In recent years, innovative technologies have changed how we hail a cab, how we shop, and how we communicate with friends and family. With their proud heritage dating back centuries, hotels, motels, and inns have not been immune to this phenomenon. Long gone are the days of telephoning a motel as the only way to reserve a room, using a large metal key to open a hotel room door, and physically getting up to change the channels on a large box TV in the guest room.
At AAHOA, we welcome and embrace new technologies that service our guests. Our members have been at the forefront of adopting new tools to enhance guest experiences, from online apps to streamline booking processes to automated processes that efficiently clean rooms. As an organization, AAHOA has pioneered improvements such as developing our own new association management software, launching a new website, and coming soon, a brand-new AAHOA native app.
Just as COVID-19 changed how people work and meet with one another, it will have an enduring impact on the hospitality industry. While hotel and motel guests continue to appreciate the value of personal service, they are not always looking for hands-on involvement at every stage. Hotel owners are experimenting with creative approaches that automate some processes – like hosted kiosk guest check-ins and room cleaning – while ensuring that friendly and knowledgeable staff are on hand to provide top-notch service. With our industry continuing to build a post-pandemic workforce, new technologies can help fill the gap while allocating resources on the things guests notice most.
In this spirit of future innovation, AAHOA is proud to showcase the best ideas that hospitality-focused tech companies will share on the industry’s biggest stage at the 2023 AAHOA Convention & Trade Show in Los Angeles, April 11-14. The largest AAHOACON in our organization’s history is not only the premier event of the hospitality industry, it is a high-energy trade show for the leading vendors to demonstrate their wares to thousands of hotel owners from around the country who will be making decisions and cultivating deals for the best products and services for their hotels for the upcoming years.
Significantly, AAHOACON is also where AAHOA brings the latest innovations directly to hotel owners and gives tech companies a platform to share how they help hoteliers improve the bottom line. And, for the second time, AAHOA will be hosting our wildly popular “Tech Pitch Competition,” where a panel of esteemed judges with expertise in technology and hospitality will choose the premiere innovative proposal from among several contestants. To date, more than 20 companies have applied for this exciting and cutting-edge competition, and the results are sure to dazzle and amaze attendees. The competition is designed to help identify and elevate companies with ingenious ideas and products that will help the hospitality industry as it adjusts to a post-COVID reality.
Ultimately, it is not about implementing new technologies for their own sake; it is about using technology to help deliver top-notch service to our guests. The future is bright, and AAHOA is again breaking new ground to illuminate inventive ideas for a bold path forward.
