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HTNG on the Move

Jun 1, 2005 12:00 PM, Carlo Wolff

Hospitality Technology Next Generation, the lodging industry's technology solutions association, will unveil its branding and certification program at the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference in Los Angeles June 20-23. Formed at the 2002 HITEC, the association has about 200 members. Membership has been doubling every few months for the past 15 months, says Douglas Rice, executive director.

The program will involve a “trademark license agreement and certification against specifications so vendors can take their products through it,“ Rice says. Essentially, it's a lodging-industry technology version of Underwriters Laboratories, so a trademark that will go with it likely will be used in conjunction with the name of the particular specification involved, Rice says.

The program helps meet the interoperability goal of the self-funded, non-profit group, which was formed to facilitate technology choices for hoteliers and hotel companies. “Vendors will be able to claim and advertise compliance with an open specification and customers will be able to determine whether a vendor's product is certified,“ Rice says. The certification program is in the final stages, and The Open Group, a company dedicated to what it calls a Boundaryless Information Program and has developed similar programs for other industries, is helping HTNG with the finishing touches. A database hoteliers can access to determine whether and how products conform to HTNG specifications is part of the plan.

“There's still a lot of discussion because we have to adapt this to our industry,“ Rice says. “It's fair to say we will be there by HITEC, at least in terms of the broad outline and most of the details.“

LOOKING FOR RESULTS

Meanwhile, HTNG is growing by leaps and bounds. In April, its first annual conference drew more than 160 hotel technology executives, technology vendors, consultants and others. Among the areas members plan to address in dedicated work groups:

  • Integration of building control systems with hotel systems and with each other

  • Joint support models for different vendors that provide interoperable products to hotels

  • Payment systems integration and security

  • Meeting room services

  • Project management, management and communications best practices for technology implementation

  • Assessment of guest value by tracking activities across multiple systems

  • Group billing reconciliation.

One of the reasons HTNG has been growing so rapidly is “that our work groups have delivered results that people believe hold a lot of promise and can move the industry forward,“ Rice says. “The more companies get involved and see what we're doing, the more they encourage their friends and trading partners to join as well.“

Corporate dues are $2,000 a year, with individual dues as low as $250. Roughly 195 companies are involved. “Most of the heavy work is done in work groups built around a particular set of issues,“ Rice says. “You don't get work done in a meeting that has 25 or more people, so we try to break the groups into smaller chunks.“

In April, the HTNG board of directors elected Luke Mellors, CIO of British luxury hotel company The Dorchester Group, as its newest member. “The transformation of hotel technology to a business- and customer-centric approach has finally arrived,“ Mellors told the board, according to the HTNG website. “HTNG is shaping and steering this far overdue, yet paradigm-shifting revolution… I hope to assist in this drive and be a spokesperson for both European interests as well as those of smaller growth companies whose reliance on appropriate technology is so great.“

Is it difficult to reconcile European and U.S. hotel technology standards? “There are different needs but I don't think there need to be different standards,“ Rice says. “A good specification can incorporate the needs of different countries while still being true to a single approach. As regards the global nature of the issue, I think systems interoperability has always been a much more difficult issue for global hotel companies because they have to deal with local suppliers for many products in each of their markets. You can buy one property management system that will work everywhere but you can't buy many of the other systems that are used in hotels globally.“

Local accounting rules and local law enforcement regulations, customs, language and character sets make such purchases problematic. “With many types of products, you have to have somebody on the ground,“ Rice says, “and if you want to buy that product in some secondary city in China you need a vendor who has an office in that city.“

HTNG is seeking to expand its focus beyond the hotel industry, Rice says. “Clubs, gaming, golf, resorts, cruises and restaurants-many of these use the same technologies and have some of the same problems,“ he says. “We're looking to find solutions that are reusable and we have to look into adjacent industries and see what they have that we can use.“

For the first time this year, HTNG will have a booth at HITEC. A number of vendors “are working hard to create some interoperational capabilities to show at our booth and their booths,“ Rice says.

REVENUE MANAGEMENT
PMS interface CRS interface Revenue optimization Sales & catering interface ATM Distributed at property level Central database Application service provider Other
Alltiuspar — Circle 161 • • • • • •
Aptech Computer Services — Circle 91 •
ATM Systems — Circle 198 •
GenaRes Worldwide — Circle 163 • • • •
Global Card Services — Circle 175 • • •
IDeaS — Circle 199 • • • • • • • • •
Manugistics — Circle 200 • • • • • •
Micros Systems — Circle 110 • • • • • •
Multi-Systems Inc. — Circle 111 • • •
Newmarket International — Circle 112 •
Northwind-Maestro — Circle 113 • • • • •
Optims America — Circle 165 • • • • • • • •
Revenue Source One — Circle 201 • •
Secure-Res — Circle 168 • •
Shift4 — Circle 202 • • • • •
Unifocus — Circle 197 •
Unisys Corp. — Circle 171 • • • •

WEB MANAGEMENT
Website design Website maintenance Website analysis Search engine optimization Distribution channel management Data mining Linkage management E-mail list services E-mail campaign management Booking engine development Pay-per-click campaign management Other
Alltiuspar — Circle 161 • •
Aptech Computer Services — Circle 91 • •
AutoClerk — Circle 92 • • • • • • •
Blizzard Internet Marketing — Circle 173 • • • • • • •
Blue Square Studios — Circle 124 • • • • • • • • • • •
Booking Center — Circle 93 • •
Brilliant Hotelsoftware — Circle 94 • • • • • •
Certain Software — Circle 179 •
Digital Alchemy — Circle 180 • •
ESPN — Circle 133 •
EzRez Software — Circle 162 • • • • • •
GenaRes Worldwide — Circle 163 • • • • •
Image Technology Systems — Circle 103 •
Innes Systems — Circle 104 • • • •
InnPoints Worldwide — Circle 105 • • • • • • • •
Lodging Interactive — Circle 164 • • • • • • • • • • •
Micros Systems — Circle 110 • •
Multi-Systems Inc. — Circle 111 •
Newmarket International — Circle 112 •
Northwind-Maestro — Circle 113 • • • • • • • •
NXTV — Circle 148 • • • • • •
Pegasus Solutions — Circle 166 • • • • • • • •
Ramesys Hospitality — Circle 116 •
Sceptre — Circle 167 • • • • •
Secure-Res — Circle 168 • • • • • • • • • • •
TIG Global — Circle 181 • • • • • • • • • •
Topaz Hotel Services — Circle 169 • • • • • •
TravelCLICK — Circle 170 • • • • • • • • • • •

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Enterprise CRM Guest recognition Loyalty program management Database marketing systems Rapid response Guest satisfaction survey tracking Concierge tracking Lost and found Package tracking ASP (hosting subscription model) Other
Aggressive Banqueting Concepts — Circle 192 • •
Altiuspar — Circle 161 •
Blue Square Studios — Circle 124 •
Brother International Corp. — Circle 125 •
Card Scanning Solutions — Circle 95 • • •
Concierge Assistant — Circle 193 • • • •
Condotelware — Circle 96 • • •
Dayight Software — Circle 194 • • •
Digital Alchemy — Circle 180 • • • • • • • •
ESPN — Circle 133 •
EzRez Software — Circle 162 • •
GoConcierge — Circle 207 • • • • • • •
Gold Key Solutions — Circle 210 • • • • • • •
GuestDirect — Circle 176 •
GuestWare — Circle 184 • • • • • • • • •
HBO — Circle 136 • •
iPerceptions — Circle 211 •
IQWare — Circle 106 •
Lodging Interactive — Circle 164 •
Management Technologies — Circle 186 • • • •
Micros Systems — Circle 110 • • •
Multi-Systems Inc. — Circle 111 • • • •
Newmarket International — Circle 112 • •
Northwind-Maestro — Circle 113 • • • • •
NXTV — Circle 148 • • • • • •
On Command Corp. — Circle 149 • •
Passkey — Circle 196 •
Ramesys Hospitality — Circle 116 • • •
Secure-Res — Circle 168 • • • •
Showtime — Circle 153 • •
Springer-Miller Systems — Circle 119 • • • • • •
Star Micronics — Circle 203 • •
Thomson (RCA) — Circle 157
TravelCLICK — Circle 170 • • • •
Unifocus — Circle 197 • •
Unisys Corp. — Circle 171 • • • •

ASP/WEB-ENABLED SOFTWARE
CRS PMS POS Sales and marketing/event management Back-office accounting Corporate reporting F&B accounting Maintenance/facilities management Activities scheduling Timeshare/resort management Hosting Other
Adaco Services — Circle 191 •
Altiuspar — Circle 161 •
Amerisafe Industries — Circle 90 • •
Aptech Computer Services — Circle 91 • • • •
Birch Street Systems — Circle 206 • • •
Brother International Corp. — Circle 125 •
Blue Square Studios — Circle 124 •
Booking Center — Circle 93 • • •
Certain Software — Circle 179 • •
Daylight Software — Circle 194 • • •
Eatec Corp. — Circle 195 • • • •
ESPN — Circle 133 •
EzRez Software — Circle 162 • • • • • • •
Fast Booking — Circle 225 •
GenaRes Worldwide — Circle 163 • • • •
Global Card Services — Circle 175 •
GoConcierge — Circle 207 • •
HBO — Circle 136 • •
Hotel Information Systems — Circle 102 • • •
IDeaS — Circle 199 • •
Image Technology Systems — Circle 103 • • • •
InfoGenesis — Circle 231 • • •
Innes Systems — Circle 104 • • • •
InnPoints Worldwide — Circle 105 •
JVC Company of America — Circle 140 •
Management Technologies — Circle 186 • •
Micros Systems — Circle 110 • • • • • • • • • •
Mintek Mobile Data Solutions — Circle 187 •
Multi-Systems Inc. — Circle 111 • •
Newmarket International — Circle 112 •
Nextel Communications — Circle 146 • •
Northwind-Maestro — Circle 113 • • • • • • • •
NXTV — Circle 148 • • • • • •
Pegasus Solutions — Circle 166 • • •
Planet Payment — Circle 208 • •
PriZem International — Circle 115 • • •
Ramesys Hospitality — Circle 116 • • • • • •
Revenue Source One — Circle 201 •
Secure-Res — Circle 168 • •
Shift4 — Circle 202 •
Showtime — Circle 153 • •
Statability — Circle 209 •
StayOnline — Circle 154 • • • •
Thomson (RCA) — Circle 157
TravelCLICK — Circle 170 •
Unifocus — Circle 197 •
Unisys Corp. — Circle 171 • • • •
Visual One Systems — Circle 121 •
V, Inc. — Circle 232 •
Wayport — Circle 233 •
Ze-Net Technologies — Circle 235 •

TRAINING AND IMPLEMENTATION
Interactive capability Help desk Customized to customer Non-product-specific consulting On-site trainers Property-level technology selection Computer-based training capability Touchscreen workstations Videotape Strategic organizational consulting Web-based Distribution consulting service Other
Adaco Services — Circle 191 • • •
Aggressive Banqueting Concepts — Circle 192 • • • •
Altiuspar — Circle 161 • •
AutoClerk — Circle 92 • • •
Blue Square Studios — Circle 124 •
Brother International Corp. — Circle 125 • •
Daylight Software — Circle 194 • • • • • • • • • •
Eatec Corp. — Circle 195 • • •
ESPN — Circle 133 • •
Galaxy Hotel Systems — Circle 100 • • • •
GenaRes Worldwide — Circle 163 • • • • • •
GuestDirect — Circle 176 • •
HBO — Circle 136 • • •
Hotel Information Systems — Circle 102 • • • •
IDeaS — Circle 199 • • • • • •
InnPoints Worldwide — Circle 105 • • • • •
IQWare — Circle 106 • • • •
JVC Company of America — Circle 140 • •
Micros Systems — Circle 110 • • • • • • • •
Multi-Systems Inc. — Circle 111 • • • • •
Newmarket International — Circle 112 • • • •
Northwind-Maestro — Circle 113 • • • • • • • • •
Panasonic Hospitality — Circle 150 • •
Ramesys Hospitality — Circle 116 • • • •
Revenue Source One — Circle 201 •
Sceptre — Circle 167 • • • • • • • • •
SoftBrands — Circle 118 • • • • • • •
Springer-Miller Systems — Circle 119 • • • • • • • •
StayOnline — Circle 154 • • • • •
Thomson (RCA) — Circle 157 •
Unifocus — Circle 197 •
Unisys Corp. — Circle 171 • • • • •
Virtual-Agent Services — Circle 172 •

CENTRAL RESERVATION SYSTEMS
GDS connectivity Guest history (individual) Timeshare-condo management Automatic rate/room availability Activities scheduling (tee times, tennis) Destination marketing for CVBs Web-based travel portal Multi-GDS display Corporate/travel agent account tracking Private-label voice services Group/housing reservations Guest history (corporate) Recreation/spa management Corporate room contribution Revenue management/interface Web/browser-enabled IDS connectivity Dynamic packaging capabilities Extranet management capabilities Sales & catering interface Other
Altiuspar — Circle 161 • • • • • • • • • •
Booking Center — Circle 93 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Connex Services — Circle 97 •
Data Plus — Circle 98 • • •
EzRez Software — Circle 162 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Fast Booking — Circle 225 • • • • • • • • • • •
GenaRes Worldwide — Circle 163 • • • • • • • • • • •
Hospitality Solutions Internat'l — Circle 101 • • • • • • • • •
Hotel Information Systems — Circle 102 • • • • • • • • • • • •
InnPoints Worldwide — Circle 105 • • • • • • • • • • • • •
IQWare — Circle 106 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Lodging Interactive — Circle 164 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Micros Systems — Circle 110 • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Newmarket International — Circle 112 •
Northwind-Maestro — Circle 113 • • • • • • • • • • •
Optims America — Circle 165 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Pegasus Solutions — Circle 166 • • • • • • • • • • • •
Ramesys Hospitality — Circle 116 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Remco Software — Circle 117 • • • • • • •
Sceptre — Circle 167 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Secure-Res — Circle 168 • • • • • • • • •
SoftBrands — Circle 118 • • • • • • • • • • • •
Springer-Miller Systems — Circle 119 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Topaz Hotel Services — Circle 169 • • • • •
TravelCLICK — Circle 170 • • • • • • • • • • • •
Unisys — Circle 171 •
Virtual-Agent Services — Circle 172 • •
Visual One Systems — Circle 121 • • • • • • • •

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