CHICAGO (June 8, 2006) – Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) announced its plan for showcasing, at HITEC® 2006 in Minneapolis, the results of its past year of efforts to achieve systems interoperability.  Several of HTNG’s members who have implemented approved approaches will be demonstrating these at the HTNG Booth #941 at the Minneapolis Convention Center on June 20-22.    

New Product and Interoperability Demonstrations

Five new interoperability demonstrations are planned for 2006, plus the refinement of one that was shown in preliminary form in 2005.  The new demonstrations will be:

• The “Single Guest Itinerary” initiative of HTNG’s Property Web Services workgroup will show how multiple systems, including PMS, spa, activity, and dining reservation systems can work together to produce and maintain a single, definitive version of the guest’s schedule during a hotel stay.

• An IP Telephony/Voice over IP (VoIP) demonstration will show an IP telephony system with roaming guest extensions via an 802.11 wireless network; IP applications such as voice messaging and PMS-based text messaging; and display of information from the Single Guest Itinerary initiative to the guest via an IP phone or television.

• An IP television demonstration that includes a privately produced high-definition channel, encoded in real time and beamed via satellite to the convention center, and delivered as an IP stream to the television.  This will be the first-ever demonstration of a custom channel, which a hotel company could produce centrally and deliver consistently to multiple hotels, even those using different entertainment system vendors.

• Demonstration of a docking pod for guest mobile devices, which can work with any compatible entertainment system, allowing guests to use the system’s audio and video capabilities to play content from their own devices (MP3 players, DVD players, etc.)

• Processing of cashless charging, comps, tender post and check-zoom capabilities between property management and point-of-sale systems. 

In addition, HTNG’s Property Distribution Solution workgroup will show implementation by several central reservation system, property management system, and revenue management system vendors of the now-completed message specification for reservation delivery and availability controls.  A preliminary version of this demonstration was shown at HITEC 2005; this year’s implementation covers a broader array of functionality and uses the specifications that are nearing final ratification.

 

HTNG members are sponsoring and participating in HTNG’s booth activities at HITEC.  Gold Partners, most of whom are participating in one or more of the above interoperability demonstrations, include:

• Cendant Travel Distribution Services

• Datanamics Inc.

• FCS Computer Systems

• Guest-Tek

• IDeaS

• InfoGenesis

• KoolConnect Technologies

• LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation

• MICROS Systems

• Multi-Systems Inc.

• PAR Springer-Miller Systems

• SpectraLink

• TAC (Reservation Assistant)

Many of the Gold sponsors will also be featuring HTNG-related interoperability demonstrations in their own booths. 

 

In addition, Newmarket International, OpenCourse Solutions, ReServe Interactive, and Wayport are participating as Silver sponsors, and will be happy to discuss progress and/or to provide demonstrations in their own booths.

 

New White Papers

 

Last year’s HITEC witnessed the release of two groundbreaking White Papers from HTNG, “Convergence: Hotel Technology for Today and Tomorrow,” and “The Guest of the Future:  In-Room Technology Preferences Today and Tomorrow.”  Continuing that tradition, HTNG’s In-Room Technology Workgroup will be releasing two new White Papers at HITEC this year.

• Last year's infrastructure White Paper, "Convergence:  Hotel Technology for Today and Tomorrow" has been updated and expanded to cover wireless as well as wired networks.

• A new White Paper describing the design of a next-generation, converged media set-top box, capable of working with your choice of high-definition video-on-demand provider, cable feed, satellite/off-air provider, and IPTV programming, and supporting numerous guest-room devices and applications under the hotel's control.

Other HTNG Activities at HITEC

 

The HTNG booth will also host several presentations, including integration case studies by members, sessions on the HTNG certification program, and presentations on the new White Papers.  Additionally, key hotel industry CIOs and CTOs who serve on HTNG’s board of directors will be available on a published schedule at the HTNG booth to meet with members and prospective members.

 

About Hotel Technology Next Generation

 

The premier technology solutions association in the hospitality industry, HTNG is a self-funded, non-profit organization with members from hotel and hospitality companies, technology vendors to hospitality, and other industry members including consultants, media, and academic experts.  HTNG’s members participate in focused workgroups to bring open solution-sets addressing specific business problems to the hospitality market. 

 

Membership in HTNG is open to hotel and hospitality companies, technology vendors to hospitality, consultants, academics, press and others.   Currently more than 300 companies and individuals from across this spectrum are active HTNG members.  Workgroup proceedings, drafts, and specifications are published for all HTNG members as soon as they are created, encouraging rapid and broad adoption.  Specifications are released to the public domain when the workgroup has completed its work, typically after no more than 18 months.  For more information, visit www.htng.org.

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Source:  Hotel Technology Next Generation

Contact: Douglas Rice, Executive Director

douglas.rice@htng.org

+1 847 348 1148

+44 207 101 9358 

 

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