HITEC Tokyo, 2-4 Dec: 5 reasons hotel tech leaders should go

RX Japan’s Hospitality Tech EXPO has formed a strategic partnership with HITEC, and the first-ever HITEC Tokyo will run as a special conference inside the EXPO from 2 to 4 December at Ariake GYM-EX. The organisers plan to keep holding it with Tokyo as its base. The main audience is hotel management and decision-makers.

The Hospitality Tech EXPO Tokyo bills itself as Japan’s only B2B hospitality-tech exhibition. It is organised by RX Japan GK and opens daily at 10:00, closing at 17:30 (17:00 on the last day). Visitor registration is required. HFTP, the body behind HITEC, and APacCHRIE are the conference partners.

HITEC calls itself the world’s largest and longest-running hospitality technology conference. Its 2026 edition in San Antonio drew more than 6,100 professionals to a sold-out floor of 85,000 net square feet and over 400 exhibitors. Here is why hotel technology leaders should not miss the Tokyo edition.

1. HITEC Tokyo brings a 50-year-old conference to Asia

The stated aims are to expand hospitality tech into Japan and Asia, build a network with Asian hotel management and develop Tokyo into a hub for Asian hospitality tech. Bryan Wood, HFTP Chief Meetings and Events Officer, said: “With a history of over 50 years, HITEC has established itself as an event that symbolizes expertise in the hospitality technology sector… With HITEC TOKYO, this essential source of knowledge will be extended to the Asian hospitality market.”

2. Speakers who have run hotel technology at scale

Named speakers include Monika Nerger, former CIO of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and technology adviser to global luxury hotel brands, and Martin Bookallil, formerly Marriott’s VP Technology for Asia Pacific. Jody Jacobson, founder and president of Integrated Hospitality Consulting, Megumi Tanaka, director at Tokyo Century Corp., and Justin Michael Taillon complete the list published by RX Japan.

3. More than 40 sessions, all free

The conference runs over three days with more than 40 sessions, and every session is free. Entry to the expo hall needs a separate advance registration, paid or free with an invitation code. Seats are first come, first served, and room details are due in late November.

4. A vendor floor built around the hotel stack

About 100 companies from Japan and overseas will exhibit, with seminars running alongside. The Accommodation Tech Area lists property management systems, smart check-in, smart locks and facial recognition, cleaning robots and review management. The Hospitality Management Area covers reservations integration, inventory control, multilingual support and multi-currency handling. For an OTA or airline distribution team, the last group is the closest match to cross-border booking work.

5. Japan’s own hotel operators are on the programme

The conference board includes Hiroo Ichii of JHTA, Gosuke Okuma of Nippon Hotel Co. and Jun Takahashi, Director of IT at Hotel Okura Tokyo, alongside Ted Horner, Neil Foster and Taillon, both Foster and Taillon past HFTP Global Presidents. A JHTA Hospitality DX Conference sits at the same venue, with Yohei Hara of Hotel Okada and Kohei Miura of Poseidon, chair of JHTA’s AI committee. An APacCHRIE hospitality education course features Kaye Chon of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Peter Kim of Auckland University of Technology and Keiko Nishimoto of Ritsumeikan University Business School. Special lectures come from Shuhei Yabuki of the Japan Tourism Agency’s tourism resources division and Koji Tsurumoto, CEO of Travel Voice.

For organisers and speakers

HITEC’s calendar lists HITEC Tokyo 2026 ahead of HITEC 2027 in Orlando on 28 June to 1 July 2027, and invites industry experts to submit presentation proposals. The conference board, with Frank I. Wolfe (CEO), Bryan Wood and Eliza Selig (CMO) of HFTP, Bookallil and Ichii, is the group that shapes the programme. Worth watching on stage: Nerger, Jacobson and Takahashi of Hotel Okura Tokyo.

Key takeaway

Hotel CIOs and revenue and distribution heads in Japan, East Asia and ASEAN should plan for the conference sessions, which cost nothing, and register early for the expo hall. We would block the full three days if vendor shortlisting is on the 2027 agenda, since the exhibitor floor and the speaker bench sit in the same hall. With Tokyo set to host HITEC every year, this first edition is the one to attend to judge the format.

Sesh Seshadri

Editor and Head of Partnerships

Subrahmanian Seshadri (Sesh) is a publishing and travel-content veteran with five decades of experience. As the former Director and General Manager of Lonely Planet India, he played a pivotal role in its entry starting in 2012. His career spans Oxford University Press, Dorling Kindersley and digital content, bringing expertise across travel, publishing, and technology.

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