Nick Price and Barry Shuler elected as Officers

Six Directors and One Officer Re-Elected

Robert Bansfield and Francis Joseph Durocher Elected as Directors

CHICAGO, March 7, 2005 – Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) today announced its new Board of Directors and Officers, who will take office on April 1, 2005.  HTNG’s Board of Directors is elected from among its hotel members.

The new officer and director slate is as follows:

Director & President – Nick Price, CTO, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group

Director & Vice President – Barry Shuler, Senior VP & CTO, Marriott International

Director, Secretary & Treasurer – Jane Durment, CIO, The Marcus Corporation

Director – Robert Bansfield, AVP-Information Technology, Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Director – Glenn Bonner, CIO & Corporate VP, MGM Mirage

Director – Francis Joseph “Joe” Durocher, SVP & CIO, Outrigger & OHANA Hotels & Resorts

Director – Michael Hwu, VP Information Services, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts

Director – Bryan Steele, Director of IT, Thistle Hotels

Gebhard F. Rainer, outgoing President of HTNG, and Vice President of Hotel Finance and Technology for Hyatt International Corporation, said “I regret that my changing job responsibilities make it impossible for me to continue in my present role with HTNG.  But  I could not be leaving the organization in better hands than with Nick Price.  Nick has been one of the key driving forces in the creation of HTNG and in moving our industry forward.  Hyatt remains committed to the success of HTNG, and I am very pleased that my counterpart from Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Bob Bansfield, was elected to the board and will be able to continue to represent the strategic interests of Hyatt.”

Rainer, together with Mark Hedley, Executive Vice President and CIO at Wyndham International, and Shannon Knox, Vice President Technology at Destination Hotels & Resorts, will retire from the HTNG board as the result of changes in their responsibilities at their respective companies. 

Commenting on the changes, Douglas Rice, Executive Director of HTNG, said “We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to our entire initial board of directors, and especially to our founding President and Vice President, Gebhard Rainer and Mark Hedley, for their role in establishing HTNG as a credible industry organization.  The original founders knew that HTNG would not succeed unless it was adopted by and owned by the hotel community.  The initial board members invested extensive time and energy in something that was at the time nothing more than a good idea, and by doing so they created today’s HTNG.  Gebhard Rainer and Mark Hedley played absolutely critical roles in that process.  I know the Board joins me in expressing our sincere appreciation for their effort and support over the past two years.”

Under HTNG’s by-laws, the Board consists of between eight and ten hotel company members.  At this year’s election, the Board decided to elect nine directors, including the eight listed above.  A ninth director, who was Chief Information Officer at a major hotel company, was also elected at the January 29 board meeting.  However, that nominee subsequently left his employer to take a position with a technology provider, and consequently became ineligible to take office.  HTNG hotel members who are interested in applying for the resulting board vacancy should contact the Executive Director of HTNG at exec.director@htng.org.