Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) and Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association (HEDNA) will offer a joint seminar program on October 5 in Chicago, featuring all major industry trade associations involved in distribution within the hotel industry.

The sessions will offer hotel industry participants a better understanding of the role of each association, and how they work together to address various industry challenges, to avoid duplication of effort, and to prevent the development of conflicting solutions.

Senior officers from each association will be featured speakers, as will hotel and vendor executives who are involved with each association’s efforts to define and implement best practices and standards for hotel distribution.

The four associations that will participate are:

HEDNA, which focuses on best practices, information sharing, and education

HTNG, which is driving the implementation of open standards through collaborative development among hoteliers and technology vendors

OpenTravel Alliance (OTA), which develops and publishes an XML vocabulary for exchange of travel information

The Convention Industry Council’s Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX), which is fostering the implementation of best practices within the group and meeting environment, including data and document standards that are developed in cooperation with with OTA XML messages

The seminar is being hosted by EyeForTravel, and is co-located with the EyeForTravel Travel Distribution Summit 2006 conference at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza in Chicago.

The first session will provide an overview of each organization, it mission, and its objectives. Speakers will include Valyn Perini, Executive Director of OTA; Douglas Rice, Executive Director of HTNG; E. J. Siwek, chair of the APEX Technology Advisory Council; and Tiffany Topcik, President of HEDNA.

The remaining two sessions will focus on the efforts being undertaken by the industry associations in two key areas: content management, and group and meeting planning. Speakers will include active participants from the committees and working groups of the four organizations, who will describe their teams’ respective efforts and discuss how they coordinate with each other.

Each session will include substantial time for questions and answers from the audience, and association executives will be available to discuss how interested industry participants can get more involved in their efforts.