HTNG Adds Strength To Its Board With New Members

CHICAGO – Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) announces additions to its Board of Governors, the key direction-setting body for the organization. Consisting of CIO-level hotel IT executives from 21 of the world's leading hotel groups, it has the technology responsibility for over 3.5 million guest rooms. The election of Todd Davis and Wendy Mertz as Governors and John Burns as an Executive Advisor further solidifies HTNG as the leading hospitality technology association in the industry.

Todd Davis is Chief Information Officer for Choice Hotels International. In this position, Davis establishes and oversees the company's global information systems strategy on operations, information security and data privacy, global infrastructure, corporate systems and business intelligence solutions. He has been with Choice Hotels for 20 years and immediately prior to joining Choice, he was an engineer for Electronic Data Systems (EDS) Cendant Corporation. Davis is a graduate of Northern Arizona University, where he earned his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with emphasis in hotel and restaurant management. He currently serves on the Northern Arizona University School of Hotel and Restaurant Management and Computer Information Systems Advisory Boards.

Wendy Mertz has more than 25 years in the hospitality industry in a variety of positions and companies including Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Marriott and PricewaterhouseCoopers. She joined Hard Rock in 2000 where she directed the implementation of a variety of systems and created the system standards for Hard Rock Hotels. In her current role, she co-heads the IT department where she has financial and overall responsibility of both long and short term application strategies associated with the selection, implementation and support of restaurants and hotels. Mertz holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Rochester Institute of Technology in Hotel and Resort Management.

In addition to the new Governors elected, the Board also appointed John Burns as an Executive Advisor. Executive Advisors attend board meetings, serve on many board-appointed committees, and may act as board liaisons for HTNG workgroups.

John Burns established Hospitality Technology Consulting to help hotels and other travel companies deal successfully with electronic travel distribution in May 1992. Burns is a Co-Founder of HTNG. In 2006, he was inducted into the HFTP International Hospitality Technology Hall of Fame. That year he also received the International Society of Hospitality Consultants' Pinnacle Award. Burns began his hotel management career at university conference centers before he moved to Hyatt as a Director of Sales in Vancouver and then at Hyatt HQ in Chicago. From there he moved to THISCO (now Pegasus Solutions) as its VP-Product Development, and then moved to technology-innovator INTRICO. He also worked as Director of Reservations at Ramada, Inc., then later became Director of Property Systems Support.

For more information and the full list of Board members, visit http://htng.org/leadership/board-of-governors.

Link to a web page: http://www.htng.org

About Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG)

Part of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), HTNG the premier technology solutions association in the hospitality industry, HTNG serves members from hospitality companies, technology vendors to hospitality, consultants, media and academic experts. HTNG's members participate in focused workgroups to bring to market open solution sets addressing specific business problems. HTNG fosters the selection and adoption of existing open standards and also develops new open standards to meet the needs of the global hospitality industry.

Currently more than 400 corporate and individual members from across this spectrum, including world leading hospitality companies and technology vendors, are active HTNG participants. HTNG's Board of Governors, consisting of 22 top IT leaders from hospitality companies around the world, itself has technology responsible for over 3 million guest rooms and world-leading venues. HTNG publishes workgroup proceedings, drafts and specifications for all HTNG members as soon as they are created, encouraging rapid and broad adoption. HTNG releases specifications into the public domain as soon as they are ratified by the workgroups.

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