Are you looking for business or technology solutions for
your distribution challenges?
Are you interested in finding out more about non-proprietary
interoperability and the OpenTravel Alliance?
Industry leaders and OpenTravel members discuss the current
state of electronic distribution in the travel industry, including best
practices that can be used to make your travel business more efficient, more
effective and to generate more revenue.
Susan Black, Managing Partner of Susan Black Associates, will moderate several sessions.
OpenTravel is pleased to participate in EyeforTravel’s North
American Travel Distribution Summit September 16-17 2009 in Chicago, and
EyeforTravel has offered OpenTravel members qualify for a 15% discount on
conference passes for this event.
To register with this discount, enter the code “OpenTravel”
on the
registration page, or email
Helen@eyefortravel.com
for more information.
Network with 600+ senior travel executives and get
practical, money-boosting tips from SVPs and VPs from top travel brands.Find out how to cut distribution costs,
seize opportunities, steal market share and create marketing innovative
campaigns.Speakers include:
Expedia, Starwood, Hilton, American Airlines, Sabre, Forrester Research,
Continental Airlines, Priceline.com, Wyndham Hotels, JetBlue, Orbitz and
more. They will be discussing
crucial distribution trends, supplier and OTA relations, social media, growth
in the vacation rental market, search engine marketing and ancillary
revenue. Click here for more information.
OpenTravel is pleased to announce its
2009-2010 board of directors and leaders of work groups and committees.
For the first time, the board of
directors includes representatives from the timeshare/vacation rental and tour
and activity segments.
Air Carrier Board Representative
- Michelle Aaron, Director Application Development, PSS Replacement, American Airlines
Hotel Company Board Representative
- Lisa Fues, Director of Reservations, Inventory and Distribution, Marriott International
Rental Car Company Board Representatives
- John Turato, Vice President Technology, Avis Budget Group
- James White, Director of Global Automated Marketing, The Hertz Corporation
At-Large Supplier Board Representative
- Eric Mason, Vice President Global Product Development, Group RCI/Wyndham Worldwide
Non-Supplier Board Representatives
- Greg Berman, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, HBSi, an IBS Group Company
- Lew Harasymiw, Director of Interface Solutions, SynXis/Sabre
- Stephen Joyce, Chief Executive Officer, RezGo
- Kevin Short, Client Industry Executive for Global Travel and Hospitality, EDS
International Board Representative
-
John Lambe, Chief Technology Office, OpenJaw Technologies
Work Group and Committee Leadership
Architecture Work Group
- David Morley, Marriott
International
- Gee Chia, IBM
Hospitality Work Group
Transport Work Group
- Vicki Bias, Continental Airlines
- Joe Schaefer, AceRentACar
Travel Integration Work Group
Interoperability Committee
- David Morley, Marriott
International
- Gee Chia, IBM
- Kelly VanHouten, Pegasus
- Vicki Bias, Continental Airlines
- Joe Schaefer, AceRentACar
- Rick Gordon, USAirways
- Tony Williams, TTI
Organizations like OpenTravel rely
on the participation of its member companies. We gratefully acknowledge the companies listed above for
their commitment to open standards in the travel industry.
OpenTravel is pleased to announce the addition to its staff of Bonnie Lowell
as OpenTravel Specifications Manager. As a specifications manager,
Bonnie will manage OpenTravel work groups and committees, as well as
facilitate schema development by OpenTravel's project teams.
Prior to joining OpenTravel, Bonnie served in a management role for
Starwood Hotels & Resorts, a global provider of some of the most
innovative hotel brands and products, for 5 years. During her tenure at
Starwood, Bonnie lead a development team that experienced the full
cycle of an OpenTravel-enabled technology implementation, from
integration into the SDLC through the launch of a system with numerous
other OpenTravel-enabled partners.
Bonnie is an accomplished technologist and entrepreneur with over
two decades of experience. Ms. Lowell is excited to be joining the
OpenTravel team as they continue to bring schema standards and best
practices to the forefront of the travel industry.
In 1995, Bonnie founded Younology Inc., one of the first Internet
companies to provide enabling technology for a personalized internet
experience. The company partnered with industry luminaries such as
Microsoft and was subsequently sold to an industry leading provider of
web server technology. Subsequent to YouPowered, Bonnie founded Body
Mantra Inc., a technology company that provided an innovative method of
analyzing and mixing digital music - which was purchased by a major
digital music company.
The heart of OpenTravel is its project teams who create new schema
or enhance existing messages to meet the needs of the travel industry.
Participation in the project teams is open to all members of
OpenTravel, and any member is entitled to participate in any project
team.
Below is a list of 2010A projects now underway. Click on the link to see the project description associated with each project.
Architecture Work Group
The OpenTravel 2.0 Initiative
Transport Work Group
Travel Integration Work Group
If your company would like to participate in any of these projects, contact the appropriate specification manager.
Interested in finding out how project teams work, or in starting up a new project team? Click here to find out more information.
Travel Technology Initiative (TTI), an OpenTravel industry partner, is offering OpenTravel members a
discount at their Autumn Conference on September 22 2009 in London.
Entitled "Connecting to Content," the event will be held at 9:30am at the Strand Palace Hotel. For more information, click here.
In an effort to optimize participation for OpenTravel members, we are pleased to announce OpenTravel On-Demand Meetings, launching in September 2009.
With the launch of this new service, you'll never have to miss another OpenTravel work group or project team meeting again because now they will be available for virtual viewing within 24 hours of the meeting.
Join the OpenTravel LinkedIn Group here, and follow OpenTravel on Twitter to network and chat about OpenTravel. Executive Director Valyn Perini is also on Twitter.