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This newsletter is sent periodically to HTNG members to update you on HTNG activities and opportunities that may be of interest to you.
HTNG Gaming Activities to be Restructured
New Facility to Monitor HTNG Workgroup Mailing Lists
Workgroup Meeting Registration is Now Online
Visit HTNG at HITEC booth 373 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, USA, June 25-28, 2007. Here are some of the things you can see or do this year:
HTNG is pleased to announce that IDeaS has certified its product “IDeaS V5i with IDeaS V5i Version 3.1” to the HTNG Property/Distribution Solution 2007a specification. The IDeaS product joins products previously certified to this specification from Easy (Ez) Revenue Management Solutions Ltd. and PAR Springer-Miller Systems. Also certified to the HTNG Property Web Services 2007a specification are products from OpenCourse Solutions, PAR Springer-Miller Systems, and TAC GmbH.
HTNG Certification represents a commitment from technology providers to hoteliers that their products meet the most stringent requirements of interoperability, with open disclosure of specific supported functionality.
The current list of HTNG Certified products is always available in the Certification Register on the HTNG Certification Site at www.opengroup.org/htng/cert. Also available are the conformance statement questionnaires that detail the precise capabilities of each interface. The HTNG certification program is administered by The Open Group, the acknowledged world leader in certification of open systems.
HTNG’s workgroups have been very busy over the past few months.
The Property Web Services Workgroup is completing a specification on digital signage, which is expected to be ready in time for the 2007b specification of that workgroup’s certification program. This specification will connect a sales/catering/event management system to digital signage systems to ensure that meeting-room signage can be tied directly, in real-time or near-real-time, to changes in event names, times, and other key information.
The workgroup has also made substantial progress on a comprehensive back-office integration specification, which will standardize and simplify the transfer of financial and statistical information from transactional systems to reporting systems and data repositories. Target completion is third quarter 2007.
Last but not least, the HTNG Web Services Framework 2.0 extensions to cover asynchronous messaging are now nearly complete and are expected to be included in the 2007b certification specification.
The IP telephony team of this workgroup is also working on a design of a multi-function hotel IP telephone handset capable of being mass-produced and meeting the needs of 3-, 4-, and 5-star hotels, and expects to have their work complete, or nearly so, by HITEC. It is also working on application-layer plumbing and features for IP telephones.
The Application & Device Integration team is starting to work on a certification program for a lodging industry set-top-box standard. Standardized set-top-box design will enable hotel companies to establish consistent branding of menus, specialized content, and features in hotels across the world, while allowing them to work with regional or local entertainment system providers in each geographic market. The team has also finalized design of a USB-based auxiliary panel for connectivity of guest mobile devices.
The European Chapter of the In-Room Technology workgroup was launched on May 21 with an organizational meeting in London. The European chapter will create more opportunities for information-sharing through face-to-face meetings in Europe, allowing European hoteliers and vendors to participate more actively. The five active teams will welcome participants from both the North American and European chapters and will continue to operate globally via teleconference. The full workgroup will meet once a year in North America and once in Europe, and each chapter will hold approximately two regional meetings per year.
The Architecture Workgroup has started work on development of interoperability standards for the industry. This effort will incorporate best practices as well as prior work of other HTNG workgroups, with which it will consult in order to ensure forward compatibility.
On April 30, 2007, HTNG announced its intention to restructure the Gaming Special Interest Group to better serve the needs of the casino hotel community. It is expected that this transition will be complete by June 30, 2007. Read the full announcement here.
It’s now simpler than ever to join an HTNG workgroup, or any “team” effort organized within a workgroup. Just visit our “join workgroup” page at www.htng.org/workgroups/common/joinwg.htm. Your company will automatically be put on the agenda for consideration at an upcoming meeting of that workgroup. As before, workgroups still retain control over admission of new members, but you will now be able to attend workgroup meetings while your application is pending or provisional.
Workgroups are particularly eager for greater participation by business unit representatives from hotel companies. Many of the workgroups now have formal mechanisms for hoteliers to become involved with less time commitment and expense. For example, many now have business requirements teams, consisting entirely or primarily of hoteliers, which meet periodically by teleconference to define the business needs and to review whether the solutions being designed by the technical teams are “on track.”
Not sure if you should participate? Consider attending one meeting before committing. Most workgroups permit one-time guests, to help you decide if the fit is right for you. To attend as a guest, contact the workgroup chair for an invitation (e-mail links can be found on the workgroup home pages on the HTNG collaboration site at www.opengroup.org/htng/protected). A per-meeting, per-person fee, which varies based on the workgroup and length of the meeting, normally applies to guests (see www.htng.org/workgroups/common/fees.htm ).
While many workgroups and teams meet periodically by teleconference (see the schedule at www.htng.org/Schedule.htm), new participants often find face-to-face meetings to be critical in helping them engage with the process. If you’re planning on joining a workgroup, or thinking about it, you may wish to hold the dates for one or more upcoming face-to-face meetings.
The Distribution Content Management workgroup is planning a meeting for early September, possibly in Paris or Nice. The Property Distribution Workgroup has not scheduled its next full face-to-face meeting as yet, although a part of the group will be meeting in Orlando on Monday, June 25.
Members frequently ask us if they can be added to workgroup mailing lists so that they can monitor workgroup activities. Up until now, we did not have the capability to do this, and it was necessary to join the workgroup to get on the mailing list. Now, however, we can “cc” you on mailings to workgroups and teams of interest.
If you would like to be “cc’d” on workgroup correspondence for one or more HTNG workgroups or teams, just complete the online form at www.htng.org/workgroups/common/cclist.htm.
With the continuing rollout of HTNG’s new Member Services site, you can now register for face-to-face workgroup meetings online.
To register for any workgroup meeting, simply visit the Member Services site (accessible through the link bar at the top of the public HTNG website at www.htng.org, or from the link in the navigation bar of the collaboration site, or access it directly at https://members.htng.org). Click on the Meeting Registration link to view the meetings open for registration.
If your company is a voting member of a workgroup, an applicant, a provisional member, or an approved guest, you should see a “Register” link for each meeting of that workgroup. Registration is free for the primary representative of each voting member company that has paid the annual workgroup support fee. Other representatives of voting members companies, as well as applicants, provisional members, and approved guests, will pay the per-meeting fee at the time of registration. If you are attending in place of the primary member, you will need to follow the instructions to avoid the per-meeting fee.
If you do not see a “Register” link, then either your company is not a member of the workgroup (or an applicant to join), or you have not registered as a representative of your company. To remedy this situation, complete the form at www.htng.org/workgroups/common/joinwg.htm.
You will need your login and password to the Member Services site to register for any meeting. This may or may not be the same as the login and password to the Collaboration site (we have no way to know your current password).
You can also use the Member Services pages to update your contact information.
We are looking for thought leadership topics for upcoming HTNG conferences, and for other industry conferences where HTNG is invited to speak. If you have a topic to suggest, please send it to our Thought Leadership Program mailbox, tlp@htng.org . We are actively starting to plan the program for our October European conference and we are also beginning to formulate ideas for our 2008 U.S. conference next February – so now is a great time to submit your idea.
This year, we will begin to introduce “tracked” presentations in HTNG conferences, with subject matters that are of interest to members involved in particular areas of hotel technology, such as distribution, telephony, entertainment systems, front of house systems, back of house systems, and the like.
Topics should be of general (non vendor specific) interest to their target audience. Topics that would lend themselves to the inclusion of real-life case studies involving customers are more likely to be selected than purely theoretical or technical topics.
Submitting a topic does not guarantee that that the submitting company will be selected to speak. Selection of speakers for HTNG events is always based on the merits of proposals for specific speakers and presentations, which would be solicited after topics have been selected. Submitting a topic will, however, ensure that you are on the distribution list for the solicitation for speakers.
October 8-10, 2007 – Lausanne, Switzerland
Reception Monday evening, October 8 – Beau-Rivage Palace Hotel
General Session October 9-10, Ecôle Hotelière de Lausanne (EHL)
Dinner Tuesday, October 9 – Beau-Rivage Palace Hotel
In-Room Technology Workgroup* meets October 10-11 at EHL
February 25-27, 2008 – Seattle, Washington, USA
All events at the Westin Seattle Hotel
Workgroup meetings* on Monday, February 25 all day
Welcome Reception Monday evening, February 25
General Session February 26-27
Dinner Tuesday, February 26
*Workgroup meetings are open only to members of the workgroup, to other HTNG members who have formally applied to join the workgroup, and to invited guests. See the section on applying for HTNG workgroups if you would like to attend.
© 2007 Hotel Technology Next Generation. No portion of this material may otherwise be reproduced without the written consent of Hotel Technology Next Generation.
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