It was a decidedly smaller crowd (the organizers said it was down 28 percent to 3,700 attendees) at this year's HITEC show and conference, which was held at the Anaheim (CA) Convention Center in late June. Despite the slimmed-down attendance and the bland venue, the show had a lot of energy and produced more than a few dynamic new technologies and major enhancements to existing systems. Austin, TX-based Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals sponsors and manages HITEC.

A one-day, pre-show conference focused on how hotel operators can marry Internet marketing strategies with revenue management techniques to drive lodging demand. In many ways, the conference, which the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International sponsored, mirrored the overall themes of HITEC.

Nearly every one of the pre-conference sessions dealt with the increasing convergence of revenue management and marketing, particularly digital marketing. As IHG executive and keynoter Eric Pearson declared, “Revenue management and Internet marketing professionals are the new rock stars of the hospitality industry.”

Other panels discussed revenue optimization techniques, pricing philosophies and the latest trends in e-commerce for lodging. A break-out session on managing social media explored the best practices for measuring ROI and how to effectively use the variety of online forums as marketing tools.

The HITEC program of general sessions, panel discussions and roundtables continued the exchange of ideas on using technology to market hotel properties. Opening general session speaker Terry Jones, the founder of Travelocity, stressed the need for hotel companies and their partners to create digital relationships to leverage their marketing strengths.

New to HITEC this year were a series of well-attended and lively roundtable discussions. These sessions, in which attendees exchanged ideas and sought advice, covered a wide range of topics, including PCI compliance, mobile technologies and social media.

Another highlight of HITEC was the induction of two more members of the International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame. Joining the Hall this year were Cindy Estis Green, hotel marketing guru and managing partner of The Estis Group; and Tom Giannopoulos, president & CEO of hotel software giant Micros Systems. HFTP also honored Kjell Olsson as the 2009 Certified Hospitality Technology Professional of the Year. He is area director of IT for WHM, LLC.

As with most HITECs, the exhibit floor at this year's edition showcased several major themes:

Mobile applications

Many exhibitors were showing applications for the iPhone and iTouch and other smartphone technologies. Before HITEC, a lot of the mobile app buzz centered on distribution, e.g., Choice Hotels' iPhone reservations tool, but much of the action at HITEC focused on mobile applications for internal use. One smartphone application on display allows managers to access real-time property operating stats. Another provides hotel salespeople with real-time access to their properties' sales and catering system through handheld devices.

Social media

While it's more of a sales and marketing topic than a true technology, a number of vendors embraced the social media phenomenon in their technology offerings. Reservations, sales and catering and concierge services were examples of systems embracing social media. Some firms offered technologies that enable hoteliers to manage and take advantage of the marketing power of the various social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Anything IP

Of course, the Internet is an integral part of most hotel technologies, but at this year's HITEC, Internet-powered solutions, mostly for guest services, were abundant. While VOIP is maturing as a telephone technology, the new wrinkle this year was IPTV, which is touted to bring more and higher-quality content to hotel guestroom televisions.

Integration

Nearly every exhibitor celebrated their alliances with other tech companies to deliver higher-quality and more-seamless technology products and systems to hotel companies and properties. Hotel owners and operators expect one-stop shopping (and accountability) as much as possible, a service most hotel technology vendors can now provide by integrating with other providers.

Next on the HFTP calendar is its annual convention and trade show, which will be held Sept. 16-19 at the Green Valley Ranch and Resort in Las Vegas. Sort of a junior version of HITEC, the meeting will feature educational sessions, exhibits, trade shows and business meetings.

Next year's HITEC will be held June 21-24 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. It will feature the return of Guestroom 20X, a special exhibit that includes some of the most-innovative hotel technologies available now and in the future.