BridgeStreet was cited for the dramatic results it achieved as a result of its deployment last year of a Web-based, customer relationship management (CRM) tool from salesforce.com that centralized customer information for BridgeStreet�s national sales team.  The technology helped facilitate an extreme makeover of the widely dispersed sales organization�s culture, resulting in a 10 percent increase in total annual revenue, despite a sales force reduction; and an average increase in sales per person of 42 percent.  The company�s total investment in the project was approximately $400,000, which resulted in a 153 percent return on investment.

�Prior to implementing the new CRM program from salesforce.com, our sales associates were scattered across the globe and narrowly focused on their own respective regions, with less focus on servicing our customers internationally,� said Lee Curtis, BridgeStreet�s president.  �Our goal was to find a system that would allow us to provide the best possible coordinated service for our clients by centralizing the data to maximize the productivity of our sales teams.  With the implementation of this program, we were able to fundamentally change our sales culture into one based on collaboration rather than competition.  At the same time, we achieved our best financial results ever, and with a more efficient workforce.�

Jon Wohlfert, senior VP of sales and marketing, who oversaw the changeover, noted that the new system also has helped the company with recruiting.  �Having a sophisticated CRM system makes BridgeStreet a more attractive prospective employer, which has allowed us to hire stronger players.  And, it gives our associates the tools to better serve our clients.�

Wohlfert added, �This strategy fit nicely under our mission umbrella of making corporate housing easy, both for our clients and, internally, for our associates.  We will continue to pursue technology solutions that streamline all aspects of our industry to achieve our mission.�
BridgeStreet was one of 10 winners, including the United States Coast Guard and the National Institutes for Health, selected to receive the 2005 Technology ROI Award in the program�s third year.  Companies eligible for the awards are headquartered in the United States, and technology projects had to be installed and in operation no later than January 1, 2004.

�The winners of this year�s technology ROI awards understand the critical link between IT strategy and business goals,� said Ian Campbell, CEO of Nucleus Research.  �All of these companies have a proven track record and a focus on delivering tangible, measurable benefits that ultimately justified their companies� expenditures.  Equally as important as cost savings and a good ROI are process or productivity innovations that advance the business.�

BridgeStreet Worldwide, a subsidiary of Interstate Hotels & Resorts, is one of the world's largest Corporate Housing and Serviced Apartment providers.  

This press release contains "forward-looking statements,� within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, about BridgeStreet, a wholly owned subsidiary of Interstate Hotels & Resorts, including those statements regarding future operating results and the timing and composition of revenues, among others, and statements containing words such as "expects,� �believes� or �will,� which indicate that those statements are forward-looking. 

BridgeStreet Worldwide
Melissa Thompson
Vice President, Corporate Communications
Interstate Hotels & Resorts
(703) 387-3377
http://www.bridgestreet.com