From October 19 to 21, 2026, HIP – Horeca Professional Expo will be held at BolognaFiere for the first time, an event focused on 4.0 innovation in the Ho.Re.Ca world and which will be centered around the Hospitality 4.0 Congress, an opportunity that will bring together over 400 guest speakers from different countries and will offer a program organized into more than 20 vertical summits, dedicated to various segments of hospitality. Within the context of management and differentiation used by companies as a competitive factor, the scalability and sustainability of businesses, technological innovation and talent shortage will be topics addressed during the event. 

The exhibition area will have more than 300 companies as participants, which will display products and will present services for the Horeca world. Among the companies, there will be famous ones, such as: Digital World, Smart Kitchens & Equipment, Foodservice Solutions, Design & Experience, Automated Foodservice, Coffee, Bakery & Gelato, Steakhouse, Selected Brands, Wine & Spirits, Health & Safety, New Concepts & Franchises, Delivery & Food As A Service. 

HIP will be held in Italy after the tenth edition of the same format-event, which was in Madrid: 60,000 professionals, more than 1,000 companies, and over 700 international speakers, all involved in the Hospitality 4.0 Congress, which produced an economic impact of over 102 million euros. 

Manuel Bueno, HIP Italy Director, affirms that “with this event we aim to consolidate a common ground, created by and for the hospitality field, where experts are placed at the center to be helped with evolving their activities towards more competitive models. For this reason, we rely on the most relevant voices and the latest market developments, which will accelerate this transformation in order to achieve a more profitable, efficient, sustainable, and resilient sector."

The estimation for the three days, regarding the presence of experts, including businessmen, managers, and industry operators, is 10,000 people. Furthermore, among the scheduled activities, there will be the Horeca New Business Models Awards, the most prestigious awards in the field that will recognize companies that lead with innovation in hospitality.

Antonio Bruzzone, CEO of BolognaFiere, states that “Bringing a successful European format to Italy means offering hospitality companies a concrete tool to address the major transformations underway – from technological innovation to sustainability, up to the evolution of consumption models. Our goal is to create an ecosystem where contents, business, and networking all integrate together, generating real opportunities for operators and contributing to the competitive growth of the entire Ho.Re.Ca. supply chain, in an increasingly global and dynamic context.”