A guide to AWS re:Invent 2022 for first-time travel and hospitality industry attendees

There is less than 1 month to go until Amazon Web Services (AWS) re:Invent 2022! If this is your first trip to AWS re:Invent, we hope that you are looking forward to a great week of announcements, valuable travel and hospitality sessions, fun after-hours activities, and more.

Over the course of the 4-day conference, you might want to attend hands-on workshops or technical sessions, browse the Expo floor, hear keynote speeches from AWS leaders, or network with peers. There will be plenty to do. Whichever direction you choose, navigate re:Invent with clear purpose—focus your time, engage with intent, and give yourself space to recharge.

Tips for a great AWS re:Invent experience:

• Use the mobile app. The AWS Events mobile app has all the details that you need to navigate AWS re:Invent: the conference agenda, venue maps, session lists, and more.
• Get your badge and swag early. Getting your badge at the airport is usually much quicker than going through the registration lines at the hotels. Badge pickup is available at Harry Reid International Airport, Terminals 1 and 3, on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
• Wear comfortable shoes and give yourself time to catch shuttles or walk from place to place. The campus is large and spread out across six venues.
• Plan your schedule in advance around the sessions that you want to see. Use the Session Catalog and travel and hospitality attendee guide to find sessions, and log in to your AWS re:Invent account to add them to your schedule or download them to your calendar. Reserve seats for the sessions that you want to view most. Otherwise, a small allocation of seats is saved for walk-ups. Seats are first come, first served, so arrive early.
• If you are new to the cloud or AWS, consider a mix of introductory sessions (200-level) and chalk talks to give you a foundation to build on. Later in the week, try an advanced session (300-level) to stretch yourself.
• The AWS Travel and Hospitality Industry Networking Lounge is for industry attendees to meet with AWS experts, ask questions, dive into specific topics, informally network, and relax with peers. Please stop by the Industry Lounge at Caesars Forum to grab a drink and a snack, connect with industry colleagues at the event, and meet AWS experts for specific questions.

If you have a travel and hospitality question, sign up for a peer talk on the mobile app with Srihari Thotapalli, principal solutions architect for travel and hospitality solutions.

Session recommendations for first-time attendees:

• For your first trip to AWS re:Invent, you might want to try a variety of sessions. We recommend breakout sessions—60-minute lectures with a PowerPoint presentation. For virtual attendees, breakout sessions will be available on demand the week after AWS re:Invent. I recommend:
  • TRV201 – The transformation of hospitality for the customer of the future
  • TRV202 – How AWS is helping the travel industry fly into the future
  • DOP207 – AWS Well-Architected best practices for DevOps on AWS
  • CMP210 – Modern applications: An infrastructure perspective
• Chalk talks are 60-minute whiteboarding sessions with AWS experts and sometimes customer speakers. Rather than relying heavily on PowerPoint, the speaker(s) introduces a topic or challenge for 10–15 minutes, then opens up the floor for Q&A and discussion with the attendees for the remaining 45–50 minutes. You might want to go to:
  • TRV303 – Unlock the potential of Internet of Things (IoT) in the travel and hospitality industry
  • TRV301 – Enhance the traveler experience with computer vision
  • ENT212 – Understanding the migration journey
  • DAT207 – Choosing the right databases for your application
  • ARC214 – Learn to architect hybrid cloud applications

If you want to learn more about re:Invent travel and hospitality sessions, read Steven M. Elinson’s blog. For general information about transportation, sessions, and more, watch this series of video tips. See you soon in Las Vegas!