By Pablo Revale
How to Win HITEC 2026
Vol. XII. There are three kinds of people at every hospitality conference. The third group is winning twice.
June 4, 2026 · 4 Minutes
Adapted from Originally published in Unstoppable Hospitality on LinkedIn.
01
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE
The first time I attended a hospitality event, I was terrified. I didn’t know a single person in it. My clients weren’t there. So I flew in alone, walked into a room full of strangers, and carried the expectations of everyone back home who needed me to return with deals. So I built a strategy. A good one. Targets, talking points, a pitch I could run in ninety seconds or nine minutes depending on who I caught. I worked the room like my company depended on it, because it did. It took me until the last day to realize I had read the room completely wrong.
02
THREE KINDS OF PEOPLE
There are three kinds of people at every hospitality conference. The first group is on vacation. Paid time off with a lanyard. They catch a session or two, then save their energy for the parties after. I’m not here to judge anyone’s good time. I’ll only say that when it costs me sixteen hours of travel to get into the room, I’d rather have those drinks closer to home.
03
THE LIONS
The second group is hunting. Lions, every one of them. They move fast, talk faster, collect cards like trophies, and ask for the LOI before the coffee goes cold. Every conversation is a pitch. Every handshake is a step in a funnel. They came to leave an impression, and they usually do. I know this group well. My first year, I was in it.
04
THE THIRD GROUP
Then there’s the third group. I almost missed them, because they’re not performing. They listen more than they talk. When they do talk, it’s a question, not a pitch. They’re in no rush to sell you anything, and at first that confused me. These were some of the most successful people in the room, and they weren’t working it like the rest of us were. Why? Two reasons. They’re playing the long game. They already learned what took me years to understand. This industry runs on trust, not promises. Nobody signs because you cornered them at a booth. They sign because they trust you and because you helped them or someone close to them. The second reason is simpler. They enjoy it. The long dinners, the conversations that wander, the colleagues who turned into friends somewhere along the way. That third group is winning twice. Better relationships and better numbers. More fun and more business. It was never a tradeoff. It’s the same thing.
05
WHY WE STILL SHOW UP
HITEC. HSMAI. Pick your acronym. None of us cross the country for the floor plan. We come because it’s the one roof big enough to hold all of us at once. Close to 6,000 people will be in San Antonio this month, walking past more than 370 companies on the show floor, and only a small portion of the value will happen on that floor. The rest happens at a table, after hours, between people who have watched each other’s companies survive good years and bad ones and kept showing up anyway. That’s the part no spreadsheet captures. We don’t come back because last year closed well. We come back to reconnect. To help each other. To build something better than any of us could build alone. This year my list isn’t targets. It’s the 40 friends I haven’t seen since the last one. I’ll do business. I always do. But I’m spending this one in the third group. Listening more. Selling less. Choosing the long dinner over the short line. Nobody remembers the pitch. They remember who showed up.
