Want to grow your network, strike deals and spark new ideas? Here's your first look at who’s showing up at The Hospitality Show, Oct. 26-28 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, and why you need to be there too.
From global hotel brands to innovative suppliers, this is where hospitality decision-makers gather to get business done. Executives from companies like Marriott International, Hilton, Hyatt Hotels Corp., Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, BWH Hotel Group, Red Roof and Cobblestone Hotels are already confirmed. Attendees will also meet leaders from American Express, Cintas, Ecolab, The Coca-Cola Company, Paramount+ and emerging players like Snowflake, Instawork and Guest Supply—each one offering a different piece of the puzzle as hospitality businesses look to scale smarter.
We asked a variety of The Hospitality Show attendees their biggest challenges right now, what technology they are developing further and why they are attending this year’s The Hospitality Show.
Peter Chambers, executive vice president and CIO, Montage International
Q. Why are you attending the Hospitality Show and what do you hope to gain by being there?
A. Attending the Hospitality Show is a fantastic opportunity to stay at the forefront of innovation as our world rapidly evolves through digital transformation, AI-driven guest personalization and fresh solutions that focus on the impact to operations, business performance and the customer experience. I’m looking forward to connecting with thought leaders, existing providers and my peers to develop and strengthen those critical partnerships.
Q. What are you most looking forward to at The Hospitality Show?
A. The high quality of the sessions and speakers at the show is something I believe everyone should take advantage of. As a previous entrepreneur, I'm looking forward to discovering new innovations and meeting with the latest creators in our industry.
Q. What is the biggest challenge you have overcome over the past year? How did you overcome it?
A. A significant part of our digital transformation journey has always been to deliver a scalable, integrated and consolidated guest data platform that drives intelligent marketing, guest recognition and personalization. The first part of the equation was moving our entire portfolio to a consistent, cloud-based PMS platform before we introduced a new AI driven CDP/CRM that ensures data integrity and synchronization across multiple systems, provides automated segmentation and critical guest information at all points of interaction.
Q. What are some trends you think will have staying power beyond 2025?
A. As we see agentic AI mature and produce more refined capabilities for the hospitality industry, it will become increasingly important for operators to balance the benefits that autonomous service offers against the value of human interaction and guest care. This is a space to watch carefully and adopt with a clear vision of the impact to the guest experience and to our associates.
Q. How are you incorporating new technology or new innovations into your business?
A. In general, we have a "measure twice, cut once" attitude to the introduction of new technologies, however, we continue to make incremental improvements across the board. One initiative of note is the introduction of AI into our CCTV and surveillance systems to improve safety and security scenarios for our guests and associates, deliver previously unavailable operational insights and for the greater good, leverage this technology to help combat human trafficking in our industry.
Tom Luersen, president of CoralTree Hospitality
Q. Why are you attending The Hospitality Show and what do you hope to gain by being there?
A. I’m attending The Hospitality Show to connect with peers, deepen industry relationships and exchange ideas that help us all grow. While the sessions offer valuable insights, it’s often the informal conversations that lead to the most meaningful takeaways. It’s also a great opportunity to stay close to the pulse of the industry, explore creative solutions and bring back ideas that can enhance how we serve our guests and support our teams.
Q. What are you most looking forward to at The Hospitality Show?
A. As a company proudly headquartered in Denver, we see The Hospitality Show as an opportunity to showcase why Colorado is not just where we work—it’s where we live, play and lead. The energy of the hospitality industry here is vibrant and growing, and we’re excited to help shine a light on the region’s potential as a hub for innovation, wellness and experiential travel.
Ultimately, The Hospitality Show is about building relationships, staying ahead of trends, and reinforcing the values that make our industry so dynamic. We’re proud to be part of that conversation and proud to represent Colorado as a place where hospitality thrives.
Q. What is the biggest challenge you have overcome over the past year? How did you overcome it?
A. Over the past year, our biggest challenge has been managing the pace of rapid growth while maintaining the high standards and personalized service that define our company. We opened three new hotels, launched the CoralTree Residence Collection, expanded our partnership with Outbound Hotels and welcomed iconic properties like Black Desert Resort in Utah and Seaport Hotel in Boston into our portfolio. Each of these milestones brought incredible opportunity, but also the complexity of scaling our operations without compromising our core values.
We overcame this challenge by staying deeply committed to clear and consistent communication across all levels of our organization and with our ownership groups. We focused on building scalable systems that support growth while preserving the unique character of each property. Our team leaned into collaboration, innovation and a shared vision for what CoralTree represents. By aligning our expansion with thoughtful strategy and a people-first approach, we’ve not only grown—we’ve grown stronger.
Q. What are some trends you think will have staying power beyond 2025?
A. Several key trends are shaping the future of hospitality, and we believe they will continue to have lasting impact well beyond 2025:
- Personalization at scale: Guests are seeking experiences that feel uniquely tailored to them. By leveraging AI, data insights and personal connections with our guests, we’re able to anticipate preferences, personalize service touchpoints and create moments that resonate on an individual level. It’s about deepening our understanding of what guests truly value and delivering it with authenticity.
- Wellness integration: Wellness is evolving from a niche offering to a foundational element of the guest journey. Whether it’s through architecture that promotes serenity, programming that supports mental and physical well-being or culinary experiences that nourish, we’re designing hospitality that enhances the whole person.
Ultimately, these trends converge around a central theme: elevating the guest experience. At CoralTree, we’re focused on creating meaningful, memorable stays that reflect the individuality of our guests and the distinctiveness of each property. It’s this commitment to thoughtful, guest-centric innovation that will continue to set us apart.
Q. How are you incorporating new technology or new innovations into your business?
A. We’re embracing technology that enhances both the guest experience and operational efficiency with the goal of supporting, not replacing, the human touch that defines great hospitality.
One of our most impactful innovations is our proprietary trē technology—a real-time business intelligence and analytics platform that empowers our teams to make data-driven decisions on the fly. trē allows us to dynamically manage pricing, inventory and distribution strategies, ensuring we’re maximizing revenue potential while delivering strong returns to our ownership groups. It’s a powerful example of how smart technology can align business performance with guest demand in real time.
On the guest-facing side, we’re integrating AI-powered communication tools, where appropriate. Whether it’s anticipating a guest’s preferences before arrival or enabling our teams to respond more quickly and thoughtfully during a stay, technology coupled with human interaction is helping us elevate every step of the guest journey.
By combining cutting-edge tools like trē with our commitment to personalized service, we’re creating hospitality experiences that are not only efficient and profitable, but also deeply memorable.
Anita Paas, general manager, Home2 Suites by Hilton Flower Mound Dallas
Q. Why are you attending The Hospitality Show and what do you hope to gain by being there?
A. This is my first time attending The Hospitality Show, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m really looking forward to getting inspired—learning from industry leaders, discovering new ideas and seeing what’s next in hospitality. I want to explore innovations that can improve both the guest experience and our day-to-day operations.
I’m especially interested in the peer-led education sessions—there’s something so powerful about learning directly from people who’ve faced the same challenges. I also see this as a great opportunity to connect with other hospitality professionals, exchange ideas and come back with fresh, practical strategies I can put to use right away.
Q. What are you most looking forward to at The Hospitality Show?
A. I’m definitely looking forward to the interactive zones and the energy of being in a room full of people who live and breathe hospitality. I think the peer-led education sessions are going to be incredibly valuable—I love hearing how others have solved challenges or approached things differently. It’s those real-world insights that often stick with you the most.
Q. What is the biggest challenge you’ve overcome in the past year? How did you overcome it?
A. Staffing and rising operational costs have been our biggest challenges this past year, especially with the labor shortages affecting the entire industry. It was tough trying to maintain service standards while struggling to fill key roles in housekeeping, maintenance and at the front desk. We tackled it head-on by launching an internal promotion program. We asked our team who was interested in growing their careers and then trained them in the department they wanted to move into. As a result, three incredible team members were promoted into management roles—our new sales manager, chief engineer and executive housekeeper all came from within.
That kind of visible growth has made a big impact on morale and retention. We’ve also improved training, added flexible scheduling and introduced recognition programs like “Employee of the Month.” Supporting the team this way has created a stronger, more stable environment where people want to stay and grow.
Q. What are some trends you think will have staying power beyond 2025?
A. A few trends really stand out to me as more than just passing phases. AI-powered personalization is one of them. Guests now expect service that’s tailored and intuitive—and AI helps us meet that expectation. According to AHLA’s 2025 report, nearly 90 percent of travelers want 24/7 AI support or recommendations, and that demand is only going to grow.
Another one is the rise of “bleisure” travel—where business and leisure blend together. More people are extending their work trips or working remotely while traveling, and that’s changing how we think about amenities and space. With the bleisure market projected to hit $731 billion by 2032, it’s clearly here to stay.
Q. How are you incorporating new technology or innovations into your business?
A. We’ve made it a priority to adopt smart tools that make life easier—for both guests and our team.
We offer mobile check-in/check-out and digital keys, which guests really appreciate. We also use Kipsu messaging to stay in touch with guests—it allows us to respond quickly and build that personal connection in real time.
Internally, we rely on Quore to keep everyone on the same page. If a maintenance issue comes up, anyone on the team can report it instantly and it gets addressed faster. We also use features like “Room Notices” to communicate late check-outs or room moves directly with housekeeping. It saves time and improves communication across the board.
Vinay Patel, CEO of Fairbrook Hotels
Q. Why are you attending the Hospitality Show and what do you hope to gain by being there?
A. I am at the Hospitality show to learn and I personally learn by meeting and engaging with others. I am looking forward to meeting many of the vendors and learning about the latest products for the hospitality industry. I am also looking forward to learning about the latest in the industry with world-class educational sessions.
Q. What are you most looking forward to at The Hospitality Show?
A. I am most looking forward to meeting everyone from the hospitality industry and all the opportunities to engage with industry leaders.
Q. What is the biggest challenge you have overcome over the past year? How did you overcome it?
A. The biggest challenge is managing change and labor. As the labor market evolves, we need to understand the needs of our employees and what are they really looking for in their jobs and careers. I hope that many of the new employees we have coming in the industry stay in the industry because it’s simply a fun business to be in.
Q. What are some trends you think will have staying power beyond 2025?
A. Some of the new trends I see with staying power is to be unique and distinctive and creating an experience more than simply having a nice product. In today’s market vanilla is not cool.
Q. How are you incorporating new technology or new innovations into your business?
A. Today technology is the data. The amount of data we have about our customers, information on hotel operations or even [on] sales, marketing and revenue management is amazing. The best part of technology today is that many companies are able to aggregate this data and able to deliver to management very fast. As owners, we are able to make decisions on current and fresh information. We can be more agile and make the best decisions.
For more information about The Hospitality Show and to register, visit www.thehospitalityshow.com.
This article was originally published in the July/August edition of Hotel Management magazine. Subscribe here.