HRG calls for common technology standards
Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) has issued an urgent plea to the corporate travel industry to develop a robust set of technology standards.
The group’s business technology and distribution director Bill Brindle said a common set of technology standards would benefit the whole industry.
“To date, all those involved in solutions development have tended to work independently, often creating connectivity and integration issues,” he said.
“Existing industry guidelines are extremely broad and lead to different interpretations, with the risk that systems developed by one company are often not compatible with those developed by partners or clients.
“Robust, common standards will eliminate this risk and enable companies to work more effectively together. This should help to prevent large scale fragmentation, strip out unnecessary development costs and pave the way for a new generation of integrated systems that add real value for the corporate travel industry.”
The call came as HRG held its inaugural ‘New Opportunities’ technology seminar last week.
The event was attended by over 100 people representing suppliers from across the industry, including air, hotel, car, rail and GDS.
HRG has launched an online technology forum accessible to all those who attended the day in a bid to continue the discussions.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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