Workgroup Representation

Member Participation

Hotel companies may participate in workgroups either by holding a corporate membership in HTNG or by maintaining individual memberships for all workgroup participants in their employ.  Individual memberships may be purchased after workgroup selection, provided that at least one individual in the company’s employ holds HTNG membership at the time of the application. 

Vendors may participate in workgroups by holding a corporate membership.  Consultants, media, academics, and other can participate by holding individual memberships.

All workgroups will include opportunities for hotel companies and vendors.  Most workgroups will provide a limited number of opportunities for consultants, media, and academic participation.

Industry Categories

The HTNG board sub-committee responsible for a workgroup will define the industry categories which should be represented to make the workgroup solution-set credible and representative of the market. The industry categories for vendors will specify the type of business solution provided. For example, point-of-sale is a legitimate category, where Linux vendor is not.  Industry categories for hotels, which may or may not be defined for a particular workgroup, may include segment definitions (examples:  independents, management companies, franchise brands, resorts) if representational balance is considered important to the workgroup’s success.  Industry categories may be as specific or as broad as the sub-committee deems necessary, may include subcategories, and may include special categories (e.g. consultants, media, academics, other trade organizations).

Category Representation

The subcommittee may assign a count of minimum and/or maximum representatives per industry category.  The subcommittee may also set a minimum and/or maximum count within relevant objectively defined subcategories.  The aim of this is, again, to make the workgroup credible, productive and reasonably representative of the market.

The industry categories will be added to the workgroup charter document prior to circulation.  The minimum/maximum numbers will not be included. As many companies provide more than one solution, the objective to publishing categories (only) is to encourage participation and avoid ‘gaming’ of membership slots.

Workgroup Charter Circulation

The workgroup charter will be circulated to the current HTNG membership (method to be determined) by the HTNG Executive Director to solicit participation. Applicants for participation will have 30 days to respond.  Measurement of “first-come, first-served” begins at 21 days after charter circulation.  Applicants will be asked to supply:

          Designation of the industry category or categories for which they’re applying (may apply for more than one, and if accepted for participation, HTNG will determine which category they will represent)

         Written statement regarding suitability for participation (one for each category applied for)

         Company profile

         Resume or credentials of the specific individual committed to workgroup participation (one for each category applied for)

         Signed commitment to the level of participation defined in the charter

The workgroup charter will be posted on the Web for public viewing, and circulated to interested non-members, seven (7) days after circulation to the membership.  Non-member applicants will have the remaining 21 days to join HTNG and apply for participation in the workgroup.

Workgroup Participant Selection Process

Determination of final participants will be based on these priorities for filling slots in each category.

         Sponsoring organization(s) of a charter

         Charter members of HTNG

         Other HTNG members in good standing as of the date of charter circulation will receive

         New HTNG members who join after the date of charter circulation

         Date application received by HTNG mail server (Central U.S. time)

Hotel company membership status, for this purpose, will be determined based on either corporate membership, or membership of any individual who was in the company’s employ when their membership was processed or last renewed.

In the case of over-subscription in a particular category where multiple companies in the same membership category and responding on the same day are eligible for a smaller number of available slots, participants designated for the other categories will be asked to vote on applicants.  These participants will be supplied the written statement and credentials (name removed) of the applicants.

Workgroup Participation Fees

A nominal fee will be assessed to all workgroup participants ($500 per company or individual participant per year or portion thereof) to cover HTNG expenses associated with managing the workgroup.   The fee will be waived in the case of academic and media participants.  This fee will be billed when a member is approved for participation in the workgroup and must be paid within 30 days.  If payment is not received within 30 days, The member’s participation rights may be rescinded.

Commitment Fulfillment

HTNG reserves the right to remove companies from participation in a specific workgroup, and to replace them with another company selected by majority vote of the workgroup, if they fail to meet their commitment to participation as defined by the charter. 

Confidentiality

The identity of individuals proposed for participation , and the materials provided in support of participation, will be held in confidence by HTNG (except as noted above).  The identity of companies applying for participation will be withheld upon written request accompanying the application.

Exceptions and Questions

Issues or objections to the selection of workgroup participants will be settled by the HTNG Board sub-committee responsible for that workgroup.  The sub-committee is authorized to speak on behalf of the board and membership.

Rules can be changed by HTNG at any time.