Denver, Colo. � November 11, 2002 � SCEPTRE, a SWAN solution, has been receiving rave reviews from customers regarding its customer service support and channel-management services. The company has been helping small chains and independent hotels and resorts increase their sales and profits through global-distribution system representation, private-label voice reservations and consulting services for more than a decade.

�We are very pleased with the increase in revenue and the attentive service that we receive from SCEPTRE,� said Dwight Goldstein, General Manager of the Mendocino (California) Hotel & Resort. �Once the property switched to SCEPTRE, daily reservations began pouring in from the global-distribution systems, where previously the property had received none.�

Jo Ann Stickle, Mendocino Sales & Catering Manager agreed. She said SCEPTRE is the fourth Internet-based reservation system the hotel has had, and it is by far �the most productive.� 

�Monthly we have a call with our SCEPTRE account manager to discuss the past month and talk about what can be done in the future to increase production,� Stickle said. �I like the fact that I can control the inventory up until the last minute if we still have rooms left to sell. It offers us another opportunity to receive last minute reservations. If there are any problems or I need assistance, the SCEPTRE account manager or the help desk is there to assist.�

Mark Ozawa, SCEPTRE Vice President, said what sets SCEPTRE apart from other reservation- distribution providers is its commitment to customer service.

�When a SCEPTRE customer has a frustration, concern or problem that needs to be resolved, they simply pick up the phone and talk to a person who works for that property,� Ozawa said. �Many CRS companies work with a 200 to 1 ratio of hotels to client managers. SCEPTRE works with a 50 to 1 ratio of dedicated client managers, taking our customer service commitment to a higher level. We work side-by-side, hand-in-hand with hotels, managing from the trenches.�

Word from the West

Santa Fe Accommodations, a New Mexico-based hotel ownership and management company, also is now reaping the benefits from switching to SCEPTRE. Within the first six months of working with SCEPTRE, the company booked more than $1,000,000 in business -- twice its earning for the same period last year.

"We were not getting the bookings we should have with our previous provider," said Dorothy Smallwood, Co-Owner and Revenue Manager of Santa Fe Accommodations. "We knew there had to be a company out there that could work with us to secure more business. SCEPTRE gave us the booking performance we needed."

Smallwood said SCEPTRE�s philosophy of giving one-to-one service to their clients is one of the many reasons Santa Fe Accommodations made the switch to SCEPTRE. 

"SCEPTRE communicates with us is an extremely responsive and efficient manner,� Smallwood said. �Mark Ozawa, Chris Flear and the entire SCEPTRE team are very accessible. They continually give new ideas for new sources of revenue. They are direct, honest and have superior pricing. Our Internet bookings are way up and we could not be happier."

Kudos From The Alaskan Pipeline

Ariel Sieverts, assistant general manager for the independent Hotel Edgewater in Seward, since switching to SCEPTRE, reservations volume has increased by 100 percent. She said SCEPTRE has booked more room nights in two months than their previous provider booked in an entire year.

�Our previous provider was an absolute nightmare,� Sieverts said. �They were massively unorganized and therefore gave us no reservations. To make matters worse, we were scolded each time we tried to make changes to our own inventory and rates. Even more amazing to us than the reports and business tracking capabilities SCEPTRE provides is the customer service attention and flexibility our account manager offers. She bent over backwards to get our Web site updated and works with us to keep the information current and accurate.�

Distribution consulting

Ozawa said Distribution Consulting Services is high on SCEPTRE�s list of priorities. One significant advantage hotels have in using SCEPTRE is their ability to quickly implement new rate plans, new rate strategies and changes in the hotel�s description throughout the various distribution channels. Nearly all of these changes can be made by the property without any additional manual intervention. As a result, changes normally appear within the various channels within minutes of implementation by the hotel. 

�The SCEPTRE team is available to provide guidance or assistance on these changes as needed,� Ozawa said. �Moreover, a portfolio of real-time reports are available on-line at any time. This allows the management team and the SCEPTRE team to track the results of the hotel�s electronic distribution strategy and make improvements on a constant basis.� 

He said the channel-management services and distribution expertise SCEPTRE provides to its clients, such as the ability to track results of the hotel�s electronic-distribution strategy and make improvements on a constant basis, is just one of the many reasons more independent hotels are turning to SCEPTRE. 

"We have an innate understanding of the competitiveness of the U.S. lodging industry," Ozawa said. "We know what moves markets and we clearly understand the many issues that affect travel trends and patterns. One of our areas of expertise is in helping our clients understand the lodging consumer, whether it is the business traveler or the leisure traveler."

About SCEPTRE
Since 1987, SCEPTRE has helped chains, management companies and independent hotels and resorts increase their sales and profits through GDS representation, private-label voice reservations and consulting services. SCEPTRE provides electronic distribution power and expertise previously reserved for branded or franchised hotels, with state-of-the-art reservations technology and a strong commitment to customer service and support. SCEPTRE is one of the key business units of SWAN Inc., a multi-service company focused on the hospitality industry.   Other hospitality services of SWAN include RICHFIELD (hotel management), SHIELD (insurance and risk management) and SOURCE (procurement of operating supplies and FF&E).

Swan Inc. is headquartered in Denver with approximately 1,000 employees. The company's shareholders include City e-Solutions Limited (CES) listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc, a U.K.-based company listed on the London Stock Exchange, operating 91 hotels worldwide.