| New York, NY – February 15, 2006 – Hospitality eBusiness
Strategies
(HeBS), a leading Internet, eMarketing and eDistribution consulting
firm
for the travel and hospitality industry, announced today the firm has
been
appointed a leadership role on the steering committee of the
Hospitality
Technology Buyers Conference (BITAC). The conference, scheduled
at
the Marriott Marquis in New York City on May 8-10, brings together
technology
buyers from top hotel chains and hospitality management companies with
national and international technology providers for a series of
scheduled
one-on-one meetings.
BITAC is a highly structured event where hospitality buyers and technology sellers conduct business through organized, prescheduled, face-to-face meetings. Sellers pitch to pre-qualified, interested buyers in a private setting. Based on the results of hotel buyers’ needs assessments, technology firms whose products and services match hotel requirements are invited for a series of scheduled meetings with up to 80 purchasing decision makers. Meetings are arranged when both buyer and seller select each other. BITAC staff then matches hotel and management company responses with the specific technology suppliers and schedules the meetings. Produced by Hotel Interactive of Smithtown, New York, this event follows the highly successful BITAC conference held in Las Vegas in November, 2005. The November event guaranteed five or more pre-scheduled face-to-face meetings for each vendor. BITAC suppliers said they appreciated the event format and the ability to speak openly about their products and services. Here is what some of the participating hotel buyers like Starwood, Hilton and Fairmont Hotels had to say: “Hotel Interactive has changed the entire meetings industry in just one conference… The BITAC forum is fantastic! It’s matchmaking at its best…and it works…At BITAC you are not rushed. Rather you are paired with suppliers that match your hotels’ needs…” Max Starkov, HeBS president and CEO and Jason Price, executive vice president, will join a group of industry and technology experts in supporting production of the event. This creative opportunity serves the needs of the hospitality industry with an effective and efficient approach for both parties because pre-planned meetings brings hospitality firms and technology suppliers together in a highly productive and relaxed atmosphere. According to Starkov, "Emerging technologies, including those that expand the power of the Internet are critical in enhancing a more effective direct-to-consumer online distribution strategy for hotels, enabling them to reach wider audiences, build competitive advantages, lessen dependence on online discounters to minimize price and brand erosion, and generate significant operational efficiencies that drop to the bottom line. We believe BITAC is an important facilitator as a venue for bringing these technologies before the people whose marketing and technical sophistication will enable them to take maximum advantage for their respective hotels.” Noted Rich Viola, CEO of Hotel Interactive, “We have long recognized the need for a better way to bring specific hospitality member technology requirements together with suppliers that can deliver genuine cost-effective solutions for those requirements. Clearly, the standard trade show often matched customer and supplier inappropriately, with unhappiness on both sides. The BITAC model that pre-matches customer needs and vendor solutions, addresses these concerns and the overwhelming success of our November, 2005 event has validated this approach.” For more information about BITAC and registration see the conference brochure http://www.hospitalityebusiness.com/downloads/BITAC.pdf and contact Rich Viola, CEO of Hotel Interactive at [email protected] or phone line (631) 424-7755 x102.
About Hotel Interactive
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