Finance, Op Planning & Forecasting

The tech industry is experiencing rapid change due to technological advancements, changes in consumer behavior, and the impact of the pandemic. This creates challenges and opportunities for how the industry adapts to the changing landscape.

In 2011, Marc Andreesen wrote that “software is eating the world.”1 That same year, Gartner estimated global enterprise software spending was $269 billion.2 For 2023, Gartner estimates global enterprise spending will be $790 billion.3 The 3x growth since then and the accompanying rise of unicorns4 have confirmed that software has indeed eaten the world. However, the hospitality industry, the lodging sector particularly, has been slow to adapt, with some of the most well-known and valuable hotel brands still relying on legacy tech developed in the 1990s. With hotel industry revenue projected to reach over $408 billion in 2023,5 this represents a multi-billion-dollar opportunity for the next generation of SaaS6 builders.

With more than 50 years under its belt, HITEC is something of a household name in the hospitality industry. Produced by HFTP, HITEC reigns supreme as the world’s largest hospitality technology conference, attracting thousands of industry leaders and technology innovators to its stage each year. This year, the highly anticipated showcase and networking event will be taking place in Toronto, from June 26th to 29th and will, as always, give exhibitors a coveted opportunity to showcase their products, services, and knowledge to key decision-makers in the industry while also making meaningful industry connections. To check out the conference floor plan with all participating vendors and their booth information, click here.

In 2023 it was expected that Spain would see a 30% increase year-on-year in investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI), but as we approach the end of Q1 this forecast has already been exceeded and could even be doubled by year-end. The reason? Open AI’s ChatGPT. Conversational artificial intelligence employed by ChatGPT has reached 100 million users in just the first two months of 2023, and it’s already the fastest growing app in history.

In the UK, the hotel industry revenues have plummeted by 73% and the businesses are still trying to recover from the pandemic.

Despite the many challenges thrown in the face of the hospitality industry, dozens of growth statistics indicate that the industry is projected to become stronger than ever. According to Hospitality Net, the annual growth rate of the global hotel and resort industry is estimated to grow by 8.1%—reaching $1.27 trillion by 2031.

With a view to developing custom executive education, IMD and EHL Graduate School have joined forces, tapping into the power of a local ecosystem to deliver sensory and intellectual learning experiences for real-world impact. In a landscape where disruption and change have become commonplace, executives must understand how to change the wheel of a car while it’s still moving - this requires a particular tool kit. Welcome to the premise of the “Innovation in Action” program, aimed at flexing business entrepreneurs’ innovation muscle.

Suppose I asked you to conjure up an image of a ‘tech hub.’ In that case, I imagine your mind might place you in the streets of Silicon Valley, rife with sprawling university-like tech campuses and unicorn start-ups causing a stir amongst technologists, investors, and consumers. Perhaps, your mind may jump to other global leaders in tech, such as London, UK, Beijing, New York City, or even Tel Aviv – but would Canada make that list? It certainly should.

E-procurement is more than just a fancy word for digital purchasing. Though the process involves ordering and purchasing goods and services, the solution for eProcurement takes the entire paper-based process of supplier exchange and transforms it into an innovative online service.

If you look at the boom in new hotels in Central Asia and the South Caucasus that has taken place in the past twelve months, 2022 begins to look auspicious. Take the Accor group as an example which, following a series of strategic signings, has grown its regional presence by more than 60%, if you don’t mind. The Group signed fifteen new projects under six hotel brands, adding more than 2100 rooms to its existing portfolio of 24 hotels in these regions.