|
Internet System |
YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO � September 17, 2003
� Broadband Hospitality, one of the hospitality industry�s fastest growing
High-Speed Internet Access (HSIA) providers, has signed an agreement with
Alan Drennen, a multi-unit operator of Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar
restaurants, to install and service a high-speed Internet system in the
Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar in Boardman, Ohio.
Youngstown, Ohio-based Broadband Hospitality will install a kiosk that will include a computer with a DSL connection and wireless access point. Restaurant customers will be able to use the computer to check on e-mail, surf the Internet for sports scores or check on fantasy league football statistics. Customers with laptop computers with wireless PC cards will be able to access the Internet from anywhere in the restaurant. The system is expected to be up and running by early October. �We are very excited about this new opportunity,� says Vince Lucci, president of Broadband Hospitality. �It will be our first restaurant installation. We already have provided HSIA to 128 hotels and more than 13,000 hotel rooms around the country. In regard to the complexity of the installation, a restaurant is very similar to a hotel lobby or other common area. The �hot spot� technology is the same.� Business boost anticipated �HSIA is a natural fit for us,� Drennen says. �It is going to give our customers another reason to come in. Each time someone logs on, our home page will pop up. We plan to sell sponsorships on the home page to help cover our costs.� Before customers can use the system, they will first have to order something from the restaurant. With the order, they will get a pass code that will provide them with Internet access. �The amount of user time will be determined by the restaurant,� says Ed Santor, national sales manager for Broadband Hospitality. �We�re very optimistic that this will open up some new markets for us,� Lucci says. �The best fit for HSIA is the type of restaurant that has a fairly active bar business and serves the same customers for several hours of time.� Broadband Hospitality will provide Boardman�s Buffalo Wild Wings Bar & Grill with around-the-clock tech support 365 days a year. About Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.: The Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar in Boardman, Ohio, is owned by Ed Yaskowitz and located in the Southern Park Mall. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. owns and franchises more than 200 Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar locations in 27 states. Founded on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus in 1982, Buffalo Wild Wings celebrated its 20th anniversary in September 2002. The company was named one of the fastest growing restaurants in 2003 by Technomic Inc. and was a winner of a regional 2001 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. For more information about the company, go to www.buffalowildwings.com or call Alan Drennen at (330) 726-1313. About Broadband Hospitality: Founded in 1993, Broadband Hospitality�s mission is to help hotels and restaurants leverage the full power of the Internet by providing complete, high-quality, high-performance Internet solutions. In addition to providing HSIA solutions for restaurants, guestrooms, business centers, kiosks and conference rooms, Broadband Hospitality offers print services (printing guest documents via the in-room Internet connection), e-commerce platforms for hotel chains, video on demand, videoconferencing and voice over IP. Broadband is currently testing all available wireless technologies to determine how best to provide wireless HSIA in restaurants, hotel lobbies and conference centers. Areas where guests can use such service are called "hot spots." Broadband Hospitality offers a wide range of voice solutions, including local service. The company also is an authorized Mitel dealer that installs and services hotel phone systems. Because of its strategic partnerships with companies such as AT&T, Qwest Mitel and Tut Systems, Broadband Hospitality can offer its customers the best possible telecommunications and network solutions at the best possible price. Broadband Hospitality is the preferred HSIA vendor of the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Assn. At its convention in April, the OH&LA presented Broadband Hospitality with its Stars of the Industry Allied Member of the Year award. The company meets the brand standards for HSIA for Hilton Garden Inn hotels and most standards set by leading franchisors. For more information about Broadband Hospitality, go to www.broadbandhospitality.com or call Vince Lucci, president, at (330) 629-8848. |
Broadband Hospitality (330) 629-8848 E-mail: [email protected] www.broadbandhospitality.com Alan Drennen
Glenn Hasek, president
|