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HOSPITALITY FINANCIAL AND Technology Professionals, the global representative for hospitality technology and producers of HITEC, recently initiated a project to develop a digital responsibility code for the hospitality industry. HFTP is forming a task force of experts and academics to develop the code. HFTP commissioned the University of Houston to write a white paper on digital responsibility, featured in the inaugural issue of HFTP's Tech+Fin Hospitality Magazine at HITEC 2024, HFTP said in a statement. The paper and industry discussions highlighted the need for guidelines on digital responsibility. Task force members include: ProfitSence Favicon Ads by ProfitSence Co-chair Scot Campbell, principal, Integrated Resort Advisors, HFTP Global past president and inductee to the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame Co-chair Agnes DeFranco, Conrad N. Hilton Distinguished Chair at University of Houston and HFTP Global past president Mike Blake, vice president, IT, Kemper Sports Steven Bronken, head of global hospitality, Ruckus Networks Sanovnik Destang, executive director, Bay Gardens Resorts Florian Gallini, CEO, INTEREL Thomas Hempel, vice president, sales and partnerships, VENZA Barry Thomas, vice president, technology, Orient Express and Fairmont Hotels Sherry Marek, founder, Aiken Street Consulting and inductee to the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame Shannon McCallum, vice president, hotel operations, Resorts World Las Vegas, Neal Patel, managing partner, Blue Chip Hotels, AAHOA past chairman Andrew Rubinacci, chief advisory officer, FLYR for Hospitality Thomas Atzenhofer, deputy CEO, HFTP "There are many good practices for digital responsibility throughout the industry, but these have never been aggregated, vetted and published as a compilation of the best practices in a uniform guide," said Atzenhofer. "HFTP's task force of global industry technology and business experts, has agreed to tackle the task and make the ind

ONLY ONE IN five hotel professionals believe the current tech stack is sufficient for achieving efficiencies, cost savings and adequate guest care, according to a recent survey by the Hospitality Women's Innovation Council. Approximately 91 percent of survey respondents indicated that better collaboration among technology companies on integrations is needed, while 86 percent felt improved integration processes would encourage greater investment in technology. HWIC, a group of hotel brand executives, managers, and innovators, conducted the survey between May 25 and June 15, HWIC said in a statement. More than 300 owners, managers, and technologists participated in the survey. The study was supported by Visual Matrix, a PMS software developer in Richardson, Texas. "Industry professionals have confirmed that more than any other factor, collaboration is the key to driving better business results for hoteliers-collaboration among technology providers and between the providers and the hoteliers they serve," said Georgine Muntz, HWIC co-chair and CEO of Visual Matrix. "When we created the council close to a year ago, we began with the assumption that women leaders in hospitality can help improve the ways industry professionals collaborate for common ends and encourage better standardized integrations. Now that assumption has been fully validated. We look forward to sharing the council's recommendations on better integration, collaboration and advancing innovation, in the weeks ahead."

What Is Apaleo Agent Hub? APALEO, A PROPERTY management platform, recently launched Agent Hub, which it calls "the first-ever AI agent marketplace for hospitality." The platform enables industry collaboration by connecting property managers, hoteliers, developers and service providers to accelerate AI adoption. Agent Hub lets hospitality players select AI solutions suited to their needs and integrate them without costly system overhauls, Apaleo said in a statement. "Agent Hub is the next step in Apaleo's evolution-an open, collaborative space where hoteliers can create AI solutions as easily as tech-savvy developers," said Ulrich Pilau, Apaleo's CEO. "By helping accommodation providers integrate and scale AI effortlessly, Apaleo makes this technology more practical and accessible for hospitality businesses everywhere."

CLOUD-BASED HOSPITALITY software provider HotelKey has added its central reservation system to an already existing portfolio of its products for Extended Stay America. ESA already uses a portfolio of HotelKey products across its properties, including HotelKey's property-management system since 2018 and call center module since 2020, HotelKey said in a statement. According to the statement, HotelKey's CRS product includes direct connectivity to leading OTAs and GDS systems, a call center module, integration with channel managers and seamless integration with the HotelKey PMS. "We are excited to further expand our relationship with Extend Stay America," said Aditya Thyagarajan, co-founder and president of HotelKey. "ESA has an unwavering commitment to innovation and adoption of next-gen solutions. The new agreement is not only further validation of that commitment, but also brings HotelKey one step closer to our vision - helping enterprises across the hotel industry implement full-stack solutions that support owners and franchisees and hotel managers to effectively manage their properties from anywhere." "We are pleased to continue working with HotelKey, with the addition of its CRS product," said John Laplante, ESA's chief information officer. "They have helped enable innovation of our tech platforms and further provides strategic value to our business."

THE HOSPITALITY SHOW 2024, produced by Questex and the American Hotel & Lodging Association, announced highlights recently, including keynote sessions by chef José Andrés on October 28 and franchise expert Scott Greenberg. The show will take place Oct. 28 to 30 at the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. Andrés will present "Changing the World Through the Power of Food," while Greenberg will discuss strategies to elevate franchise operations. Greenberg's keynote will be followed by a fireside chat with Geoff Ballotti, president and CEO of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. On Oct. 30, NFL reporter Erin Andrews will moderate the session "Creative Collaboration: The Ultimate Immersive Guest Experience," joined by Jonathan Tisch, executive chairman of Loews Hotels & Co., and Mark Woodbury, chairman and CEO of Universal Destinations & Experiences. They will discuss how storytelling transforms concepts from books and films into immersive guest experiences. Following the keynote, Andrews will join AHLA Foundation president Anna Blue for a ForWard Segment to discuss her career in sports broadcasting and her entrepreneurial venture, WEAR.

Peachtree Group has named Jarred Bussert as vice president of information technology. In this newly created role, Bussert will be responsible for the company's IT infrastructure, including all business applications, information security and data integrity, the company said in a statement. "Jarred's experience and achievements demonstrate his commitment to supporting business strategies with technology infrastructure," said Greg Friedman, Peachtree's managing principal and CEO. "As Peachtree continues to grow, I am pleased to attract talented leaders to our best-in-class team. His leadership will be instrumental in building a successful and high-performing organization." Bussert has extensive enterprise-wide technical and IT leadership experience. Before joining Peachtree, he was vice president, information technology for Majors Management, an Atlanta-based retail operator. Bussert started his career with RaceTrac Petroleum holding numerous leadership positions, leaving as director, information systems. He has an MBA and Master of Technology from Georgia Tech and received his bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia.