The guest rooms at the Denver City Center Marriott, Marriott Courtyard and Oxford Hotel will be equipped with the STS Hotel Net portal with a total of 50,000 rooms expected to be online nationwide by the end of 2000.

�Today we launch the nation�s premiere Internet portal focused exclusively on meeting the traveler�s needs,� said Chip Kahn, CEO of STS Hotel Net.  �Hotelnet.com is a one-stop, traveler-specific portal that provides travelers with personalized information such as airline, hotel and car rental reservations, as well as localized concierge information on restaurants, entertainment and shopping.�

In February 2000, Sage Hospitality Resources, a property management company franchising Marriotts and Hiltons, announced that it selected STS Hotel Net as its vendor for guest room Internet portal services.  Under the agreement, STS provides the hotelnet.com portal for all of Sage�s 60 properties on guest laptop, PC, television and wireless platforms.

�We recognized the need for an eBusiness strategy that would help us get closer to our customers.  The Hotel Net Portal allows us to learn more about traveler needs while serving them better,� said Zack Neumeyer, CEO of Sage Hospitality Resources.  �We have long known that our guests have been hungering for access to technology that would enhance their travel experience.  Our guests will now have access to hotelnet.com�s portal modules, which will provide them with information on local restaurants, entertainment, hospitality and concierge services and customized media content.  Best of all the hotelnet.com portal has been developed on an device-agnostic platform that will allow for continued growth.�

STS Hotel Net has already raised $2.5 million in venture capital in support of the hotelnet.com portal and intends to raise an additional $6 million.

Hotelnet.com is divided into the following six information modules:

1. CorporateAssistant � Providing online travel and expense reporting, unified messaging, Web conferencing, online calendar and scheduling, online bill presentation and business center printing.
2. TravelButler � Providing airline, hotel and car rental reservations; flight, hotel and car research capabilities; hotel guest loyalty programs; flight status updates; travel destination weather reports; online maps and real plan traffic reports; and other destination information.
3. InformationValet � Delivering news, weather, sports and financial information, details on local events, merchants and historical attractions and access to e-commerce vendors, including Amazon.com, Beyond.com, 1-800flowers.com, E-toys, E-bags and others.
4. ConciergeSupport � The �Merchant Mall,� which provides functional information including, merchant listings complete with online virtual tours, proprietor audio statements, maps and immediate telephone connections.
5. SmartCommerce � An online shooping mall, built with business travelers in mind. Eliminate the great web hunt and speedily order the new transaction tombstone or a last-minute birthday present.
6. FrontDesk � Guests submit comments and find information about the hotel property.

�We are confident that we have put together the most comprehensive Web site available to today�s traveler,� Kahn said.  �Once travelers are exposed to, and begin to use our portal, we have no doubt that they will come to rely on it to make the most of their travel experience wherever they may be.�

Local restaurateurs, merchants, retailers and amenities service providers know that it can be difficult to draw business travelers� attention to their offerings.  STS�s Hotel Net portal offers these local business owners the opportunity to reach business travelers and hotel guests by listing their establishment, shop or service on the appropriate portal module at an affordable cost.

Additionally, STS�s hotelnet.com provides a number of advantages for the traveler and hotel guest, as well as the owner or operator of a franchise hotel property.  Neumeyer believes the customization and personalization tools offered by STS�s hotelnet.com provide the exact technology that will continue to enhance the hospitality industry�s collective relationship with guests.

�For the guest the benefits can be measured in terms of convenience, savings and enhanced productivity via high-speed access to the Internet, along with the concierge and travel services and personalized media content,� Neumeyer said.  �For the property itself, the advantages can be found in offering the guest a value-added service and by taking advantage of the opportunity to generate additional revenue by offering access to e-commerce transactions.  There�s also the added benefit that comes with staffing efficiencies because of the product.�

STS Hotel Net provides online and media applications for the traveler and the hospitality industry.  The hotel net portal provides guest-specific content, local information, communications services and e-commerce applications.  Hotel companies intending to expand their brand presence and relationship with the guest use the Hotel Net portal to create a customized online guest experience.  Hotel Net is currently available in 800 rooms in the Denver area and expects to be in 50,000 by the end of 2000.