NEW YORK—With The Hotel Experience (HX) Powered by AAHOA only a few months away, industry leaders are gearing up for the conference this fall. Here’s some recent happenings surrounding the show:
• The two-day conference breakouts are focused on six tracks designed to help professionals navigate today’s evolving hospitality landscape: Food and Beverage, Leadership, Technology, Development, Finance and Operations. Attendees will learn from industry thought-leaders about everything from the cannabis industry’s impact on the hotel business to the ins and outs of multi-branding.
• Additional presentations on the HX Stage, Tech Pitch presentations showcasing the latest trends in technology, the Editors’ Choice Awards and HANYC’s Sustainability Awards will also be on tap.
• HX and AAHOA will be hosting the expo’s first-ever Young Professionals Networking Reception the evening of Sunday, Nov. 10. The reception will bring together up-and-coming hoteliers as well as other on-the-rise industry professionals.
• With more than 225 exhibitors offering products for nearly every hotel department, the expo floor will give owners/operators, brands, management companies, purchasing companies and other hospitality executives direct access to a comprehensive range of operating supplies and equipment—from guest amenities and GRM technology to back-of-house products and systems that improve overall profitability.
• The Foodservice Pioneering Concept area will return to HX this year with a new design. Dubbed Duality, the modular concept will form a doughnut shape cut into four quarters with a Yin-Yang shape at the center. This six-piece set can be configured to accommodate different food concepts.
“I can’t go into much detail about it, but Joseph Schumaker, founder/president, FoodSpace, and the creator of this year’s concept at HX, has come up with a unique operation,” said Wade Koehler, executive director of sponsor Foodservice Consultants Society International’s Americas Division (FCSI). “It’s very flexible, so almost any size hotel could utilize it. It’s set up to where it can be used for many different functions.”
Through a collaboration between HX, FCSI and vendor partners, this design will come to life, built as life-sized working model on the expo floor, complete with interactive demonstrations and samplings. HB