Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) announced the appointment of Jeffrey Edwards, Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of Global Revenue Services for Wyndham Hotel Group, to its Board of Directors.  Edwards was elected at a board meeting held in November 2006, filling a vacancy created by departures from the industry.  His appointment restores the board to its maximum size of ten senior hotel technology executives.  

Nick Price, Chief Technology Officer of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and President of HTNG said, “We are delighted to gain the experience, perspective and commitment of Jeff Edwards.  He not only has technology responsibility for the largest franchise hotel group in the world, with more than 6,300 properties, but is also our first board member to have had significant senior management experience on the vendor side of the table as well as with hotels.”

Jeffrey Edwards, based in suburban New York City, oversees both technology and the global revenue management function at Wyndham Hotel Group (formerly Cendant Hotel Group).  Prior to joining the company, Edwards operated his own consulting firm, Edwards Consulting Inc., based in Morristown, N.J., which assisted hotel and hospitality companies with information technology needs.  Previously, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of OpenTable, Inc. from 2000-2001.  From 1994 to 2000, he served MICROS Systems, Inc. of Columbia, Md., as President and Chief Executive Officer of its Micros-Fidelio subsidiary.  From 1984 to 1990, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Action Software, a San Diego-based provider of property management and central reservations systems.

“I am very much looking forward to my involvement with HTNG,” said Edwards.  “I have known many of the Board Members and the management team for many years and believe that they are charting the right course for the industry.  The franchise hotel community, which is our largest customer, needs exactly what HTNG is helping to develop – technologies that work together and are simple to buy, install, and manage.”

HTNG’s board of directors consists exclusively of hotel company executives with senior level technology responsibility, representing a wide range of large, midsized, and small hotel companies operating in every market segment and every geographic region of the world.  Current board members include:

• Nick Price, Chief Technology Officer, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (President)

• Barry Shuler, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Marriott International (Vice President)

• Jane Durment, Chief Information Officer, The Marcus Corporation (Secretary/Treasurer)

• Robert Bansfield, Vice President – Information Technology, Hyatt Hotels Corporation

• Jack Braman, Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Information Technology, The Las Vegas Sands Corporation (The Venetian)

• Jeffrey Edwards, Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of Global Revenue Services, Wyndham Hotel Group

• Fraser Hickox, General Manager, Research & Technology, The Hongkong & Shanghai Hotels Limited (The Peninsula Group)

• Gustaaf Schrils, Vice President, Hotel Technology & Services, InterContinental Hotels Group

• Joe Tesfai, Chief Technology Officer, Jumeirah Group

• Wibecke Vinke, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer, Kempinski Hotels S.A.

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 nearly 400 corporate and individual members from across this spectrum, including most of the world’s leading hotel companies and technology vendors, are active HTNG participants.  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 Vice President & CEO

+1 847 303-5560