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Leading Silicon Valley Business Hotel Implements VSi�s BusinessClub�
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Recent addition of VSi�s customized solution boosts guest-satisfaction levels and doubles business-center revenues for the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara  
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SUNNYVALE, CALIF. � JUNE 10, 2008 � Among its long list of guest services targeted to business travelers, the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara now features the BusinessClub� concept by Vertical Systems, Inc. (VSi).

Sunnyvale-based VSi is a global leader in guest-services technology and solutions aimed at helping hotels serve the growing needs of business travelers and mobile users. The BusinessClub� concept can be customized to accommodate any hotel�s individual needs. VSi offers research, design, recommendation and installation of the BusinessClub� to meet individual hotel guest service needs and brand requirements.  It features high-speed Internet connection, Microsoft Office software, and top-quality equipment�desktop PC and high-performance color printer, fax machine, copier and scanner�from the most reliable manufacturers in the industry, including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark and Ricoh, among others.

One of the Silicon Valley�s leading business and convention hotels, the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara is a 501-room luxury/business property that features 60,000 square feet of meeting space and is connected to the Santa Clara Convention Center. According to General Manager Peter Rice, the property implemented its tailor-made VSi BusinessClub� in January of 2008.

�We had a business center at a different location, and it wasn�t performing well,� Rice said. �VSi came to us, looked things over, and suggested setting up its BusinessClub� concept in a variety of strategic locations within the hotel.�

The Hyatt Regency Santa Clara now boasts:

  • Fully automated business center where guests can surf the Internet, check email, work on Microsoft Office documents, print, copy and fax. The business center is located on the property�s second floor in an area near to the meeting rooms and in a space where there once was a bank of pay phones;
  • Two Internet Point-of-Presence (iPOP�) stations in the lobby where guests can access the internet, check email or print airline boarding passes;
  • One Internet-Station kiosk, placed in the hallway that connects the hotel to the Santa Clara Convention Center. �This kiosk not only enables our guests access the internet, but is also available to non-guests passing between the hotel and the convention center,� Rice noted;
  • Remote printing for guests wanting to print from their laptop or a handheld device;
  • Fast Board, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts� airline boarding-pass printing system, which the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara has already had in use for about two years. Now, however, during times when demand to print boarding passes is high, guests can use one of the iPOP� lobby PCs for this service. Waiting time is almost non-existent, Rice said.
�Since we implemented our BusinessClub� concept in January, it�s been very successful for us,� Rice said. �Many of our customers use it late at night because it�s available 24/7�in short, it�s been a win-win for everybody.�

Rice said hotel business centers no longer are a unique guest service�they�ve become a necessity for any property that caters to business travelers.

�If you don�t have an effective, accessible work area for business travelers, you get negative feedback,� he said. �Since we introduced VSi BusinessClub�, we�ve had no negative feedback�so we know that guest-satisfaction levels are high and so are the business center revenues.

�Our business-center revenues have doubled,� Rice added. �There were no upfront costs at all�VSi came in, designed, recommended locations and installed everything. It�s paying for itself month-by-month through the revenues it generates�plus, we get a nice profit. We also save on labor costs because no staff is needed to run the center, other than someone to periodically check copier paper and ink cartridges and replace them as needed.�

VSi client properties can choose from a wide range of guest services technology solution that best fit their particular needs. The technology and the services are highly scalable.  New services can be added and old ones removed without any disruption to guest usage.

�In today�s business hotels, it�s a vital necessity that guests have access to all the technology they need to carry out business at any hour of the day,� said VSi President and CEO Saeed Kazmi. �The Hyatt Regency Santa Clara is a prime example of how we can optimize strategic locations for any hotel and design business-center stations that will efficiently serve the needs of busy guests as well as the needs of the hotel�and, in addition, enhance guest satisfaction and bring incremental profits to the bottom line.�

�We�re pleased to be partnering with one of the top hotels in the Silicon Valley, one of the nation�s top markets,� said Mr. Kazmi. �Peter Rice and the rest of the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara management team know their guests want 24/7 availability of high-speed Internet access and e-mail, print, fax and scanner capabilities so they can conduct their business as they travel. We at VSi believe our BusinessClub� is a must for today�s top-flight business hotels, and we think the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara�s success with its BusinessClub� serves to support our confidence in this customized solution.�

In addition to being an approved vendor for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, VSi also holds that distinction with other major brand hotels. VSi�s Automated Business Centers also are found in Marriott properties, Radisson Hotels & Resorts, W Hotels and Sheraton Hotels & Resorts (Starwood), Holiday Inns and Crowne Plaza Hotels (InterContinental Hotel Group), Best Western Hotels, Ritz-Carlton Hotels, Fairmont Hotels, Accor Hotels and many independent properties.

For more information on the VSi BusinessClub� concept and other VSi products and services, visit the VSi website at www.ver-sys.com.  

About the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara
The Hyatt Regency Santa Clara combines luxury and service with a premier location. Five hundred and one newly renovated guest rooms feature a Grand Bed, high-speed Internet access, deluxe amenities and sweeping views. A selection of inviting restaurants offers a variety of cuisine, from classic American to Sushi. Guests can take advantage of extensive meeting facilities and the 24-hour StayFit gym to make every stay at this hotel a success. With its unmatched service and ideal location�adjacent to the Convention Center, in the heart of the Silicon Valley and near Great America Theme Park�guests discover why the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara is the premier choice for their next visit. For more information, call 408 200 1234 or visit www.santaclara.hyatt.com.  
 
About Vertical Systems Inc (VSi)
Vertical Systems, Inc. (VSi) is the worldwide leader in providing guest services technology and solutions to the hospitality industry. Its products, which are aimed at serving the growing needs of business travelers and mobile users, include automated business centers, Wi-Fi hotspots, kiosks and in-room technology. VSi's products are sold through channel partners that include major hotel chains, broadband and wireless service providers, audio-visual service providers and large system integrators. For more information, please visit our website at www.ver-sys.com. VSi contact: [email protected]. VSi is a privately held corporation based in Sunnyvale, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. The company's revolutionary software and system architecture uses FreshStart� (proprietary technology developed at VSi) to create computers ideal for multiple users and remote situations. VSi solutions are backed up by 24/7 tech support.  Automated Business Center operators can provide reliable, virus-free, state-of-the-art computer systems to customers with zero maintenance.

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Contact:

Barb Worcester
President/Principal
PRPRO
Tel: (440) 930-5770
[email protected]

Shaukat  Anjarwala
Marketing Manager
Vertical Systems Inc.
Tel: (408) 752-8100 x106
[email protected]

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Also See: Desire to Enhance Guest Services Spurs Companies' Choice of VSi BoardEZ� System; Two Florida hospitality groups planning to install additional airline boarding-pass printing stations following highly positive feedback from guests / April 2008
Two More Top-Flight Business Hotels Now Offering VSi Business Centers; D.C.-area Marriott and Miami-area Hyatt already seeing increased levels of revenue and guest satisfaction after recent installation of VSi Automated Business Center / April 2008
VSi Offers Business Center Packages to Mirror Brand's Budget, Design and Standards Needs; Individual Hotels and Brands alike can now select from Silver, Gold, or Platinum Automated Business Center packages complete with hardware, software, HSIA and furnishings / November 2007
Introducing BusinessClub� at HITEC, VSi's Solution to Lobbies that Leave You Wanting More; Vertical Systems, Inc. can transform the traditional lobby with its innovative BusinessClub�, a multifunctional space where business travelers can work, socialize, and relax / June 2007
VSi Prepaid Cards Proving Convenient for Hoteliers as well as Guests; VSi's variety of prepaid-card programs helps hotels streamline the billing process while offering guests a convenient, secure way to access business-center services / May 2007
VSi Rolling Out iPOP�, Revolutionary Revenue-Generating Guest-Service Amenity; Global leader in guest-services technology will launch the industry's first Internet kiosks and Self-Service Business Centers that offer a combination of fee-based and free-to-guest services on the same system / March 2007
Aspen Kiosks Offer Attractive Option to Harried Travelers Tired of Long Lines; VSi's stylish computer-access kiosks help improve guest service and increase guest satisfaction by offering quick access to boarding-pass printing, Internet use / February 2007
Vertical Systems� FreshStart� Technology Spells Peace of Mind for Hotel PC Users / February 2007
VSi Automated Business Centers: Giving Guests, Owners a Truly Happy New Year; Hoteliers say outsourcing Business Center operations to Vertical Systems Inc. increases guest satisfaction, reduces operational stress and boosts incremental revenues / January 2007
VSi Retrofits Payphones with Internet Kiosks to Ring in Revenues, Enhance Guest Service for Hotels / December 2006
VSi Adds Hyatt Hotels & Resorts to its Airline Boarding Pass Printing Service; BoardEZ� solution also enables guests to make changes to their flight schedules, book new flights and make future hotel reservations / October 2006
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