AUSTIN, TEXAS USA (May 15, 2015) – Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), in advance of the latest installment of its 20X series: Entrepreneur 20X (E20X), will offer the first hospitality industry hackathon, the HITEC Hackathon, June 12–14. The event will gather technology developers for a 48-hour competition tasked to solve a specific hospitality industry technology problem. Both events will be part of the 2015 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC), June 15–18 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas USA. The HITEC Hackathon’s initial sponsor is hotelRSV, which will assist with the expertise and management of the hackers.
“The HITEC Hackathon is a good example of how HFTP works with the industry to support the exploration of new solutions,” said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe, CAE. “The idea for the event was pitched by hotelRSV, a HITEC supporter and recent start-up that organizes hackathons. When we heard the proposal, it just clicked that this event would fit right in with our goals and what we look to provide for the hospitality industry.”
The HITEC Hackathon will invite up to 100 hackers, computer programmers and software/hardware developers, to compete in a competition to develop a technology solution that is disruptive, innovative, optimizes hospitality processes and improves a guest’s experience. The participants will collaborate intensively, working 48 hours, on a project, interface problem or business solution specific to hospitality, details of which will be presented when the hackathon commences. Possible problems to solve will be determined by an advisory council, but HFTP is soliciting suggestions for consideration from the industry at large. Volunteer mentors, speakers, judges and sponsors with hotels in the Austin area are also being solicited to participate.
The hackers will compete for several thousand dollars in prize money and will consist of teams of up to five. The winners will have to provide a working demo that offers a potential solution to the stated problem. They will build on any API, framework, coding language, platform or server. All tools used will be either open source, public or provided by HITEC stakeholders. The teams will be judged on completion, UI/UX innovation, technology innovation, business disruption, process and execution, and “wow” factor.
“It’s impressive how many issues can be tackled with technology in a disruptive way in just 48 hours. It’s all about innovation and HFTP is providing the best platform to make it happen,” said David Bertolini, COO of Novohit and co-founder of hotelRSV.
Suggestions for problems and inquiries to participate (speakers/judges/mentors) can be directed to [email protected].
