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Leading Technology Associations Team Up to Integrate Customer Information from a Wide Range of Gaming and Hospitality Systems

September 01, 2010 - Gaming Standards Association (GSA) and Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) announced their intention to launch a coordinated standards development effort to integrate customer information across a variety of hotel and gaming systems.

The objective is to enable existing systems to link together to provide a completely integrated view of each customer from across the entire operation, including the customer’s profile, their future itineraries and past spending. Systems within the project scope include property management, point of sale, player tracking, spa, concierge, show ticketing, and other activities systems.

The effort will build upon and expand successful past efforts by GSA and HTNG in their respective arenas. HTNG’s Single Guest Itinerary specification, which synchronizes customer records and itineraries across various hotel and resort systems, will be expanded to incorporate gaming activities. Elements of both HTNG’s and GSA’s customer profile are expected to be incorporated in a new, common profile format. The group will add historical spending activity to the structure so that hotel and casino staff can see a complete view of the value of the guest. Implementation will occur through modest upgrades to existing systems, allowing hotels and casinos to avoid the expense and disruption of totally new systems.

The effort will kick off at a meeting on October 6, 2010, in Las Vegas, hosted by MGM Resorts International at MGM’s Excalibur hotel. Interested hotels, casinos and technology providers are welcome to attend. GSA and HTNG leadership will discuss the goals for this effort, seek directional input and commitment from key industry players, and begin laying out the general development plan. The project will be executed within each organization’s existing structure, but with consultation and agreement on shared elements. HTNG will take the lead on hotel/resort functionality, while GSA will do so for player tracking. Shared elements such as the customer profile will be negotiated jointly. HTNG will also coordinate with OpenTravel Alliance to ensure long-term consistency for the elements of the project where OpenTravel Alliance standards exist, such as customer profile definition.

“MGM Resorts is pleased to see the capabilities of these two important organizations coordinating on this effort,” said Scot Campbell, CIO of MGM Resorts International. “We, and indeed the entire hospitality industry, expect to gain a much clearer picture of the guests in our hotels and casinos, while our staff in each department can continue using the systems with which they are already most comfortable.” Campbell is a current board member of HTNG and a past board member of GSA.

A number of technology companies have been involved in early discussions and indicated their intention to participate actively, including:

Agilysys
AMX
Bally Technologies, Inc.
GoConcierge.net
Konami Gaming, Inc.
International Game Technology (IGT)
MICROS Systems, Inc.
Oracle Corp.

Hotels, casinos, resorts, and technology providers alike can benefit from getting involved in these foundational efforts. Those interested in participating can register now to attend the October 6 meeting at either GSA or at HTNG’s Prospective Workgroup page.

Membership in GSA or HTNG is not required in order to attend the initial directional meeting, but will be needed for ongoing participation. The associations reserve the right to limit attendance at the kickoff meeting.

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Leading Technology Associations Team Up to Integrate Customer Information from a Wide Range of Gaming and Hospitality Systems

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