HFTP is a global, nonprofit association with a vibrant, more than 70-year history of serving the hospitality industry and empowering professionals through education, resources, research, networking opportunities, events and initiatives.

Our association manages a diverse portfolio of recognized industry brands including the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®), the Entrepreneur 20X (E20X) hospitality technology startup pitch competition, PineappleSearch®, the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI) publication, Certified Hospitality Technology Professional (CHTP®) designation, and we're also the steward of the International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame. Our association constantly strives for new opportunities to expand our capabilities and strengthen our portfolio of products and events. This has been a major part of our association’s growth and focus this past year, and it will be a driving force for HFTP well into the future.

To that end, we are thrilled to include leading industry news sources Hospitality Upgrade and Hotel-Online in our ever-expanding portfolio – as well as the very popular industry events, the Executive Vendor Summit (EVS) and the CIO Summit – with HFTP’s acquisition of Siegel Communications, Inc. (SCI) which was finalized earlier this year. And we already plan to use HFTP resources to extend these brands internationally with the just-announced CIO Summit EMEA on April 24-25 in Barcelona, Spain.

This acquisition represents a significant milestone for the hospitality industry and underscores our commitment to providing valuable resources and networking opportunities for hospitality professionals around the world. We're excited to welcome the talented team of individuals behind these incredible publications and events to the HFTP Global family –Geneva Rinehart, Kim Delaney, Elizabeth Vogan and Amy Hellen. These new additions to our team, as well as our global board of directors, enhance our reputation as the global spokes group for both hospitality technology and hospitality finance. For more information, I invite you to explore our website at www.hftp.org.

I would also like to take this moment to thank my good friend and colleague, Rich Siegel, who has been at the helm of Hospitality Upgrade as founder and publisher for more than 30 years. He has been a remarkable steward of information for the hospitality technology community since 1991. He has built a legacy that can aptly be described by his name: it is indeed a rich one. We are grateful that he has entrusted HFTP with this legacy, and under our management, the spirit of Hospitality Upgrade will very much remain unchanged. Rich will continue to serve as an advisor to our Media team through April 2025, and we thank him for his support and guidance through this transition period. We also look forward to continuing to provide you with high-quality content and programming under the HFTP umbrella – beginning with this
the Fall 2024 issue, and in the years to come.

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Sincerely,
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Frank Wolfe, CAE
Publisher