HITEC Archives - Flip.to Blog

Flip.to on the road: Flat Ricky’s HITEC debut

HITEC 2016 wrapped up last week, and it was the perfect opportunity to have a bit of fun with our Director of Partnerships, Richard Dunbar by introducing his new-found colleague and friend, Flat Ricky. (One Ricky just wasn’t enough.)

Flat Ricky explored the conference, stopped by the booths of our many partners, and ended an eventful first day with a party hosted by Flip.to, Lanyon, NAVIS and Social Tables.

1_flatRicky — Arriving at Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel before shuttling over to the Morial Convention Center.

2_flatRicky — Visiting our friends and partners at the Guestcentric and Digital Alchemy booths.

3_flatRicky — Saying hello to the folks at SHR and Spring Engage.

4_flatRicky — Posing with our partners from NAVIS and IDeaS Revenue Solutions.

5_flatRicky — Preparing for the Flip.to, Lanyon, NAVIS and Social Tables party to kick off.

As our night was coming to an end, one thing became apparent—we were #MissingFlatRicky—and word spread quickly!

Turns out, our friends at Vista Cay had different plans for Flat Ricky, and an adventure in the making unfolded.

At the end of the day, Flat Ricky got a VIP tour of the town and was swept away once again. We’re still #MissingFlatRicky—but if you have any tips on where he might be, let us know at hello@flip.to! (Don’t worry, all tips remain anonymous.)

We’re #HITECnola bound

It’s here! One of the biggest conferences of the year. We’re headed to New Orleans for the 2016 edition of HITEC. The days are full of innovation, insights, and a bit of fun. Here’s a cheat sheet of just a few of the places we’ll be. Say hello, or reach out and let’s get together.

Monday, June 20

Entrepreneur 20x
Morial Convention Center—Rivergate Room, 1–4 PM

Join our own president, Ed St.Onge, as he sits on the judges panel for the second year in a row at Entrepreneur 20x. You’ll hear pitches from innovative start-ups in hotel tech at this competition. Ed’s joining a host of hospitality veterans on the judges panel, from CIO’s and angel investors, to serial entrepreneurs and industry insiders.

Join in

HITEC Opening Reception — “A Night in ‘Nola”
Generations Hall – A Night in Nola , 6:30–9 PM

New Orleans Jazz, and classic Nola food and drinks? Say no more—we’ll be stopping by.

Say hi

Tuesday, June 21

HITEC Exhibits, Booth #1615
Tuesday, 10 AM–4 PM / Wednesday, 10 AM–3 PM / Thursday, 10 AM–2 PM

The booth! We’ve got a ton of amazing things to share this year for Flip.to. To start, we’re unveiling our newest product update—Vision AI.

This powerful new feature uses machine-based insights to let hotels better understand and effortlessly curate their ever-growing library of guest-created content. This innovative use of artificial intelligence is the first of its kind in hotel tech. With Vision AI, hotels can now amplify their brand by delivering incredibly authentic, personal content to different segments of travelers and better convert them into future guests.

Stop by Booth #1615 to see this and other product updates, check out our brand new tour, and take a photo or two with the team. Just be sure to say hello! (We’ve even brought back the comfy couch.)

Schedule timeorTake a tour

Tech Talks: Engagement Vs. Communications: What Are the Best Solutions?
Morial Convention Center, 11–11:15 AM

Industry veteran, friend-of-Flip.to, and all-around hotel tech expert Alan Young of Puzzle Partner will be sharing a bit of his knowledge in his tech talk on better hotel & guest engagement. Short but sweet, this is one you don’t want to miss.

Say hi to Alan

Travel Trends that Matter with Google, GCommerce, & Flip.to
La Louisiane, 725 Iberville Street, 4–6 PM

If you registered early, you’re one of the lucky attendees! This sought-after event features insightful discussion on hospitality and travel marketing trends as told by Google, GCommerce and Flip.to. It’s not too late to join the waitlist! We’ll keep in touch if any spots open up.

Join the waitlist

Break the Ice with Flip.to, Lanyon, NAVIS and Social Tables
Bourbon Vieux, 503 Bourbon Street, 8–11 PM

Break the ice and snap a photo with a new friend while you mix & mingle with the industry’s best. Be ready to take part in our photo contest after the event—you could end with some sweet prizes. This event is by invitation—get in touch to request yours!

Get on the list

Wednesday, June 22

HSMAI’s ROC Conference

Morial Convention Center—Great Hall, 7 AM–6:30 PM

Our very own Ed St. Onge and Danielle Fierman will be onsite for the 2016 Revenue Optimization Conference. Be sure to stop by our sponsor in the Great Hall. Drop us line if you’d like to set up time to chat, or even just have coffee.

Schedule time

Thursday, June 23

Super Session: M&A in the Hospitality Tech Sector: Who is Next? What Does it Mean?
Morial Convention Center, 9–10:30 AM

Our own Ed St.Onge takes the stage once again as part of Thursday’s Super Session: M&A in the Hospitality Tech Sector: Who is Next? What Does it Mean? Sit in as the industry’s best explore the world of Mergers & Acquisitions in hotel tech.

Ed joins a pane of other well-known names in hospitality: Larry Hall, managing director with Trillium Services Group, Alex Alt, president of Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Chris Hemmeter, managing director with Thayer Ventures, and Bob Post, CEO and president with thing5.

Stop in

HITEC at the Hangar Lounge, and the Icebreaker Photo Contest

We kicked off the first night of HITEC with an amazing event at the Hangar Lounge, co-hosted with our friends at Social Tables and Lanyon. The mid-century modern travel hangout couldn’t have been more perfect, complete with three lounges including the top observation deck overlooking the streets of Austin.

It was a great party, and we’ve got the pictures to prove it (thanks to our guests!)

Flip.to hosted the ‘Icebreaker’ photo competition, encouraging folks to ‘break the ice’ and take a photo with a new friend. For the last month the contestants have been rallying votes. Some sweet prizes were on the line, like an Apple iWatch.

Needless to say, our guests came through. Check out some of our favorite quotes and snaps below:

I know, I know—what you’ve all be waiting for…the winner! I’m happy to be the first to say, congratulations Marcy Albert! She tallied up an astounding 668 points and 112 votes, (in addition to the sweet tattoos.)

Another really great aspect of this event is that each host played a huge part in the technology that made it memorable. While we headed up the photo competition, Lanyon and Social Tables each headed up the event logistics with some really great products:

Event Registration

RegOnline® by Lanyon
RegOnline® by Lanyon is the affordable event management software that lets you plan and manage meetings and events quickly and easily.

Leading up to the event, our guests easily registered themselves and their guests online. Confirmation and reminder emails were sent to all attendees inboxes, making event info handy the night of the event.

Event Check-in

Software by Social Tables, an Event Software Platform
Event check-in software that revolves around people. Organize your attendees with the power of the social graph.

Event check-in was a snap thanks to this amazing platform by Social Tables. Guests were checked in at the touch of a finger, keeping traffic flowing (especially important at a high-volume event!)

We had a fantastic time at HITEC—the biggest show in it’s history. The latest, most innovative technologies were on the floor, with quality attendance of over 6,000 hotel professionals from around the globe. A huge thank you to our friends at HFTP, our co-hosts Social Tables and Lanyon, and all of our fantastic guests!

(Now, who’s ready for New Orleans?!)

#HITECatx is in the books

The books are closed on Flip.to’s third (and my first!) latest HITEC. No one word could describe the entire experience—exciting, fast-paced, entrepreneurial, innovative, and most of all FUN. The mix of age-old exhibitors and new faces, along with the 6000+ attendees made it the biggest HITEC to date. And yet, it remained personal—the face-to-face interactions allowed for immeasurable connections throughout the industry.

For Flip.to, it was a special year for our President, Ed St. Onge. A seasoned HITEC and industry pro, he participated on not one, but two panels over the week.

First up was Entrepreneur 20x—HFTP’s collaboration with Capital Factory that gathered innovative start-ups to pitch transformative hospitality tech to an audience of venture capitalists, super angels, serial entrepreneurs and HITEC attendees. Ed sat on the judge’s panel. Being the industry’s startup expert-at-large, it was of course a perfect fit. Whistle—a startup out of Silicon Beach that connects customers and businesses via SMS and mobile messaging—took off with the prize this year.

Next up was HITEC’s Investing in Technology Super Session, moderated by HFTP’s Lyle Worthington. There Ed, along with the panel of angel investors and thought leaders, got to dive deep on the potential risks and rewards of investing in developing tech and innovations.

As for the rest of the show, big data, mobile demand, and engaging millennials were all hot topics. Our focus was of course advocacy—showing how hotels can reach their guests’ enormous networks of friends and family, and cultivate those brand connections to generate revenue. The idea struck a chord with a lot of folks looking to engage their guests further, as booth traffic was steady. (Our comfy couch helped, too.)

As the exhibit halls closed on a great #HITECatx, our team reflected on an amazing week. The gears are already turning for what’s next for Flip.to.

Oh, and of course there was our event we hosted at the Hangar Lounge with our friends Social Tables and Lanyon. But that’s another post…