Five Partnership Projects Happening by 2017
“In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” — Charles Darwin
New concepts and adapted ideas keep the hospitality marketplace vibrant. Putting those into practice in hotel organizations, however, can be a real challenge due to a lack of standards, complex IT environments and conflicting vendor points of view.
HTNG was formed to push through these obstacles so hoteliers can benefit from new technologies faster, and it has worked. By gathering competing vendors and hoteliers in a room with a timetable and a task, HTNG has succeeded where other associations have struggled.
Here’s an update on five collaborative projects in the works at HTNG, that are aimed at benefiting the industry overall:
1. Creating essential documents such as New Build Best Practices.
Ensuring a new build is future-proof has long relied on the tech savvy of the architecture firm, who may not be aware of every emerging technology. But when hoteliers, designers and a wide range of technology firms work together to account for every type of need, nothing gets missed and hotels ensure they’re ready for what’s next. In January, the New Builds workgroup, led by Jim McGlynn, director of engineering for Engineering PLUS (www.220221.com) and Jeff
Loether, president of Electro-Media Design, Ltd. (www.electro-media.com), produced a best practices document (www.htng.org/page/SpecsbyProductType), which is already getting rave
reviews. At any given time, multiple HTNG workgroups are accomplishing similar achievements.
2. Identifying industry experts through a new HTNG Recognition Program.
HTNG succeeds in moving the industry forward because people at the top of their profession donate their time and talent. HTNG is collaborating with Venza Group (www.venzagroup.com) to create a recognition program that awards badges to highlight the expertise of these hoteliers and vendor contributors, starting with a security badge. Displaying the badge on LinkedIn and other professional profiles will help convey this distinction and help hoteliers easily identify experts they can rely on.
3. Creating a richer, more comprehensive annual conference.
Good conferences can impart incredible value in just a few days, but it’s hard to find time to attend them all. So starting in Spring 2017, HTNG’s North American Conference and Hospitality Technology’s Hotel Technology Forum (HTF) will combine into one even stronger event. As one blended event, the conference will offer even more prominent speakers, plus expanded education and networking sessions. Details will be announced soon on both organizations’ websites.
4. Showcasing a model room of the future at a new Innovation Center.
HTNG is collaborating with the Rosen College of Hospitality Management and HFTP (Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals) at the University of Central Florida to develop an Innovation Center, opening in Spring 2017. The “next gen” in the name HTNG will come to life in a dedicated space that serves as a test lab for vendor-contributed technology and HTNG standards so students can impact new technologies as they take shape. It’s a chance for industry members to collaborate together and with the next generation of hoteliers.
5. Coordinating standards across standards bodies.
Hospitality is rich with associations, each adding its own value to the industry. These organizations are most effective when they complement one another’s work. HTNG collaborates deeply with a long list of industry groups, such as the Open Travel Alliance, to coordinate initiatives and avoid duplication of effort. One way this collaboration pays off for members is when HTNG takes over a standards-setting project when another group reaches an impasse, which occurred recently with a secure payments standard. HTNG’s collaboration-focused culture and results-oriented process delivered an effective solution.
Collaboration is the theme of all of HTNG’s work, which impacts hoteliers every day. “I’m a big fan of collective diversity in the industry,” says Mike Blake, CEO at HTNG. “It’s so important to harness that diversity to get innovation.”
New concepts and adapted ideas keep the hospitality marketplace vibrant. Putting those into practice in hotel organizations, however, can be a real challenge due to a lack of standards, complex IT environments and conflicting vendor points of view.
HTNG was formed to push through these obstacles so hoteliers can benefit from new technologies faster, and it has worked. By gathering competing vendors and hoteliers in a room with a timetable and a task, HTNG has succeeded where other associations have struggled.
Here’s an update on five collaborative projects in the works at HTNG, that are aimed at benefiting the industry overall:
1. Creating essential documents such as New Build Best Practices.
Ensuring a new build is future-proof has long relied on the tech savvy of the architecture firm, who may not be aware of every emerging technology. But when hoteliers, designers and a wide range of technology firms work together to account for every type of need, nothing gets missed and hotels ensure they’re ready for what’s next. In January, the New Builds workgroup, led by Jim McGlynn, director of engineering for Engineering PLUS (www.220221.com) and Jeff
Loether, president of Electro-Media Design, Ltd. (www.electro-media.com), produced a best practices document (www.htng.org/page/SpecsbyProductType), which is already getting rave
reviews. At any given time, multiple HTNG workgroups are accomplishing similar achievements.
2. Identifying industry experts through a new HTNG Recognition Program.
HTNG succeeds in moving the industry forward because people at the top of their profession donate their time and talent. HTNG is collaborating with Venza Group (www.venzagroup.com) to create a recognition program that awards badges to highlight the expertise of these hoteliers and vendor contributors, starting with a security badge. Displaying the badge on LinkedIn and other professional profiles will help convey this distinction and help hoteliers easily identify experts they can rely on.
3. Creating a richer, more comprehensive annual conference.
Good conferences can impart incredible value in just a few days, but it’s hard to find time to attend them all. So starting in Spring 2017, HTNG’s North American Conference and Hospitality Technology’s Hotel Technology Forum (HTF) will combine into one even stronger event. As one blended event, the conference will offer even more prominent speakers, plus expanded education and networking sessions. Details will be announced soon on both organizations’ websites.
4. Showcasing a model room of the future at a new Innovation Center.
HTNG is collaborating with the Rosen College of Hospitality Management and HFTP (Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals) at the University of Central Florida to develop an Innovation Center, opening in Spring 2017. The “next gen” in the name HTNG will come to life in a dedicated space that serves as a test lab for vendor-contributed technology and HTNG standards so students can impact new technologies as they take shape. It’s a chance for industry members to collaborate together and with the next generation of hoteliers.
5. Coordinating standards across standards bodies.
Hospitality is rich with associations, each adding its own value to the industry. These organizations are most effective when they complement one another’s work. HTNG collaborates deeply with a long list of industry groups, such as the Open Travel Alliance, to coordinate initiatives and avoid duplication of effort. One way this collaboration pays off for members is when HTNG takes over a standards-setting project when another group reaches an impasse, which occurred recently with a secure payments standard. HTNG’s collaboration-focused culture and results-oriented process delivered an effective solution.
Collaboration is the theme of all of HTNG’s work, which impacts hoteliers every day. “I’m a big fan of collective diversity in the industry,” says Mike Blake, CEO at HTNG. “It’s so important to harness that diversity to get innovation.”