HT Magazine & HTNG Announce Plans to Merge North American Conferences

4/21/2016
Hospitality Technology magazine (HT), a multi-media B2B brand serving the hotel and restaurant technology industries, and Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG), a global not-for-profit trade association run by and for the benefit of hotel IT executives, have announced plans to merge their North American hotel technology conferences.

HT’s existing Hotel Technology Forum (HTF) and HTNG’s North American Conference provide education and networking for the hotel technology industry. The combined event will leverage the strengths of the two organizations to create a single conference produced by HT magazine — Hotel Technology Forum: the official HTNG North American Conference.

The new conference will be produced annually each spring, beginning in 2017, and will feature an expanded program for education and networking. It will leverage the best elements of both entities, including HTNG’s strong relationship with technology suppliers and hoteliers, and HT’s engaged community of senior-level hotel technology executives.

“Collaboration is central to everything we do as an association,” says HTNG CEO Mike Blake. HTNG’s flagship North American Conference is one of four global membership conferences the association produces each year. “Partnering on the production of our North American event will allow HTNG to focus on what it does best – provide educational opportunities and develop standards for its members and the industry at large. We’re particularly excited to align with HT, given its respected position as an objective media brand and long-established success in producing events for the hospitality technology industry.”

HT magazine, which celebrates 20 years in publication in 2016, produces three events annually for the hospitality industry, including HTF since 2004, and MURTEC® (Multi-Unit Restaurant Technology Conference), which in March celebrated 21 years as the “gold standard” restaurant IT event.

The announcement, made at HT’s 2016 HTF (April 20-22, 2016; Ritz Carlton Laguna Beach), is part of a larger strategic alliance that positions HT as the official industry publication for HTNG. Through the relationship, HT will feature exclusive HTNG news in its print magazine and website, and will partner with HTNG on research and education for the hotel industry.

HTNG’s workgroup meetings will be a staple of the new HTF, along with dynamic keynote speakers, targeted educational sessions, and HT’s exclusive research, the annual Lodging Technology Study. “Hotel technology executives rely on HT to provide them with the objective guidance they need to make smart choices, and access to the providers of those solutions,” says HT editor-in-chief Abigail Lorden. “Aligning with HTNG enables HT to get closer to the industry it serves, so that we can produce even better education and networking opportunities than we can today.”

This announcement comes on the heels of merger of HT’s parent company Edgell Communications with Stagnito Business Information in February 2016. Its combined assets and brands makes Stagnito Business Information + Edgell Communications the most comprehensive b-to-b information, media, and marketing resource serving retailers and their supplier/distributor partners in the North American grocery, convenience, big-box retail, specialty/apparel, hospitality, and pharmacy markets.

The location, agenda, and sponsorship opportunities for the 2017 Hotel Technology Forum: the official HTNG North American Conference will be announced later this year on HT’s website, www.htmagazine.com and on HTNG’s website, www.htng.org.

About Hospitality Technology
Hospitality Technology (HT) is the only publication dedicated to covering the role of information technology in improving business performance for hotel and restaurant operators. The Hospitality Technology editorial portfolio includes: a print publication that publishes nine times annually and reaches more than 16,000 hospitality industry executives, three networking and educational events (MURTEC®, Hotel Technology Forum and Restaurant Executive Summit), a comprehensive website, e-newsletters, web seminars, and several exclusive annual reports and studies. Visit Hospitality Technology online at www.htmagazine.com. Hospitality Technology is published by Stagnito Business Information + Edgell Communications, headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.

About Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG)
The premier technology solutions association in the hospitality industry, HTNG (www.htng.org) headquartered in Schaumberg, Illinois, is a self-funded, nonprofit organization with members from hotel and hospitality companies, hospitality technology vendors, consultants, media and academic experts. HTNG's members participate in focused workgroups to bring to market open solution sets addressing specific business problems. HTNG fosters the selection and adoption of existing open standards and also develops new open standards to meet the needs of the global hospitality industry. Currently more than 400 corporate and individual members from across this spectrum, including most of the world's leading hotel companies and technology vendors, are active HTNG participants.

CONTACTS:
FOR HTNG:
Hanna Schiller, Senior Marketing Manager | [email protected] | 847.303.5560 x215

FOR HT MAGAZINE:
Abigail A. Lorden, editor-in-chief, HT | [email protected] | 973.607.1358
 
X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds