Group to develop a certification and position guidelines ahead of the EU GDPR compliance deadline.
AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA – Preparing for the new EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), a framework legislated by all EU member states with a required compliance date of May 25, 2018, international nonprofit association Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) recruited a team of experts to develop Hospitality Data Protection Officer (HDPO) guidelines and supporting resources for the industry. In addition, the group is designing a certification program specific for HDPOs to demonstrate their competence with the specialized position. A key requirement of the GDPR is that companies who handle large stores of sensitive personal information must assign a DPO, and it is estimated that this could open approximately 28,000 positions across all industries.
The HFTP HDPO Task Force held its first meeting last month from July 14-15, 2017 at the Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
"I am very pleased with the outcome of our first meeting held in Amsterdam this summer,” said Alvaro Hidalgo, managing partner at FIRSTLOGIC Consulting and HFTP HDPO Task Force co-chair. “We have identified areas in which specific solutions (registration challenges, integration of DPO, communication with IT providers and others) are being analyzed, and we are confident to bring those solutions to the industry this autumn.”
The HFTP HDPO Task Force consists of 23 members representing a three-dimensional cross section of the hospitality industry including: global, regional and local hotel operators; IT and service provider vendors (distribution, marketing, CRM, etc.); academics and counselors specialized in data protection regulations; members of large multinational groups as well as medium and small companies from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, United States, Switzerland, UAE, Belgium, Netherlands and Spain.
The HFTP HDPO Task Force committee consists of the following hospitality industry leaders:
- Nigel Allport, vice president of EMEA at Digital Alchemy, United Kingdom
- Ken Bailey, managing director of public sector at Fortalice Solutions, USA
- Sjoerd Blum, CIO at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, The Netherlands
- Stephen Carter, OBE, general manager at Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa, United Kingdom
- Dennis Collet, CEO at NextRound Ltd, United Kingdom
- Luis del Olmo Pinero, president and chairman at Idiso, Spain
- Richard Harrington, director of finance of luxury at Splendid Hospitality, United Kingdom
- Lucinda Hart, CAE, MBA, COO at HFTP, USA
- Alvaro Hidalgo, managing partner at FIRSTLOGIC Consulting, Spain
- Daniel Johnson, COO at Venza, USA
- Timo Kettern, director of IT at Lapithus Hotel Management GmbH, Germany
- Dr. Dennis-Kenji Kipker, research managing director at Universitat Bremen, Germany
- Jose Medio, Attorney, CIPP/us, CIPP/E, managing director at Privalis Group, USA
- Ian Millar, CHTP, professor of IT at Ecole Hoteliere De Lausanne, Switzerland
- Benny Nur, technical services director at Interstate Europe Hotels & Resorts, United Kingdom
- Tar O’Neill, CFO for Jamie Oliver Group, United Kingdom
- Sophie Pommois, project director of global distribution at Global Hotel Alliance, Switzerland
- Stephanie Timsit, director of finance at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, United Kingdom
- Rajesh Vohra, director at Sarova Hotels Ltd., United Kingdom
- Carl Weldon, FIH FHOSPA, COO Europe at HFTP, United Kingdom
- Frank Wolfe, CEO at HFTP, USA
- James Wright, vice president of IT field services EMEA at Hilton Worldwide, UAE
Oguz Can Yildirim, CHT, associate director of information risk management EAME at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Belgium said "By its nature, the hospitality industry manages a vast amount of personal data. The GDPR will set a new standard for data processing/management that will impact both the finance and technology sectors, and any company that offers goods or services to EU residents,” said Wolfe. "Unlike previous frameworks, GDPR includes companies outside the EU who either have customers that are EU citizens or who monitor the online identifiers of EU data subjects. HFTP has deemed it critical to develop resources to alleviate the hospitality technology operational changes ahead.”
HFTP will host a HDPO education session at its upcoming Annual Convention on October 25-27, 2017. Wrapping up 2017, HFTP will produce its inaugural HITEC Dubai counterpart event, in partnership with Naseba, from November 14-15 – serving as the third, and final, HITEC of the year. In 2018, HFTP will bring back HITEC Amsterdam on April 11-13 in addition to the larger HITEC Houston on June 18-21.
HFTP Announces 2017 CHAE of the Year Recipient Guus Martinus Heijmans, CHAE
Also, HFTP will honor Guus Martinus Heijmans, CHAE as the 2017 Certified Hospitality Accountant Executive (CHAE) of the Year at its upcoming Annual Convention this October. The CHAE of the Year award honors the individual that scored the highest on the CHAE certification exam within a given year.
Heijmans’ accounting journey began from an F&B internship that he had under a J1 visa program that brought him to the United States in 2008. This was the year he received firsthand experience working within hotel management at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland USA, and realized his passion was in hotel accounting. After returning to The Netherlands, Heijmans decided to continue his education at Stenden University in Leeuwarden where he earned his bachelors in International Hospitality Management and Business Administration in 2012. Alongside his studies, he had the opportunity to do a cluster traineeship in internal auditing for the Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel and the Amsterdam Marriott Hotel.
With a bachelor’s degree and certificate in hospitality real estate, Heijmans took his first job out of college as a hotel night auditor at the Grand Hotel ‘Huis ter Duin’ in The Netherlands. In 2013, he became an assistant hotel controller before moving back to the United States in 2014. After moving to Long Beach, California USA, Heijmans received a job offer from The DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles-Commerce. Currently, Heijmans is an accounting/HR manager at Residence Inn by Marriott Los Angeles LAX/Century Boulevard.
“Receiving my CHAE designation and being nominated as ‘HFTP’s 2017 CHAE of the Year’ has been one of my proudest and most rewarding accomplishments,” said Heijmans. “The designation has already helped me so much in my day-to-day tasks and responsibilities as an accounting and HR manager for the Residence Inn LAX/ West Century Boulevard Hotel. I am thankful to those who offered moral support while I prepared to take my CHAE exam, and am thankful to HFTP for the opportunity to take the next step in my career and demonstrate my skills as a finance expert.”
The CHAE professional designation is an industry designation showing competency in the area of accounting, and is acknowledged throughout the hospitality industry as it elevates the professionalism of both the recipient and the industry. More than 1,500 hospitality accountants, from several countries, have earned the CHAE designation through HFTP since the certification program began in 1981. A new CHAE exam is now available, and features a more global finance focus. HFTP also administers the examination and awards the Certified Hospitality Technology Professional (CHTP).
Angelos is the news editor for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). His role includes to monitor the hundrends of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skim the most important according to our strategy.
He currently studies Communication, Media & Culture in Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens.
