OpenTravel Alliance, Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG) and Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association (HEDNA) announced that they are partnering to form the Open Payments Alliance (OPA) Standards Workgroup for the hospitality and travel industry.

HEDNA’s payments forum created the OPA concept to bypass the legacy constraints that restrict innovation in the travel industry’s B2B payment space. The OPA advocates decoupling the payment channel from the reservation channel in order to streamline B2B payments between TMCs, OTAs, wholesalers and other travel operators to hotels. The OPA framework is applicable any time a guest does not pay directly for a room and has been designed to support complex B2B payment requirements (direct bill and bill-back), FX and hedging operations and commission payments. Most systems being used today were designed to primarily handle cash and credit card payments from guests. These systems have not been adapted to handle other forms of payment, which are being increasingly demanded by corporate travel managers. Virtual credit cards, in particular, are growing in popularity, and not handled well with current system functionality.

OPA’s purpose is to bypass the current flow of reservations to process payments more efficiently and securely. By separating the payment path from the reservation path, significant changes will not be required by global distribution systems (GDS), central reservation systems (CRS), and property management systems (PMS). This will also increase security by keeping credit card information in a separate, secure environment.

This workgroup will create software standards, business rules and best practices to that OPA solutions can be developed and integrated with other key systems using open standards.

Any individual who is employed by a member of at least one of the three associations can participate in the workgroup. Nonmembers can participate until the workgroup is chartered and approved to move forward.

To express interest, please visit: https://www.htng.org/page/Potential_Workgroups

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About OpenTravel Alliance

OpenTravel Alliance is passionate about solving the problems inherent with connecting multiple systems within the complex travel distribution arena. Our mission is to enable the future of travel by driving the evolving digital experience for consumers. OpenTravel Alliance creates, expands and drives adoption of open specifications, including but not limited to the use of XML and JSON, for the electronic exchange of business information among all sectors of the travel industry.

OpenTravel Alliance is comprised of companies representing airlines, car rental firms, hotels, cruise lines, railways, leisure suppliers, service providers, tour operators, travel agencies, solutions providers, technology companies and distributors. Tens of thousands of OpenTravel Alliance message structures are in use, carrying tens of millions of messages between trading partners every day.

OpenTravel Alliance is a not-for-profit trade association, founded in 1999 by travel companies, with a primary focus on the creation of electronic message structures to facilitate communication between the disparate systems in the global travel industry. For more information on OpenTravel Alliance membership, new products, or projects, please visit http://www.opentravel.org or email info@opentravel.org.

About Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG)

The premier technology solutions association in the hospitality industry, HTNG is a self-funded, nonprofit organization with 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 25 top IT leaders from hospitality companies around the world, itself has technology responsibility 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. For more information, visit www.htng.org.

About Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association (HEDNA)

HEDNA (Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association) is a not-for-profit trade association whose worldwide membership includes executives and managers from the most influential companies in the hospitality industry. Founded in 1991, HEDNA’s mission is to be the leading global forum for advancing hospitality distribution through collaboration and knowledge sharing. Its vision calls for HEDNA to be known for creating an environment that fosters strategic collaboration toward business development in the global hospitality industry. HEDNA holds two global distribution conferences each year, trains hospitality professionals through its HEDA University program and has several working groups that issue thought leadership on industry issues. For more, visit www.HEDNA.org or follow us on YouTube, Blog, LinkedIn or Twitter for updates and additional content.