SAN MATEO, APRIL 7--WorldRes Inc., the Internet-based hotel reservation network has entered into an agrement with Lanier Publishing International to provide online booking capability to the more than 22,000 properties worldwide that are featured on Lanier's web site (http://www.travelguides.com).

The partnership with WorldRes will transform Lanier's content-only site, which features inns and bed and breakfasts listed in its popular guidebooks, to one that can generate revenue for properties through online bookings. To participate, properties join the WorldRes system for no up-front costs or monthly fees, and pay only a low transaction fee per confirmed reservation. They will be able to display current rates and availability and receive confirmed online reservations from a wide range of partners through the WorldRes network.

Lanier is a specialty publisher of travel and accommodation guidebooks, with editions devoted to bed & breakfasts, all- suite hotels, elegant small hotels, Pacific Rim hotels, condominiums, family resorts and golf courses. Founded in 1982 in Berkeley and presently headquartered in Petaluma, California, Lanier has sold over 2 million copies of its guides to date. Lanier's online editions can be found through America Online, Compuserve, Netscape In-Box Direct and others.

"We have always been a leader in promoting bed and breakfasts and small inns, and our partnership with WorldRes will ensure that we play an even bigger role in the growing online travel industry," said Pamela Lanier, president of Lanier Publishing International. "We are committed to providing our members with the greatest number of opportunities to market their properties to consumers."

"Pamela Lanier is a trusted name in the bed and breakfast community and her endorsement of our technology carries enormous weight with both the industry and the traveling public," said Scott Potter, vice president of business development for WorldRes. "This partnership clearly exemplifies how a well-established consumer travel brand with a web site can easily make the transition from content to e-commerce."

WorldRes, Inc. (http://www.worldres.com), founded in 1995, currently provides Internet sales and marketing services to over 1,800 properties worldwide, as well as online hotel booking capability to travel and destination Web sites, convention and visitors bureaus, tourism authorities and call centers. Other WorldRes partner sites include Sabre's Travelocity, NetChannel, Fujitsu's WildBird site in Japan and WorldRes' own consumer site, Places To Stay. Properties and hotel companies interested in joining the WorldRes network should contact Scott Potter, vice president of business development, at (650)372-1714 or through e-mail at [email protected].