Fall 2024 Graduate Blog Competition Winners Selected

Four graduate students have had their research articles selected as winners of the Spring 2024 edition of the HFTP/MS Global Hospitality Business Student Blog Competition. This season's submissions explored a wide variety of hospitality technology subjects, including scent-based marketing, augmented reality (AR) and contactless check-in opportunities.

About the HFTP/MS Global Hospitality Business Student Blog Competition

This project is sponsored each academic semester by the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) Foundation for students participating in the Master of Science in Global Hospitality Business program, a partnership between the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the University of Houston, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the EHL Hospitality Business School. Each semester, participating students are asked to focus on a critical hospitality industry topic and submit their study as a blog article. Upon completion, a group of judges selected by HFTP including industry experts and leaders review and vote for the competition winners.

This semester, four top-scoring articles were selected by the judging panel to be published on the HFTP Connect blog over the next few months:

• First Place – “Smart Check-Ins” by Adam Hamidane
• Second Place (tied) – “Scents of Success: Harnessing the Power of Olfactory Marketing in the Hotel Industry” by Alicia Blomme and “Alibaba's Futuristic Take on Hospitality Technology: Flyzoo as a Gamechanger” by Hadeel Fkeeh
• Third Place – “Embracing Technology: Using AI-Powered Travel Concierges in Hospitality Mobile Apps” by Magdalena Rieder

The students who received top scores on their blog posts will also receive a free one-year HFTP Young Professional Membership (valued at 200 USD) to continue their professional development, education and networking as a part of the association while developing their career in hospitality.