Bookassist systems achieve full PCI DSS Compliance

Bookassist servers and software technology have been confirmed by independent external audit to meet Payment Card Industry (PCI) Digitial Security Standards (DSS) compliance for the handling of credit card data as of September 2009. Bookassist is among the first in the online hotel booking industry to have met the exceptionally high standards for encryption, intrusion detection, security management, policies, procedures, network architecture, software design and other critical protective measures as laid down by the PCI Security Standards Council.

"Bookassist has long operated to PCI standards in terms of security, but we're particularly pleased that all the necessary requirements have now been assessed by independent external auditors and Bookassist servers, systems and software have passed all security tests and scans", said Karen Fives, Senior Systems Analyst and Director at Bookassist, coordinator of the compliance project. "Reaching these stringent requrements reflects Bookassist's approach in general to achieving the highest standards in everything we do".

Maintaining PCI DSS compliance is an ongoing task for the technology team at Bookassist and Bookassist's compliance is monitored by an independent outside party. Standards are continually raised by the PCI as new requirements are built into the developing DSS framework. Bookassist has been validated according to current standard PCI DSS v1.2.

The PCI DSS, a set of comprehensive requirements for enhancing payment account data security, was developed by the founding payment brands of the PCI Security Standards Council, including American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc. Inc. International, to help facilitate the broad adoption of consistent data security measures on a global basis. The motivation is to raise security levels online and to protect cardholder data to the highest possible security levels.

For more information see: PCI DSS Website

Seminars in Vienna highlight the importance of Social Media for online customer service

Bookassist seminars in Vienna have highlighted the ongoing importance of social media tools for the hospitality industry.


The seminars, which were held on Wednesday September 16th and Thursday September 17th in the ARCOTEL Kaiserwasser hotel in Vienna, covered the growing necessity of focussing on direct business through the hotel website, and the importance of good old-fashioned customer service as manifest in social media elements such as online customer reviews, being able to respond quickly on twitter, and other services.

The Wednesday event in the ARCOTEL Kaiserwasser hotel was attended by the Irish Ambassador to Austria, H.E. Frank Cogan. The seminars were given by Bookassist CEO Dr Des O'Mahony, Head of Business and Operations Yahya Fetchati and Head of Internet Marketing Mary Collins and discussions were chaired by regional Sales Manager Gerd Weingrill.


ARCOTEL Hotel Group staff at a break-out session at Thursday's seminar