After more than a year of reacting to COVID-required changes, tribal leaders must design their own path for the future, Mike Day says.
“Everyone had to be reactive, because the rules changed every month” as the pandemic progressed, said the founder of TribalHub, a resource network for tribal governments and enterprises, including casinos. “This is the time to be strategic.”
TribalHub’s 22nd annual TribalNet Conference and Tradeshow, scheduled for Nov. 8-11 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center near Dallas, aims to help tribal officials evaluate new technology for use in gaming, governing, and health care.
TribalNet’s focus on technology sets it apart from events such as the Global Gaming Expo and the Indian Gaming Trade Show and Convention, Day said.
Because technology is at the heart of tribes’ online offerings, casino games, information gathering, customer tracking, and marketing, “This is an event that focuses on how you best place your organization for the greatest success in the future,” he said.
The event recognizes that technology is both a major expense and an important part of strategic planning, he added. Education sessions will be offered in six tracks:
- Tribal gaming and hospitality technology
- Tribal government technology
- Tribal health information management
- Information security
- Workforce strategy
- Executive leadership and management
In the gaming track, Day said he expects intense interest in tribal preparations for sports betting, the potential expansion of online gaming, and the addition of cashless gaming options. Other topics at the conference will include contactless hotel operations, electronic health records, and how to make the best use of federal recovery grants.
Day estimated the conference will attract about 1,000 attendees and exhibitors, even with COVID-related travel hesitancy.
The pandemic forced the 2020 TribalNet conference to be conducted virtually and Day welcomes the return to an in-person event.
“There’s a big difference between virtual events and an on-site, in-person event,” he said. “There’s just a different type of energy, a different type of relationship building, that you can do in person.”
However, a summer surge in COVID cases is straining the Texas health system. The National Rifle Association announced Aug. 25 that it was canceling its annual meeting and show, which had been scheduled to start Sept. 3 in Houston. That event typically attracts tens of thousands of people. Meanwhile, the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC), which drew 6,000 people in 2019, will be conducted in person from Sept. 27 to 30 in Dallas.
Day noted that since the pandemic began, tribal communities have been leaders in adopting health-protection measures and getting vaccinations. He said TribalNet organizers will follow best practices and recommendations for the conference.
“We can’t predict the future today any better than we could any of the last 21 years we have hosted this event,” he said. “We are fully committed to communicating any and all information we can that is related to this year’s event. Should there be a change required to the platform/location of this year’s conference, updates on all of our event happenings and/or changes can always be found and will be kept up to date at tribalnetconference.com.”
