May 4, 2017 (WASHINGTON D.C.) – The OpenTravel Alliance (OpenTravel) has finalized and published the highly anticipated Golf 2.0 Digital Standard for adoption free of charge throughout the travel and tourism industry.
The Golf 2.0 Digital Standard is designed to allow the golf enthusiast to research and reserve a round of golf effortlessly by being able to search and retrieve information for facilities with golf, check tee time availability, book tee times, and much more. Furthermore, this updated Standard provides an added value for various travel and tourism verticals, such as hotels or car rental companies, and ground transportation by enabling the opportunity for the golfer to secure golf reservations on site instantly.
"On behalf of the PGA of America and as a board member of the Golf USA Tee Time Coalition we support consistent technical standards for connectivity and content to facilitate an efficient, open marketplace," said Paul Levy, President of the PGA of America. "The challenge is getting disparate systems to talk to each other and share information (rates, reservations, customer data). As we look to benchmark the golf industry against lodging and airlines, the OpenTravel 2.0 Direct Connect Standard is an important step forward."
The Golf 2.0 Standard was commissioned for development by a group of companies who will also be some of the first adapters. This dynamic group made up the Project Team who represents various parts of the golf, travel, tourism, and leisure industry and includes companies such as Disney, Avis Budget Group, Marriott and Golf USA Tee Time Coalition. Other companies included in the development are Century Golf, Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG), LinksRez (Project Team Chair), National Golf Course Owners Association, National Golf Course Owners Association – Myrtle Beach Chapter, TinkeyWorks and Travelport.
"Enabling the future of travel connectivity for air, lodging and hospitality, rental car, ground transportation, golf, tennis, and a host of other activities by driving the evolving digital experience for consumers has been passion of mine for most of my professional life," said Mike Tinkey, newly appointed CEO of OpenTravel Alliance.
With technology on the rise in all areas of travel and tourism, this is an opportunity to tap into the existing veteran golfers and future youth golfers who innately look to use technology in every aspect of their lives. According to a 2015 study, golf had the highest percentage of youth participation growth and the PGA Junior League Golf has seen a 300% increase in young golfers over the last three year period.
"These standards will be instrumental in increasing the rounds of golf booked online," said Mark Giustina, owner of Tokatee Golf Club and Chair of the Golf USA Tee Time Coalition. "Frankly, we believe all tee sheet software companies and online tee time agents should interface using this standard. We support the good work of OpenTravel and the new Golf 2.0 standards."
The OpenTravel Golf 2.0 Digital Standard is now available for download at http://opentravelmodel.net/pubs/specifications/Specifications.html. For more information on Golf 2.0 please contact Sandy Angel; (Sandy.Angel@Opentravel.org) of OpenTravel Alliance.
