This is a brief newsletter to make you aware
of upcoming HTNG activities and opportunities that may be of interest to you.
In This Issue
HTNG 2007 Annual Members’ Meeting
& Conference
Recap of First HTNG European
Conference
Get Involved in HTNG Workgroups!
New Benefits for Individual
Industry Partner Members
HTNG 2007 Annual Members’ Meeting
& Conference
March 5-7, 2007 –
Sheraton
Early Bird
Registration Deadline February 5 – Room Block Cutoff February 14
Registration is now
open for the HTNG 2007 Annual Members’ Meeting and Conference, which will be
held from March 5-7 at the Sheraton Atlanta.
We’re putting together another program and lining up some world-class
speakers.
For full information,
to register, or for sponsorship and exhibition information, please visit www.htng.org/ammc2007.htm.
In addition to
updates from all of the HTNG workgroups, we will be recognizing the people who
have contributed to these efforts, and the vendors who are currently in the process
of certifying their products.
Just as important,
this meeting will mark the first anniversary of HTNG’s Thought Leadership
Program, and we are assembling an outstanding set of speakers who will address
some of the most important trends in the technology world, and how we might
think about those trends in hospitality.
And as always, HTNG
events are THE place to meet peers who share a vision of what the future of
hotel technology could be – and those who are buying it and building it. There are no distractions from the high-value
networking opportunities that HTNG events always provide. Whether you are a buyer or a seller of
technology, you’ll get to meet the technology thought leaders who can help YOU
succeed in 2007 and beyond.
A few sponsorship
opportunities are still available, and our limited exhibition area, where all
our meals and receptions are held, still has room as well. With virtually no competition from
off-premises events, this is a great way for vendors to meet receptive buyers,
to make them aware of your capabilities, and to line up those follow-on sales
calls.
Welcome to HTNG’s First Platinum Members!
Last October, the HTNG Board of
Directors voted to introduce a Platinum level membership, to give highly
committed companies an opportunity to gain some additional exposure for their
HTNG support. In return for an annual
membership premium, Platinum members get additional publicity on our website
and at HTNG events, priority and discounts for sponsorships and other events,
and the right to advertise themselves as Platinum members of HTNG.
During December and early January,
11 members completed their upgrade to Platinum level, and several others were
in process as this went to press. Our sincere
thanks to our new Platinum members for their financial support!
Platinum Members as of 08 January 2007
AltiusPar
BearingPoint
Datanamics
MICROS Systems, Inc.
Microsoft Corporation
Mitel
PAR Springer-Miller Systems
Pegasus Solutions
TRUST.WIZCOM.
SAS
If you’re considering upgrading
your company’s membership to the Platinum level, please visit www.htng.org/platinumupgrade.htm.
During the past
several months, HTNG has added three new members to its Board of Directors,
filling two vacancies that were brought about by industry departures, and
expanding the number of directors to its maximum complement of 10 hotel
technology executives.
- Fraser
Hickox, General Manager of Research and Technology at Hongkong
and
- Joe Tesfai,
Chief Technology Office of Jumeirah Group, was
elected to the board in October. He
joined Jumeirah in 2003 after holding technology
positions at Four Seasons and InterContinental Hotels Group. An Eritrean-American, Joe is based in
- Jeff
Edwards, CIO and Senior Vice President of Wyndham Worldwide (formerly
Cendant Hotel Group), was elected to the Board in November. With more than 6,800 hotels, Wyndham is
one of the largest global hotel groups, and Jeff is responsible for
Wyndham’s global revenue management function and all critical technology
functions. He also brings to the
Board the perspective of a former leader in the vendor community, having
served as President and CEO of MICROS-Fidelio Software (a subsidiary of
MICROS Systems) from 1994 to 2000.
In addition, Bryan
Steele, former HTNG board member and IT Director at Thistle Hotels in
Recap of HTNG’s First European Conference
HTNG marked an
important milestone in its European progress in October, when it hosted its
first European conference. Held over three
days at Ecole Hôtelière de
Lausanne in
In addition to
updates from all of the active workgroups, the conference marked the second
major event in HTNG’s Thought Leadership Program. Several thought-provoking sessions addressed
the challenges for both buyers and sellers in what still remains a very
fragmented European market. Featured
speakers included Alistair Forbes, CEO of Acentic;
Stuart Metcalfe, President & COO of Realstar
Hotels (UK); Dietmar Müller-Elmau, Proprietor of
Schloss Elmau Cultural Hideaway and Spa and founder
and former CEO of Fidelio Software;
The HTNG Property
Distribution Workgroup approved its version 1.0 specification in December, paving
the way for the first certified products.
Most major vendors plan to certify to the first specification, and at
least a few expect to have completed the process before the HTNG Annual
Conference in March. This will be an
important landmark in the evolution of HTNG, representing agreement from a
broad range of hotels and leading vendors on how to achieve interoperable
systems in the distribution arena.
The Property Web
Services workgroup is not far behind, having completed most of the work on its
Web Services Framework v2.0 specification, as well as specifications for a
common guest itinerary across PMS, POS, spa, activity, and other systems. It is also nearing completion of a digital
display integration product, targeting the coordination of meeting, event, and
other critical information for display on digital signage devices in
hotels. The workgroup will be meeting in
Get Involved in HTNG Workgroups
If your company
wants to participate in an HTNG workgroup, we want to hear from you! Each workgroup has established its own
criteria for admitting new voting members, but most of them are actively
seeking broader participation. If you would
like to be a part of designing the solutions HTNG is building, please let us
know. You can contact the workgroup
chairs using the links on the relevant pages of our collaboration site (www.opengroup.org/htng), or you can send
an e-mail to
workgroups@htng.org and we will put you
in touch with the right person.
All Regular Members
(hoteliers and hotel companies) and all Corporate Industry Partner members
(vendors) are eligible to apply to participate in any workgroup, and can be
admitted by majority vote of the workgroup.
Individual Industry Partners are also eligible if they meet the new
criteria described in the following section.
Allied Members normally require an invitation from the workgroup.
New Benefits for Individual Industry
Partner Members
In an attempt to make
it easier for independent consultants to participate in HTNG activities, the
HTNG Board restructured both the privileges and eligibility rules for
Individual Industry Partner memberships, which are intended to provide industry
consultants with a cost-effective membership opportunity. Individual Industry Partner memberships,
unlike Individual Regular (hotel employee) memberships, have carried
restrictions designed to ensure that technology vendors who want to participate
in HTNG activities purchase full corporate memberships, rather than registering
one of their staff as a “consultant.”
In October 2006, the
HTNG Board of Directors voted to expand the privileges but to tighten the
eligibility requirements for Individual Industry Partner members. The new
privileges will apply on January 1, 2007 to members who advise us in writing
that they meet the new eligibility criteria. Other Individual Industry
Partner members may be asked to verify their eligibility at the time of their
renewal. If you currently hold an Individual Industry Partner membership
and are no longer eligible at your renewal date, then you may renew as a
Corporate Industry Partner ($2,400 per year during 2007).
Expanded privileges:
Individual Industry Partners may now apply
to participate in workgroups, representing their companies or independent
consultancies. Companies and independent consultancies represented by
Individual Industry Partner members will have the same rights as Corporate
Industry Partners to participate in workgroup activities and to sponsor or
exhibit at HTNG events.
Reduced eligibility: Corresponding to this change, Individual
Industry Partner memberships are now ONLY available to individuals who work in
companies that employ (including affiliates under common majority ownership)
fewer than five persons, and to persons who are independent (not affiliated
with any company). While employed individuals from larger companies may
still join HTNG independently, they may no longer represent their company in
any way, or use their company name, in any HTNG activity.
© 2007 Hotel
Technology Next Generation.
Please feel free to forward this to colleagues, but no portion of this material
may otherwise be reproduced without the written consent of Hotel Technology
Next Generation.