We didn't go to HITEC 2026 for the demos. We went for the conversations. We sat down with exhibitors right there on the show floor. No script, no prepared questions, just one starting point: tell us what you do, in plain language. This is where it went with Frank Trampert, Chief Revenue Officer at Revinate.
Urban Cowboy founders Lyon Porter and Jersey Banks discuss their 12-year journey across multiple locations, zero marketing spend, and plans for larger properties including a beach location and branded residences.
Tuesday brought the launch of Hospitality Net's Boardroom Reboot podcast with Mews founder Richard Valtr tracing a unicorn from night audit boredom in Prague, a World Panel viewpoint on whether humanless hotels represent the future or a threat, and HSMAI Europe's whitepaper on agentic AI making hotels either AI-bookable or invisible. Lighthouse's Brazil rate surge data, Monaco and Madrid performance records, and a renovations-heavy properties day rounded out the session.
Mews founder Richard Valtr traces the origin of the hospitality unicorn from night audit boredom in Prague to a billion-dollar PMS, sharing predictions on AI, loyalty, and the future of hotel work.
Monday opened with hospitality.today's warning that AI tools are describing hotels from outdated sources and guests arrive expecting what no longer exists, a Les Roches argument that the traditional hotel org chart fragments guest value across silos, and Cornell professor Chris Anderson on AI shifting commercial strategy from pricing optimization to personalized offer curation. Canary Technologies' HITEC conversation, the AI Hospitality Alliance's crowdsourced use case launch, and a strong Asia Pacific properties day rounded out the session.
We didn't go to HITEC 2026 for the demos. We went for the conversations. We sat down with exhibitors right there on the show floor. No script, no prepared questions, just one starting point: tell us what you do, in plain language. This is where it went with SJ Sawhney, Co-Founder and President of Canary Technologies.
Friday closed a strong week with Mood Media data showing satisfied guests don't repeat and atmosphere outranks price and service as a hotel choice driver, three European hoteliers on what happened when they eliminated the front desk, and CoStar weekly data showing U.S. RevPAR up 10.9% on America 250 demand. HotelKey's HITEC conversation on what actually counts as AI, Accor's 5,300-key Vietnam deal, and a bumper properties day from Cappadocia to Cheshire rounded out the session.
We didn't go to HITEC 2026 for the demos. We went for the conversations. We sat down with exhibitors right there on the show floor. No script, no prepared questions, just one starting point: tell us what you do, in plain language. This is where it went with HotelKey's two co-founders, CEO Fareed Ahmad and President Aditya Thyagarajan.
Thursday brought Curacity's argument that AI citation share, not query cost, is hospitality's next major distribution fight, Pertlink's translation of MIT AI engineering signals into a 12-month hotel readiness roadmap, and ETC data showing Europe arrivals up 5% year-to-date despite Middle East headwinds. Lighthouse's HITEC booth conversation on hiring AI rather than installing it, Fattal's first US acquisition, and a properties day spanning Kenya to San Sebastián rounded out the session.
We didn't go to HITEC 2026 for the demos. We went for the conversations. We sat down with exhibitors right there on the show floor. No script, no prepared questions, just one starting point: tell us what you do, in plain language. This is where it went with Brett Kohn, Chief Marketing Officer at Lighthouse.
Wednesday brought hard data showing ChatGPT's hotel recommendations are unstable and winner-take-most by market, a white paper arguing robotics will split hotels into automation winners and legacy properties forced out, and Actabl's HITEC argument for AI that admits what it doesn't know. Navan and Hilton's direct TMC connect, Aspen Hospitality's New York debut, and a record properties day from Punta Cana to Tuscany completed the session.
We didn't go to HITEC 2026 for the demos. We went for the conversations. We sat down with exhibitors right there on the show floor. No script, no prepared questions, just one starting point: tell us what you do, in plain language. This is where it went with Jerimi Ford, Chief Innovation Officer at Actabl, and Rob Bahl, SVP AI Asset Management at Actabl, who'd recently joined the tech company from Marriott.
Tuesday brought a pointed argument that hotels optimize for AI name searches while failing the category queries guests actually use to build shortlists, an Infor HITEC interview predicting hotels will build their own AI with Google and Anthropic as the real competitive threat, and Meyer Jabara Hotels' 24% turnover rate as a data point on what intentional leadership culture is worth. Accor's China push to 1,600 hotels, Vietnam's rise to Asia's top branded residences market, and a heavy properties day rounded out a content-rich session.
We didn't go to HITEC 2026 for the demos. We went for the conversations. We sat down with exhibitors right there on the show floor. No script, no prepared questions, just one starting point: tell us what you do, in plain language. This is where it went with David Poprawka, Innovation Strategist at Infor Hospitality.
Monday opened with three converging arguments about who controls the guest relationship in an agentic AI era: loyalty data as the chains' structural hedge, the application layer around the PMS as where AI value actually accrues, and a CDR Global World Panel piece arguing the industry's real challenge is building cultures that elevate human potential rather than absorbing legal risk. One HITEC floor conversation with RobosizeME, the AIHA member survey, and Accor's conversion of a 16th-century citadel rounded out a strong opening to the week.
RobosizeME CRO Sean Anderson explains why the company uses RPA over AI for defined hotel workflows, citing cost, reliability, and compliance as key factors over AI-first approaches.
Friday closed a strong week with Lighthouse data showing AI referral traffic to hotel websites surging more than 50% after ChatGPT expanded outbound links, a pointed warning that AI-generated hotel tech market maps are distorting purchasing decisions, and CoStar weekly data showing U.S. RevPAR up 9.6% driven by FIFA World Cup demand in Miami and San Francisco. Two HITEC floor conversations with Shiji and Cendyn and a string of Asia Pacific pipeline signings rounded out the session.
We didn't go to HITEC 2026 for the demos. We went for the conversations. We sat down with exhibitors right there on the show floor. No script, no prepared questions, just one starting point: tell us what you do, in plain language. This is where it went with Natalie Kimball, VP of Strategic Account Management for Horizon Distribution and Iceportal Content at Shiji.
We didn't go to HITEC 2026 for the demos. We went for the conversations. We sat down with exhibitors right there on the show floor. No script, no prepared questions, just one starting point: tell us what you do, in plain language. This is where it went with Cendyn's CEO Michael Bennett, Chief Marketing Officer Nicki Graham, and EVP of Product Kevin Duncan.
Thursday brought a pointed analysis of Marriott's Google AI Mode deal as an intermediary swap rather than a distribution win, a World Panel viewpoint on the commercial shockwaves and tailwinds of Middle East tensions, and Radisson Hotel Group's launch of real-time AI price matching across all its properties. Two HITEC floor conversations with Agilysys and Trybe, strong C-suite appointments, and a bumper day of property openings across four continents completed the session.