Technology Breakthroughs and Predictions from HITEC 2025

The dojo.live show / Interviews with Visionaries Shaping Travel Tech

What stood out on the HITEC 2025 show floor? What trends will shape hospitality’s next wave of innovation? And what does it mean for your hotel?

In this episode of dojo.live, we’re joined by Katie Moro, Vice President of Data Partnerships at Amadeus Hospitality, for a post-HITEC 2025 debrief that goes beyond the booth to explore what’s truly shaping the future of hotel tech. From AI-driven commercial alignment to traveler personalization trends, Katie unpacks the technologies and insights that stood out across the show floor and what they actually mean for hotel operators right now.

Joined by Shridhar Padmanabhan, Encora’s VP of Travel and Hospitality, this conversation also dives into how hospitality leaders can move from innovation fatigue to smart, scalable adoption. Whether it’s making sense of rising guest expectations, turning market-level data into action, or filtering the noise around AI, Katie and Shridhar bring a grounded yet forward-looking lens to what hotels should prioritize next.

About Katie Moro

Katie Moro is a veteran of the hospitality industry and a pioneer in hospitality demand data. She joined TravelClick (now an Amadeus company) in 2011 and is responsible for the global expansion of Demand360©, the hospitality industry’s only and most comprehensive forward-looking data tool designed to help hotels maximize their revenue.

Previously, Katie led a major accounts sales team at Rubicon, a provider of competitive market intelligence to the travel and hospitality industry and held sales roles at Morgans Hotel Group and Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

Katie was named by Hotel Management Magazine as one of 2018’s Influential Women in Hospitality. In 2020, Katie joined the board of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI). Katie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of Georgia.

About Shridhar Padmanabhan

Shridhar Padmanabhan is VP of Travel & Hospitality @ Encora Inc. He is known for his empathetic leadership style and ability to build strong, trust-based partnerships with clients and stakeholders. With a deep background in sales and business development across the Travel & Hospitality sector, he brings a strategic mindset to solving complex challenges at scale. His focus on collaboration and innovation helps organizations drive meaningful transformation and measurable results.