CHICAGO (July 31, 2019)
OpenTravel Alliance welcomes two new board members, David Blankenship of Marriott International and Greg Land of IBM.
Dave Blankenship is Vice President, Enterprise Applications for Reservations at Marriott International, responsible for the application development of business initiatives that drive Marriott’s reservations platform and power the company’s growing portfolio of 7,000+ properties worldwide. With over 15 years at Marriott, he has held leadership positions in other application development areas, including digital platforms and eBusiness systems. Additionally, Blankenship has more than 20 years of hands-on experience in planning, developing, and operating large-scale, business critical solutions in fast-paced environments.
At IBM, Greg Land serves as global industry leader with global responsibility for aviation, hospitality and travel related services in the industry segment; which includes airlines, airports, hospitality, car rental, cruise lines, gaming and casino, GDS and OTA/TMC/Tour Operators. Prior to joining IBM, he served in leadership roles with American Airlines, Sabre, Wyndham Hotel Group and Radius Global Travel Management spanning a 23-year career across the travel industry.
These two senior executives now join nine other board members who guide the organization and enhance its dedication to the travel industry. As an experienced executive, Dave Blankenship continues the long-term cooperation and commitment of Marriott International. With Greg Land, the association welcomes a leading company in the Travel and Transportation Industry, vigorously expanding the OTA membership circle. “OpenTravel is fortunate to have IBM and Marriott engaged and supportive of both ongoing projects and the organization’s overall mission,” said Susanne Auinger, Senior Advisor, Partner Management at DB Systel and Chair of OpenTravel Alliance. “Dave and Greg will make our board even stronger than it currently is.”
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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, creating interoperability between all verticals engaged in the customer journey, leading to new ancillary selling opportunities and business models throughout the travel ecosystem. It allows the streamlining of distribution processes and increased flexibility. 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 open to 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.