HFTP picks Inntelo AI to run agents across HITEC and its media titles
The US-based hospitality association will put Inntelo’s agents in front of members, exhibitors and readers, giving a hotel AI supplier backed by the British Business Bank a public test beyond guest service
- HFTP, set up in 1952, is a not-for-profit body based in Austin, Texas, and also has offices in India and the EU
- HFTP says it has 83 chapters in 46 countries and about 100,000 opt-in media subscribers
- HFTP says its HITEC show in San Antonio in June 2026 had more than 6,100 attendees and upwards of 400 exhibitors
- Inntelo is backed by Antler, Haatch, Look AI Ventures and the British Business Bank
- Neither party disclosed financial terms
Organizations weighing customer-facing agents should watch this deployment before copying it: a busy trade show will expose how well the handover to staff works under load. Before signing with any supplier, ask for the method behind its automation and revenue claims, and test it with your own hardest real queries rather than a scripted demo. Check where conversation data is processed and which UK GDPR terms apply.
“Our members and exhibitors expect HFTP to show what AI can actually do for hospitality, not just talk about it.”Frank Wolfe, CEO, HFTP
Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) named Inntelo AI its AI partner on 30 September, with Inntelo's agents set to answer member, attendee and exhibitor questions in more than 50 languages, according to the association's announcement.
The agents will sit on HFTP's website, on its titles Hospitality Upgrade, Hotel Online, Clubs Online and HFTP News, and at HITEC, its hospitality technology show. Anything the agents cannot resolve goes to HFTP staff. Hotel Online, which carried the announcement, is one of the association's own titles.
Inntelo sells agents that deal with hotel guests through messaging apps including WhatsApp, voice, an app and kiosks. It says it is live in more than 30,000 hotel rooms across the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and North America, and names CIEL Dubai Marina, CityBlue Hotels and The Gate London City as customers. The company puts the share of guest interactions its agents handle automatically at 98%, and says they cut 17 minutes from each inquiry and raise in-stay revenue by an average of 32% at the hotels using them. Those are Inntelo's own figures.
HFTP already runs a Hospitality AI Collective, which it says brings together more than 30 specialists in hospitality AI. Frank Wolfe, the association's chief executive, said HFTP chose Inntelo because its team came from inside the industry and had shown the technology working in hotels. Asif Alidina, Inntelo's co-founder and chief executive, argued that hospitality AI should be built by people who know the trade.
Neither organization said how the agents’ performance at HITEC or on HFTP’s titles will be measured or published.
Sources
- HFTP, “HFTP Names Inntelo AI as AI Partner, Deploying AI Agents for Members, Media and Events”, press release via Hotel Online, 30 September 2026. https://www.hotel-online.com/news/hftp-names-inntelo-ai-as-ai-partner-deploying-ai-agents-for-members-media-and-events
- UKTN, “Inntelo AI signs deal to deploy AI agents across global hospitality association”, 1 October 2026. https://www.uktech.news/ai/inntelo-ai-signs-deal-to-deploy-ai-agents-across-global-hospitality-association-20261001
