SAN MATEO, Calif. - Dec. 20, 1999 -- Three leading companies
in the hospitality industry�
Sabre (NYSE:TSG), Starwood Hotels Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT),
and MICROS Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:MCRS) -- have established significant
strategic relationships with WorldRes.com, a Silicon Valley company that
connects hotels to leisure travelers through the Web.They also participated
in a new $29 million mezzanine financing round led by the venture capital
firm New Millennium Partners. Worldview Technology Partners and WorldRes.com�s
existing investors also participated. Sabre, Starwood and MICROS
Systems, Inc. represent the full spectrum of players involved in the electronic
hotel reservations chain: Sabre provides electronic distribution of hotels
through its computer reservations system, travel agency network and through
its consumer website, Travelocity.com.
Starwood is one of the world�s leading hotel owner/managers with brands
that include Sheraton, Westin, The Luxury Collection, St. Regis, W, Ciga,
Four Points and Caesars. MICROS Systems, Inc. is the world�s leading provider
of information technology for the hospitality industry. The company provides
software solutions through its MICROS-Fidelio brand of products and its
hotelBANK subsidiary.
 All
three industry leaders have entered into strategic relationships with WorldRes.com.
The Sabre investment in WorldRes.com comes on the heels of the recent partnership
between the two companies, which will promote WorldRes.com properties to
Sabre connected travel agents, as well as through Travelocity.com and its
distribution partners.
MICROS Systems, Inc. is working with WorldRes.com to develop interfaces
that allow connectivity to its front desk, central reservation and Internet
reservation systems to allow hotels to receive reservations and update
availability rates.
Starwood is linking its reservation system to the WorldRes.com network,
enabling Starwood hotels to offer real-time rates and availability to consumers
through WorldRes.com distribution partners.
�We have understood for some time that the Internet is a crucial channel
for the future of our business, and WorldRes.com has taken the lead in
developing connectivity and distribution options that we find very appealing,�
said Tad Smith, senior vice president of e-commerce for Starwood Hotels.�We
want to have our hotels participate in the WorldRes.com network, and we
also wanted to show our support for the company through an investment.
Although Starwood does not typically invest outside of our core hotel portfolio,
WorldRes.com is an exception.�
Robert J. Post, MICROS Systems, Inc., Senior Vice President, E-Commerce
Initiatives, said, �we consider WorldRes.com a value-add to our hotel clients
as it reaches a large leisure customer base which complements MICROS�s
own HotelBANK company direct program oriented to the corporate market.
�By providing electronic connectivity we continue to maximize the investment
our hotel clients have made in their MICROS-Fidelio systems.� WorldRes.com
CEO Greg Jones noted, �these new strategic partners will enable us to mine
their expertise in key areas of the hospitality industry, which is a great
benefit for our company.�
About WorldRes.com, Inc.
| WorldRes.com, Inc. (http://www.worldres.com) operates
the online distribution network that connects hotels to leisure travelers
through a broad range of Web-based partners, including portals, travel
and destination Web sites, convention and visitor bureaus, tourism authorities,
online city guides, call centers and travel agents. For hotels, WorldRes.com
offers an efficient, low-cost means for marketing and selling accommodations
online. For distribution partners, WorldRes.com provides detailed
information and booking capability for a wide range of properties, from
bed and breakfasts and independent hotels to resorts, vacation rentals
and hotel chains. WorldRes.com was founded in 1995 and is headquartered
in San Mateo; WorldRes.com Europe is based in Duesseldorf, Germany; and
WorldRes.com UK offices are located in Staines, Middlesex. WorldRes.com
employees collectively possess an extensive knowledge of hotel marketing,
systems and operations as well as Internet-based transaction technology.
WorldRes.com owns and operates two consumer Web sites:
Places To Stay (www.placestostay.com), which offers real-time rates, reservations
and information for all properties in the WorldRes.com system; and BedandBreakfast.com
(www.bedandbreakfast.com), with information on more than 23,000 bbs and
historic inns around the world. |
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