AUSTIN, Texas — Hospitality professionals travelled from across the globe to Indianapolis, Ind. for the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC), held from June 16 to 19 at the Indiana Convention Center. This year saw nearly 6,000 attendees.
Produced by the international non-profit association, Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), attendees experienced an exhibition showcasing the latest hospitality technology solutions from more than 360 companies.
The opening headliner presentation featured Jeremy Gutsche, founder of TrendHunter.com. The session was immediately followed by a welcome reception at the nearby Lucas Oil Stadium.
The next morning’s headliner session was led by Todd Buchholz, renowned economist, White House advisor and best-selling author. Buchholz connected the dots between Wall Street, Main Street and financial capitals throughout the world. The session also welcomed two new inductees to the 2025 International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame: Bruce Bensetler, founder and CEO of Data Plus, Inc. and Luis Segredo, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Hapi (Data Travel, LLC).
The third day of HITEC celebrated the business concepts of eight hospitality technology start-ups who competed in the ever-popular Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) pitch competition. In honour of its 10th anniversary, Jonathon Rojas, recipient of the first (E20X) Judges’ Choice Award, kicked off the competition with a presentation reflecting on his journey as an entrepreneur and the impact from winning E20X. He is the co-founder of Whistle Messaging, which was acquired by Cloudbeds in 2022 and where he currently serves as the company’s global director of Growth.
Ultimately, Levee won the E20X People’s Choice Award, as well as the Judges’ Choice Award. Levee offers AI agents that automate data capture and task execution, replacing outdated checklists and manual processes.
HITEC 2026 will take place June 15 to 18 in San Antonio, Texas.
