HTNG Executive Briefing Session
For Technology and Distribution Vendors
9 July 2003
Conference Call Agenda
Introduction
Discussion of HTNG History and Mission
HTNG Governance Structure
Specific HTNG Objectives for 2003-2004
Hotel Membership and Participation Guidelines
Vendor Membership and Participation
Guidelines
 Media Activities
 Next Steps
 Q&A
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Introduction
 Presenters
 Audience
 Acknowledgments
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Code of Conduct
Trade associations are perfectly lawful organizations. However, since a trade association is, by
definition an organization of competitors, HTNG officers and members must take precautions to
ensure that we do not engage in activities which can be interpreted as violating existing anti-trust
or anti-competitive agreements in various parts of the world. For any activity which is deemed to
unreasonably restrain trade, the association and its members may be subject to legal penalties,
regardless of otherwise beneficial objectives.
To ensure that we conduct all meetings and gatherings in strict compliance to any such laws and
agreements in any part of the world, the HTNG Code of Conduct is to be distributed and/or read
aloud at all such gatherings.
There will be no discussion of room rates, surcharges, conditions, terms or prices of services,
allocating or sharing of customers, or refusing to deal with a particular supplier or class of
suppliers. Neither serious nor flippant remarks will be permitted.
Because the members of the organization are expected to behave professionally at all times, which
includes acting in accordance with all applicable laws, negative, disparaging or discrediting
comments regarding other members, corporations or competitors, or their goods or services, will
not be tolerated.
HTNG may not issue recommendation on any of the above subjects or distribute to its members any
publications concerning such matters. No discussions which directly or indirectly fix purchase or
selling prices may take place. Standards or certification requirements for membership must give
equal conditions to all similar parties.
All HTNG related meetings shall be conducted in accordance with a previously prepared and
distributed agenda.
Actions inconsistent with the above terms will be considered violations of this Code of Conduct. The
Board of Directors reserves the right to take whatever actions it deems necessary to ensure
compliance with this Code.
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Brief History
 Conceived by a group of hospitality-industry
technology influencers at HITEC 2002
 Executive Board of hotel executives appointed
December 2002
 Mission statement developed January 2003
 Officers elected March 2003
 Executive advisory group appointed March-June
2003
 2003-2004 objectives established at board
meeting at HITEC 2003
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Why HTNG?
Despite the best efforts of many vendors,
hotels require far better integration of
vertical applications
80+ applications – no vendor supports more
than a handful
Functional, transaction-oriented processing –
little or no customer centricity
Poor support for non-room products
Historically, integration efforts have been
dismal failures
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Why HTNG?
 Poor exploitation of modern technology
platforms (as opposed to tools) by hotel
companies
Leads to poor support of modern platforms
by technology suppliers
• “Platform independence” is a marketing myth
Chicken and egg problem – need to create a
forum for agreement
Substantial holdback of capital spending by
most hotel companies vs. requirements
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How Will HTNG Help?
 By providing leadership and a common voice
 For customer (hotels) to describe their needs and frustrations
to technology vendors
 By establishing a forum for sharing of best practices in
systems interoperability
 By establishing core architectures and platforms that
 Hotel companies can install and support, or contract with third
parties to operate
 Provide a common, known environment for application
providers to write to, test, document, and support
 Provide common services to applications, so that vendors can
focus on core business-logic competencies
 Facilitate information exchange and consolidation across time,
geography, and application
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HTNG Mission Statement
HTNG will facilitate the creation of solution sets for
hospitality that:
1. Are modeled around the customer, and allow for a
rich definition and distribution of hotel products,
beyond simply sleeping rooms
2.
Comprise best-of-breed software components from
existing vendors, and enable vendors to
collaboratively produce world-class software products
encompassing all major areas of technology spending:
hotel and leisure operations, telecommunications
(PABX), in-room entertainment, customer information
systems, and electronic distribution
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HTNG Mission Statement
3.
Properly exploit and leverage a base system
architecture that provides integration and
interoperability through messaging; and that provides
security, redundancy, and high availability
4.
Target the needs of hotel and leisure companies up to
several hundred properties, that are too small to
solve the issues themselves
5.
Will reduce technology management cost and
complexity while improving reliability and scalability
6.
Can be deployed globally, managed remotely, and
outsourced to service providers where needed.
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What is a “Solution Set?”
 A set of integrated software products from one
or many vendors that
 Addresses a defined set of needs for a target market
or business problem
 Properly leverages a modern, common base platform
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Operating system and network architecture
Database environment
Deployment model
Common platform services (office automation, messaging,
directory services, security, management)
 Can be operated either in-house or by a third party
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What HTNG is Not
 A standards body
 Solution set(s) may create de facto standards, but
HTNG does not intend to dictate them
 Suppliers can make their own business decisions
whether and which standards to adopt
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HITIS, HEDNA or HFTP
A pressure group
A think tank
Targeted at the needs of all hotels
 Focus is below megachains and above independent
hotels
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Governance
 HTNG founders concluded that change could be
driven ONLY by hotels
 They appointed an initial executive board consisting
entirely of hotel senior technology executives
 The board itself adopted a governance structure
that continues to reflects this requirement
• Only hotel company executives can be elected to board
positions
• Six initial board members, with several candidates seeking
two open positions
 Vendors, consultants, academics, media, and others
will have productive and active roles
• But cannot hold board positions
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Governance
 Board of Directors
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Gebhard Rainer – President (Hyatt International)
Mark Hedley – Vice President (Wyndham)
Matthew Dunn – Secretary/Treasurer (Intrawest)
Glenn Bonner (MGM Mirage)
Kathleen McIntee (Destination Hotels & Resorts)
Nick Price (Mandarin Oriental)
2 open positions
 Executive Advisors
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Daniel Connolly (Univ. of Denver)
Jon Inge (Jon Inge & Associates)
Doug Rice (Stratus Management Group)
Mac Smith (Plexus Partnership)
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Membership Structure
 Regular Members
 Organizations that actively provide hospitality services to end
consumers as a primary business, or individuals currently
employed by such organizations. Organizations are to be
represented by individuals who have technology-related
responsibilities.
 Industry Partner Members
 Organizations who provide technology and/or distributionrelated products and/or services to the hospitality industry
 Allied Members
 Individuals whose interest in the industry is fundamentally
informational rather than economic, including specifically but
not limited to students, academics, and media representatives;
but specifically excluding individuals who qualify for other
membership categories
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Hotel Membership Participation
 Targeted at decision makers and influencers for
technology acquisition
 Technical
 Business
 Per-person membership fee ($195/year)
 Membership provides
 Opportunity to work collaboratively in defining
platforms and facilitating inter-vendor
communication
 Early awareness of and access to inter-vendor
capabilities created by HTNG-driven activities
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Vendor Membership Participation
 Open to all ($1,500/year per company)
 Membership entitles vendors to
• Pre-publication access to results of customer/vendor workgroup
efforts
• Publicity through HTNG of their commitment of the effort
• Use of HTNG solution set “endorsement(s)” based on compliance
with workgroup-established guidelines
 Active participative roles by vendors will require
adherence to “good citizen” rules
 To be modeled on similar successful efforts in other industries
and technology spaces, e.g. The Open Group
 Will be communicated in greater detail during August 2003
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HTNG 2003-2004 Action Proposal
 Identify core hospitality-industry technology and distribution
vendors
 Review HTNG mission and implications with senior vendor
executives (today)
 Obtain startup funding through vendor membership drive
 Finalize and communicate the workgroup process model
during August 2003
 Provide key communications about HTNG in the context of
the CIO Summit in early September
 Seek vendor commitment to public support of HTNG via
press releases during the first two weeks of September, 2003
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HTNG 2003-2004 Action Proposal
 Charter specific workgroups with defined
objectives and timeframes (3-12 months) at
Board Meeting during September 2003
 Form customer-vendor workgroups for one or
more technology architecture problem sets
 Facilitate initial working sessions 24-26 September
 Defined missions
 Target outcomes that are achievable in a time
period of three to nine months
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HTNG 2003-2004 Action Proposal
 Publish workgroup working papers and outcomes in a
forum available to all HTNG members, beginning
immediately after the September sessions
 Non-members will receive this information only in synopsis
form and only after the workgroup has completed its task
 Members will have ongoing access to working papers
throughout the process
 Launch full-scale membership campaign(s) beginning in
October, 2003
 Deliver first integrated applications from workgroups
prior to HITEC 2004
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Vendor Action Steps - #1
 Join HTNG
 Provide contact & full company information
• E-mail to ‘[email protected]’ if invoice is required
• Or send check via snail mail to HTNG address, payable to
“Hotel Technology-Next Generation”
 Electronic enrollment will be available by 1
September at http://www.htng.org/
 Vendor site will be added to HTNG Vendor Members
roster
 Add HTNG logo/link to your site
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Vendor Action Steps - #2
 Publish press release supporting HTNG &
workgroup process
 Requested of vendors that regularly issue press
releases
• Others can use alternative communication modes such as a
letter to customers or prominent website posting
 Requested release dates: 3-12 September
 HTNG will supply boilerplate, which can be adapted
as desired
 Further media coverage to be arranged by HTNG
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Vendor Action Steps - #3
 Architect or Senior Technologist
Participation in Integration Workgroups
Interested vendors should e-mail contact
details to ‘[email protected]’
Size, makeup and participation
• To be limited according to practices adopted from
similar organizations
Kickoff September 24-26
• Chicago area, details TBA
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HTNG Contact Details
 Web site:
http://www.htng.org/
 Membership questions:
[email protected]
 Mailing address:
Hotel Technology-Next Generation2275 Lake
Whatcom Blvd, PMB-223
Bellingham, WA 98226
360-715-8741
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