Hotel Technology Next Generation

ATLANTA | At its annual Members’ Meeting and Conference this week, Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) announced the first HTNG-Certified products. The “HTNG Certified” label and logo provide hoteliers with assurance of technology products with industry-standard interfaces. Certified products should be deployable without custom development, with any other compatible, certified products from any other vendor.

Five products, from four industry vendors, were able to achieve certification in just two weeks since the first specifications from two HTNG workgroups were finalized. Numerous other products from vendors who have been active in the development of this effort are expected to achieve certification in the coming days, weeks and months.

“Our members, both hoteliers and vendors, have been waiting for certified products for many years,” said Douglas C. Rice, Executive Vice President and CEO of HTNG. “We are delighted to say that certification is no longer just a theoretical possibility, but a reality. Based on feedback at our members’ conference, we know that in addition to the five initial certified vendors, many of the most critical vendors to our industry are lining up to become certified as soon as possible. Even more important, the templates and experience that HTNG has now developed will allow HTNG to rapidly expand the universe of certifiable specifications.”

The HTNG Property Web Services Workgroup published its 2007a specification, which includes the Single-Guest Itinerary initiative. This initiative allows the various systems that know about guest activities at a complex property to share information about everything the guest can reserve, including rooms, dining reservations, golf tee times, spa reservations, and other activities. It gives hotel staff and guests the ability to see and coordinate activities across these systems, and also supports charge posting. The 2007a specification also includes a technical standard for message exchange between systems, referred to as the Web Services Framework 2.0 synchronous specification.

The HTNG Property/Distribution Solution Workgroup also published its own 2007a specification, covering delivery of reservations, rates, availability, and yield controls amongst systems. This specification was developed in close cooperation with the OpenTravel Alliance (OTA) and was implemented exclusively using the OTA message specification.

The first certified products and their vendors were recognized in a ceremony at the 2007 annual HTNG Members’ Meeting & Conference in Atlanta, where nearly 300 hotel technology industry leaders gathered to hear about the progress of HTNG’s activities. Many attendees felt that the achievement of certified products was the most significant accomplishment of HTNG and its participating technology vendors since HTNG’s inception nearly five years ago.

“Certification benefits everyone,” explained Rice. “Large vendors that need to interface to many systems can focus their development interfaces on industry standard efforts and selected strategic interfaces, rather than on reinventing the same interface over and over again. Smaller and newer vendors gain credibility that encourages larger companies to be willing to interface with them. Hoteliers benefit by gaining confidence that their vendors have committed to and delivered on industry standards, ensuring a much higher level of future-proofing for their technologies.”

About HTNG Certification
The HTNG certification program allows vendors to register products that comply with HTNG published specifications. Upon completion of certification, vendors can label their certified products with the “HTNG Certified” label. Technology buyers can verify the certification and learn the precise details of a product’s conformance by visiting the Certified Product Register, available on the HTNG Certification Site.

The HTNG certification program is operated by HTNG through The Open Group, the world leader in the development and certification of open standards. The certification site is available at www.opengroup.org/htng/cert, and includes the Register of Certified Products, the HTNG Certification Policy, the technical specifications, and a guide to certification for vendors interested in certifying.

About Hotel Technology Next Generation
The premier technology solutions association in the hospitality industry, HTNG is a self-funded, non-profit organization with global scope. HTNG members include most leading hotel and hospitality companies, technology vendors serving the hospitality market, and other industry members including consultants, media, and academic experts. HTNG’s members participate in focused workgroups to bring to market open solution sets addressing specific business problems and needs. The HTNG certification program provides a “seal of assurance” for products that conform to HTNG specifications.

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 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 they are approved for certification or when the workgroup has completed its work, typically after no more than 18 months. For more information, visit www.htng.org.

Contact
Katie Mazzuca
Senior Director of Marketing and Events
United States - Schaumburg, Phone: +1 312 690-5034
Fax: +1 703 814 8555
Email: katie.mazzuca@htng.org

Organization
Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG) - AHLA
www.ahla.com/htng
1250 Eye Street N.W., Suite 1100
USA - Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 1 202 289 3100
Email: ewilson@ahla.com