The Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association (HEDNA) announced today that Dinesh Dhamija, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and Founder of ebookers and John F. Davis III, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Pegasus Solutions will be the Opening and Closing Keynote speakers, respectively, at its upcoming Conference in London, at the Thistle Tower Hotel on 25 - 27 May 2004. Mr. Dhamija is one of Europe’s leading Internet entrepreneurs, and a 20-year veteran of the travel industry. Dhamija has served as Chief Executive of ebookers.com since it began operations. Mr. Dhamija is also the Chairman of Flightbookers plc, which he founded in 1983. While heading Flightbookers, Mr. Dhamija was instrumental in the company’s setting up of a fully interactive travel web site in 1996.

“Mr. Dhamija is a respected leader in the travel industry,” said HEDNA President Audrey J. Sieh. “His business acumen and savvy have helped him create one of the most admired online travel companies in the world, and we look forward to hearing his thoughts about the latest strategies and developments in travel distribution and how they can directly impact our bottom line.”

John F. Davis III is CEO of Pegasus Solutions, a leading worldwide provider of electronic hotel distribution technology and representation solutions. In 1989, Davis led the launch of the Pegasus Electronic Distribution “switch” technology, which was created originally to link the central reservation systems of hotel companies with the major airline global distribution systems. Today, this switch technology connects approximately 44,000 hotels to the GDSs as well as to alternative distribution channels such as the Internet. Davis’ latest initiative as CEO of Pegasus Solutions is the develpment of the PegsTour product, which will increase efficiencies in the fulfillment of tour bookings by automating processes that are currently manual.

“John Davis is a recognized visionary in the hotel industry, and in 2003 was awarded the HEDNA Presidents Award of Excellence for his efforts in positive development in the electronic distribution field,” said Sieh. “We are honored to hear from an executive who has so strongly supported our mission to increase hotel industry revenues and profitability from electronic distribution channels.”

This two-day conference, held twice a year, provides electronic distribution professionals the opportunity to network and hear from industry leaders about how to make the most of the latest technology, trends reports, and forecasts. In addition to top-notch educational panel discussions and presentations, twelve exhibitors are expected to showcase their products and services at the Technology Showcase. This conference is made possible through the generosity of the event’s sponsors including Sabre Travel Network, Pegasus Solutions, TIMS Reports, and Leonardo.
www.hedna.org
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