’s event stand out. From a record-breaking exhibitor floor to packed education sessions, Justin shared what makes HITEC more than just a trade show. He also gave us a preview of his next project, a bold new book on what hotel guestrooms might look like in 2075.
A few days ago, Jeff Bezos anchored his floating temple of techno-capitalism (a yacht longer than Piazza San Marco) just off the coast of Venice. The media, predictably, responded with sterile moral outrage, but the more profound irony escaped most: Bezos isn’t visiting Venice; he IS Venice. Or rather, he embodies what Venice has become: a luxury simulation of itself. Stripped of context, suspended in spectacle. That moment brought back a provocation I had posted months ago in my weekly column on 10 Minutes Hotel: maybe the only rational way to manage Venice today is to treat it like Disneyland, not as a joke, but as a system. At the time, it sounded dystopian. Now, it sounds like long-range urban planning.
Should a hotel GM have to consult a legal advisor every time a vendor updates their cloud TOS? This isn’t a theoretical debate anymore; for hoteliers juggling international guests, loyalty programs, and global cloud systems, data sovereignty has become a frontline concern. And it’s reshaping how hotels choose their tech partners.
At HITEC 2025 in Indianapolis, we caught up with Ira Vouk, Editor-in-Chief of the 2025 edition of the Hotel Yearbook – Technology Edition. A respected voice in hospitality tech, Ira curated a remarkable collection of essays from over 35 industry leaders, each offering their outlook on where hotel technology is heading. In this interview, she reflects on the themes, surprises, and controversies behind the publication, and shares her own bold view on how AI could disrupt the long-standing standards that have held hotel tech together , or perhaps back.
I must admit, I feel a little bad that I am only now featuring this book on Hospitality Net. Maggie Chen is a friend I have known for many years at EHL Hospitality Business School, and her latest work deserves much more attention. Hospitality Vibes is not just another industry book. It is a heartfelt and deeply researched exploration of what makes our sector truly unique. The insights she shares are, in my view, a must-read for hospitality students and professionals around the globe who want to understand how our industry can evolve with purpose.
At HITEC 2025 in Indianapolis, we spoke with Harman Narula, CEO of Canary Technologies, about the company’s recent AI product launches and the growing role of artificial intelligence in hotel operations. From missed phone calls to personalised upselling, Canary’s suite of AI solutions is designed to enhance the guest experience and increase hotel revenue. Narula shared how voice AI, messaging, and upselling work together to streamline operations and help hoteliers do more with fewer resources.
At HITEC Indianapolis, one of the most forward-thinking sessions tackled a topic set to redefine how the hospitality industry engages with its guests: Decentralized Identity, sometimes referred to as Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI). In a world where personalisation and data privacy increasingly go hand in hand, Decentralized Identity offers a radical new approach that empowers travellers to take control of their digital identities while enabling hotels, airlines, and travel providers to deliver seamless, secure, and highly personalised experiences.
At HITEC 2025 in Indianapolis, we caught up with Frank Wolfe, CEO of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), to reflect on a highly successful edition of the conference. With record-breaking numbers, exciting innovation from new exhibitors, and a packed exhibition floor, this year’s event confirmed HITEC’s role as the global stage for hospitality technology. We also looked ahead to 2026, which will bring the event to San Antonio, Texas.
At HITEC 2025 in Indianapolis, we sat down with Floor Bleeker, a well-known voice in hospitality technology, to explore the future of AI in the industry. The conversation quickly moved from generative AI to autonomous agents, robotics, and the potential disruption of long-standing tech systems. Drawing from his corporate background and current advisory work, Floor offered a clear-eyed view of how fast things are evolving, and what it could mean for hoteliers, vendors, and guests.
At HITEC 2025 in Indianapolis, we spoke with David Poprawka from Infor about the evolving role of AI in hospitality, not from a trend-driven perspective, but with a focus on long-term value, sustainability, and trust. Rather than chasing the latest buzzwords, Infor is building an architecture that helps hotels adapt at their own pace, with a strong foundation and a people-first mindset. David shared insights on the pace of change, the human side of data, and why it is time to rethink how we measure success.