Awardees honored during ceremonies at The Hospitality Show
LAS VEGAS (June 28, 2023) – The American Hotel & Lodging Association today announced its 2023 General Managers of the Year, TechOvation, and Technology Acceleration Award winners during presentations at The Hospitality Show at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.
AHLA’s 2023 General Managers of the Year are:
- Travelodge by Wyndham Memphis General Manager Harold Daniels, AHLA General Manager of the Year – Select-Service Property
- Embassy Suites by Hilton Minneapolis Airport General Manager Katie Ward, AHLA General Manager of the Year – Full-Service Property
- Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa General Manager Brian Kramer, AHLA General Manager of the Year – Resort Property
- Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa Managing Director Chris Sommers, AHLA General Manager of the Year – Independent Property
- SpringHill Suites by Marriott Orange Beach General Manager Michelle Davis, AHLA General Manager of the Year – Extended Stay Property
- Hyatt Regency New Orleans General Manager Michael O’Keith Smith, AHLA General Manager Lifetime Achievement Award
General managers received their awards during the inaugural General Managers Summit at The Hospitality Show. The first-of-its kind event will be held annually and bring together hotel GMs from across the country to hear from expert speakers, share best practices, network, and celebrate the industry’s best GMs via an awards ceremony.
AHLA and its technology committee, HTNG, announced that PolyAI is the winner of the annual TechOvation Award for its guest-led voice assistants, which use advanced conversational AI to understand and respond to common guest requests. The TechOvation award recognizes the most significant recent innovation in hospitality technology. Judges and members of The Hospitality Show audience picked this year’s winner from ten semifinalists who presented their innovative products to The Hospitality Show attendees.
AHLA and HTNG also named the following winners of the inaugural Technology Acceleration Award:
- Actabl
- Agilysys
- Belmond
- BOUNTE, INC.
- BluIP
- Clairvoyix
- Directful
- Hapi
- Instio Experiences, Pvt Ltd
- iOpen Innovations
- Logistics
- Phonesuite
- TigerTMS
- TipQwik
- Visual Matrix
Each year, the AHLA Technology Acceleration Award will recognize companies that have taken specific steps to advance innovation in hospitality. This year, the award showcased companies that have adopted HTNG Express, a new solution that shortens the process for post-booking hotel property management system integrations from months to just days.
“These esteemed winners represent some of hospitality’s brightest stars and most innovative companies,” said AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers. “The Hospitality Show provides an ideal forum in which to recognize the individuals and organizations who embody excellence in hospitality service and ingenuity. We look forward to recognizing America’s top hotel GMs and technology innovators again next year at The Hospitality Show 2024 in San Antonio.”
Next year, AHLA’s General Manager of the Year, TechOvation, and Technology Acceleration Award winners will be announced at The Hospitality Show 2024, which will be held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, through Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. Those interested in next year’s event can complete this form for more information.
About The Hospitality Show
The Hospitality Show is a new event for the entire hospitality ecosystem with one shared goal: operating hotels efficiently and profitably. Produced by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and Questex, the event brings together top industry leaders, senior executives of hotel brands, owners, operators, management companies, procurement specialists and their teams. The Hospitality Show 2023 is taking place June 27-29 at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas. Learn more at thehospitalityshow.com.