site.btaQuantum Forum to Spotlight Hotel Tech Innovations in Sofia

Sofia will host the inaugural Quantum Hotel Technology Forum on technological innovation in the hotel industry, the organizers said on Saturday. The event on November 11 at Grand Hotel Millennium Sofia aims to bring together hoteliers and technology leaders in artificial intelligence, cloud solutions, and distribution.

The forum is organised by Bulgarian technology company Quendoo, which seeks to digitize the hotel sector. Organizers say the objective is to build a community where tourism and technology professionals jointly shape the future of hospitality.

Organizers emphasized that digitization should be viewed as an opportunity for growth rather than a threat to traditional hotel business models.

Three core themes will frame the discussions: technology in distribution, artificial intelligence in tourism, and opportunities for funding innovation in the hospitality sector.

Speakers include Kristina Kochanova, representing Hotelbeds / HBX Group, a global leader in B2B hotel distribution linking over 300,000 hotels with tour operators and travel agencies worldwide, and Alexander Blunt, co-founder of Heidi, the UK's second-largest ski holiday operator, which uses technology to make winter tourism more personalized and accessible.

Lyubomir Damyanov of the Capital Investments Fund (CIFund), Bulgarian Development Bank, will discuss financial support for innovation in tourism, while Ivan Draganov from the GATE Institute (Big Data for Smart Society), Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, will offer practical examples of applying AI to hotel marketing and operations management.

The programme will feature presentations, business cases, and discussions demonstrating how recent technologies can be integrated into the daily operations of hotels, ranging from managing reservations and dynamic pricing to streamlining guest services and automating routine processes.