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Over 300 travel industry professionals gathered the 8-10 of May in Barcelona, Spain for the 2005 Conference of The Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association (HEDNA).
The two-day conference reinforced the fact that HEDNA continues to conduct the premier events for the lodging industry seeking to network and learn from industry leaders regarding the latest technology, trends reports, and forecasts in the hotel electronic distribution world.
The Conference program provided extensive detail on highly relevant topics with a truly global emphasis. Over half the audience came from locations outside the United States including Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Ireland, Italy, Singapore, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
An all-star roster of center stage presenters included representatives from Sabre Travel Network; Amadeus; Galileo International; Worldspan; Expedia Europe; Gullivers Travel Associates; Marriott International; Partners in Marketing; GetThere EMEA; Travelocity.com; Hotwire; Expedia; Opodo; Cendant Travel Distribution Services; Pegasus Solutions; OpenWorld; SideStep; Carlson Hospitality Worldwide; Sabre Labs; and OnVantage.
“We increased the opportunities for audience participation and the response was overwhelming,” said HEDNA President Jimmy Suh. “During each session, a large number of attendees felt more comfortable submitting their questions via index cards read by a moderator rather than asking the question directly into a microphone. This allowed the content discussion to drill down into the true depth of pivotal industry topics and delve into more practical information than any other industry conference.”
The Conference commenced with world-renowned Forrester Research vice president Henry H. Harteveldt. Registrants stayed until the very end to hear Closing Speaker David V. Jones, Vice President, Commercial, Amadeus Global Travel Distribution. Both speakers enhanced the program by addressing relevant issues that are challenging the travel industry.
Attendees participated in a combination of general sessions, GDS and IDS panel sessions and a provocative Point/Counter Point discussion offering insight on MetaSearch/TravelSearch. A presentation providing a global trends update and GDS/Internet booking information gave attendees useful information to take back to the office and re-examine the growth of their business.
The IDS panelists gave HEDNA executives the opportunity to learn how to gain more business from their partnerships, understand new connectivity options available today, and share insights into their future offerings. The GDS panelists shared their recent developments, their future product and marketing goals, and their view of what they see as current trends.
Close to 100 attendees participated in one of HEDNA’s Committee meetings. Agenda items addressed in the Standards Committee included review of a chain code matrix and an IDS Switchover draft as well as discussion involving a document for dual representation exceptions in GDS systems. The Electronic Distribution Committee broke out into three subgroups addressing the future of tour through online distribution, the future of group through online distribution and benchmarking channel per channel activity.
Finally, the Technology Showcase surveyed the hottest products and services from vendors in the industry: Electrobug Technologies; Leonardo; Multimap.com; Pegasus Solutions, Inc.; Sabre Travel Network & Travelocity; and TravelCLICK. Various social events in the Showcase and an offsite venue provided extensive networking opportunities for information sharing.
The next HEDNA Conference will be held 4-6 December 2005 in San Francisco, California at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco on Union Square. For more information, visit www.hedna.org or email hgallacher@hedna.org or call +1 703-970-2070.
About HEDNA
The Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association (HEDNA) is a not-for-profit trade association whose worldwide membership includes executives and managers from over 200 of the most influential companies in the hotel distribution industry. Founded in 1991, all of HEDNA's activities are intended to stimulate the booking of hotel rooms through the use of GDS, the Internet and other electronic means. HEDNA brings all segments of the hotel industry together to evolve systems and services into electronic distribution that is easy and efficient. Additional information on HEDNA is available by calling +1 703 970-2070 or by visiting www.hedna.org.
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