Washington, DC, June 11, 2013 - The Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association (HEDNA) announced today that it has published two white papers, "Change Discovery Service" and "The Future of Shopping" to address the ever changing connectivity needs of the hotel distribution industry.

The papers were developed by HEDNA's Connectivity Working Group, formed in 2011 with the purpose of defining a framework that permits the efficient exchange of rich, detailed and timely shopping results while maintaining a high level of accuracy for the consumer.

Change discovery, a method of determining and communicating the existence of change in hotel rates and availability, is a fairly new concept to the hotel distribution industry. The goal of the "Change Discovery Service" white paper is to define the concept, use cases, issues and benefits of change discovery within the hotel electronic distribution industry. With change discovery, a data originator, data publisher and data consumer can communicate with small, efficient messages that provide a base for building targeted full availability requests for the change detail. This makes each availability message more useful, meaningful and efficient.

The "Future of Shopping" white paper proposes the creation of a minimum standard for the exchange of rate and availability data in a precise format that can be universally used by suppliers and distributors to facilitate shopping across millions of combinations of hotel stays. The two primary drivers in proposing this standard are: accuracy in the communication and representation of rate and availability data; and efficiency in the development and maintenance of distribution interfaces. The proposed "rendered shopping data" format described in this white paper provides a structure that benefits all parties involved in the exchange of rate and availability information.

Lisa Muret, Director, Worldwide Sales Product Management, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and co-chair of the Connectivity Working Group, points out that while the white paper topics are fairly new concepts in the industry, both are in use and both have proven their effectiveness. She also notes that HEDNA is making these white papers available to anyone interested, not just HEDNA members. "It is important to HEDNA and the working group to share these educational materials with as wide an industry audience as possible," Muret said.

The executive summaries and full text of both white papers can be found on HEDNA's website, www.HEDNA.org, under the Resources tab.

"These new educational tools are among the expanded collection of HEDNA resources available to industry professionals who deal with the fast-paced changes in hotel electronic distribution," said HEDNA President Rajesh Vohra. "HEDNA's forums and working groups continue to develop materials and education programs to address the needs of the industry across all disciplines of our business."

At the upcoming HEDNA conference "Loch Into New Distribution" June 18-20 in Edinburgh, Scotland, several new HEDNA initiatives will be announced, along with panel discussions and keynotes from leaders in the field. For more information on the conference, visit www.HEDNA.org.

About 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. For more, visit www.HEDNA.org or follow us on YouTube or LinkedIn for updates and additional content.