11 - What We Learned at HITEC 2016

Your friends from the Fuel Hotel Marketing Podcast took a trip to New Orleans this week for the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference (HITEC). We met lots of neat hoteliers and showed off our mobile app, booking engine, eCRM platform and analytics dashboard. We also met lots of cool new vendors and are going to cover a few of them in this episode. SHOW NOTES: In The News: Google looks to ease tensions within travel sector https://www.tnooz.com/article/google-convenes-meeting-of-travel-brands-to-build-bridges/ Google Releases new feature in Search Console to view stats on rich snippets and AMP http://searchengineland.com/google-brings-rich-results-filter-search-analytics-report-within-search-console-252372 OpenTable Lets Customers Put the Bill On their Tab: http://hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/opentable_now_lets_la_diners_put_it_on_their_tab Ads coming to local search pack, nothing is sacred: http://searchengineland.com/google-confirms-ads-coming-local-pack-252407 What is HITEC? The Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference (HITEC) offers a unique combination of top-notch hospitality technology education, led by industry peers and experts, and an unparalleled trade show showcasing the latest products and services from over 300 companies, occupying more than 130,000 square feet. Nowhere else can premiere hospitality professionals gather to learn and experience the technologies that continue to enhance our industry and our customers’ experiences. HITEC is a service of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP). More Trends that we saw: Interactive/Digital signage was EVERYWHERE at the show. Though, we didn’t really see any standouts in this space. On property communication and wayfinding seems to be the big thing this year as hotels are focusing more on the customer experience and trying to prevent negative reviews. Check out the best in show Zingle - http://www.zingle.me/ Guest messaging platform. tracNcare - http://www.tracncare.com/ Software to take care of your property and your guests. Flip.to - http://www.flip.to/ A social sharing and brand advocay platform for hotels. TripTease - http://www.triptease.com/ solutions that help you get more direct bookings. Check out videos of these fine folks at www.facebook.com/fueltravel Also, check out Stuart’s ex-brand crush: http://hiutdenim.co.uk/ Follow Us on Twitter: @fueltravel @stuartbutler @marketingmeisha @pdimaio @pforiska