#hftp

Super Junior’s Donghae

INFINITE’s Sungyeol

VIXX’s Leo & N

LABOUM’s Jinyae

ONE OK ROCK’s Taka

Red Velvet’s Seulgi

MAMAMOO’s Moonbyul

Topp Dogg’s Kidoh

 Zayn took his antidepressant pills and put on his coverup to hide the sadness on his face, and paste a smile on his face like everything was alright. He couldn’t look in the mirror without hating what he saw. He couldn’t take being this fat and disgusting anymore. No one understood how much he wanted to die. But yet again, he swallowed his feelings and did this routine. After finishing touching up on his makeup his makeup artist provided him with, he slipped on his shoes. He was wearing his blue skinny jeans, with a plain, tight T-shirt and his black coat. His throat burned from earlier, but he’d get over it. If he wouldn’t of ate that bagel, his throat wouldn’t have to burn. 

Within half an hour, he was finally at the airport, sat on his seat just waiting for it to take off. Hurry, hurry, hurry. He kept thinking to himself, though the heavy feeling on his eyelids began to finally take a toll on him and before he knew it, the lights were back on and everyone was getting up from their seats exiting the airplane. Not carrying anything on him, he didn't have to wait for a suitcase or anything so he immediately made his way out, calling for a Taxi. He was glad it was past midnight, no worries of anybody really truly caring if Zayn Malik was out and about. At least that's what he was praying over and over in his head.

Walking up into the hospital, asking the receptionist for Safaa Malik, he was lead to where she was currently placed in. Knocking on the door gently before he opened up the door, he peeped his head seeing his mum wake up from the nap she was having sat on the seat next to his baby sister. "Zayn." she let out quietly, standing up and going over to him, hugging his one and only boy. He hugged her back, the alcohol no longer in his system after the two hours prior, but that didn't mean he wasn't having some sort of headache. "How's she doing?" He asked with a husky tone to his voice, looking over at Safaa as he let go of his mum. "She's doing alright, but she was calling for you not too long ago."

The world's largest hospitality technology show.

June 25 - 28. 

Baltimore.

It is not often that one is able to corner three hospitality industry leaders and ask them about the challenges facing the industry - specifically how marketing, information technology and distribution can be better aligned to satisfy hotel brand growth objectives.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Industry Expert Panel: Video of HITEC panel discussing the 'Transform Your Growth Strategy Now' RockCheetah/Amadeus white paper"][/caption]

Recently, at the Hospitality Financial & Technology Professionals annual HITEC conference in Austin Texas, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel comprised of Flo Lugli, Executive Vice President Marketing, Wyndham Worldwide, Mike Blake, Chief Information Officer, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, and Caryl Helsel, Director Central Reservations & Revenue Management, ARAMARK Parks & Destinations.

The three panelists were refreshingly forthcoming and candid in their remarks concerning some of the most daunting challenges facing today's hotel industry leadership.

As they recover from a dramatic economic downturn, hoteliers are launching initiatives that rely on information technology to accomplish marketing objectives and profitability goals. However, as staffing and financial resource availability remains highly constrained, executive management must employ strategies that most efficiently utilize technology to help drive business growth.

A key conclusion of the white paper was that over the next three years, organizations within the hotel industry require an IT Pathfinder to help align hotel business and technology priorities. Each of the panelists did an outstanding job of providing examples of how their organizations are managing the challenge of advancing technology initiatives with fewer resources than in years past.

Most enlightening were the panel's comments regarding critical nature of these initiatives and how they would serve as the foundation for brand and operational success over the years to come.

The following is a twenty-seven minute video summarizing the highlights of the white paper and the panel discussion:

A Discussion Between Industry Experts from Amadeus IT Group.

To read the white paper's executive summary, please see my blog post from earlier this year, White Paper: Bridging Hotel Business and Technology Priorities.

The full white paper is available, free of charge, for download here: Transform Your Growth Strategy Now [Registration required]

My sincere thanks go to Flo, Mike and Caryl for doing a terrific job on the panel and validating the conclusions of the white paper, as well as Amadeus for its industry insights and sponsorship of the white paper.

NOTE: Please don't hesitate to watch the video - I am not nearly as stern or grouchy as the placeholder graphic might imply... and, despite the severity of the economic challenges facing the hotel industry, that fire alarm to my immediate right was not a prop... ;)