— Awards to be presented during HI Connect®, March 25-27, 2015 —

 It’s awards season. So to celebrate the industry’s top talent, Hotel Interactive, Inc.’s HI Connect® event is debuting the HI Connect® Awards and NEWH Sponsorship Gala as part of the fourth annual HI Connect®. The industry altering tradeshow takes place March 25 -27, 2015 at the Gaylord Opryland and the HI Connect® Design Studio in in Nashville. Registration is now open at www.hiconnectevents.com.

HI Connect® is the hospitality tradeshow reimagined, delivering only the highest qualified attendees. HI Connect provides unique opportunity to interact with real environments, or “vignettes,” while connecting with business building contacts.

The HI Connect® Awards and NEWH Sponsorship Gala takes place the evening of March 26 at the Gaylord Opryland and recognizes the industry’s best, brightest and most creative solutions presented during HI Connect. All winners are chosen by event attendees.

Additionally HI Connect® and the NEWH are proud to debut the NEWH Hospitality Management Scholarship sponsored by HI Connect®. A grant of $5,000 will be presented during the black tie optional gala event to a worthy student meeting the following criteria: The student must be pursuing a career objective in Hospitality Management, be currently enrolled and attending an accredited college, have completed at least half the requirements for an undergraduate degree or be enrolled in a graduate program, show financial need and have eligible outstanding debt for tuition, books or supplies at time of award in March 2015, and have a minimum 3.0 GPA.

“We are honored to have the opportunity to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of those creating the spectacular vignettes for HI Connect®, as well as to aide a worthy student in paying for their hospitality education,” said Rich Viola, President and CEO of Hotel Interactive Inc, which produces HI Connect® as well as the highly rated BITAC events and the preeminent industry news resource hotelinteractive.com.

“NEWH is excited about this opportunity with HI Connect®!  This scholarship will surely assist a deserving student complete their Hotel Management education – thanks to the generosity of Hotel Interactive. We look forward to seeing our NEWH Members and supporters at HI Connect® in March,” said Shelia Lohmiller, Executive Director with NEWH.

The People’s Choice Awards have become an annual staple of HI Connect,® awarding participants in such categories as Best Overall Vignette, Best Guestroom, Best Public Space, Best Bathroom and Vignette Most Likely to Make Guests Want to Move In. All winners are selected by attendees at HI Connect® voting in real time through the revolutionary HI Connect® mobile app.

To attend, or for more information relating to this unique and dramatic experience at HI Connect®, March 25-27, 2015 visit our dedicated website to learn more and register for this unique event setting a new standard for hospitality tradeshows.