Hotel data normalization. Sounds deadly boring, right?
Mention the concept to corporate travel people, and the feeling is more like frustration. Grasp Technologies is testing a remedy that executives claim could actually make the process a snap. They're not the only ones. Cornerstone Information Systems also has something up its sleeve.
Hotel booking data tends to be a mess when it comes out of the back office. Duplicates are rampant because of variations in how a given property's name can be listed. Some have tried to "key" their reports off the hotels' phone numbers, but those change. And . . .