Danny Hudson, Newmarket International�s Vice President of Sales & Marketing, said that monthly bookings via the electronic solution connecting buyers and sellers of guestrooms has more than doubled since January 2002.

Hudson said that from June 2000 through December 2001, NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker averaged more than 215,000 roomnights booked per month. Since January of this year, electronic bookings have skyrocketed to an average of 500,000 per month booked via Newmarket International�s NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker.

�Newmarket International and our many NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker partners are extremely proud of the �6 million roomnights booked� milestone we reached in early May � less than two years after the solution�s launch,� Hudson said.

�We strongly believe this is just the tip of the iceberg with regard to on-line group bookings,� Hudson said. �Our NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker bookings are sizzling as we approach the summer travel season, and we expect this upward trend to continue and grow in the coming months and years.� 

Rodd Herron, VP of Sales Development for Wyndham International Inc., said the hotel company is a big fan of the electronic group booking process, and of Newmaket�s NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker in particular. 

�We have made the installation and use of NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker a requirement for each of our nine sales offices and more than 200 hotels,� Herron said. �Before NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker, leads throughout the industry typically arrived via fax, phone, e-mail, even post-it notes, with no standard process in place to sort and store the information for immediate follow-up or future prospecting. All too often the result was lost information, time, opportunities and sales � typically lost to the competition. With Newmarket�s NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker, we get the right information, first, and in a standard format.�

Netting a win-win

According to travel industry intelligence firm PhoCusWright Inc. of Sherman, Conn., electronic group booking solutions such as NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker are ripe for significant and sustained growth. A recent PhoCusWright study projected the on-line corporate travel market to soar 69 percent to $14.5 billion in 2002.

�Our findings show the Internet is transforming the purchase and distribution of corporate travel. One in five corporate travel transactions will be booked on-line in 2003,� said Philip C. Wolf, PhoCusWright Chairman & CEO.

Sean O�Neill, Newmarket International�s President & CEO, said NetXchange MeetingBroker is starting to really take hold as it expands its penetration in marketplace availability and as more groups book business on-line.

�The old way of faxing leads from a national sales office to individual properties is ineffective, time consuming and costly for all parties,� O�Neill said. �With NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker, we put everyone on the same electronic page in real time, so qualified leads can convert to booked business in record time.

�More and more chains and management companies are embracing the efficiencies of NetXchange MeetingBroker, and our current subscribers are working to establish enterprise platforms that will allow them to more fully leverage this feature-rich solution,� O�Neill said. �Further driving this trend, more electronic RFP sites and meeting planners are adopting our on-line lead distribution process to save time and money.�

Wyndham�s Herron said NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker is the engine driving Wyndham�s electronic group bookings around the globe.

�Without an electronic lead qualifying and distribution process for groups, we basically were on a dead-end street trying to get across country,� he said. �Now, thanks to Newmarket International and its NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker solution, we�re Internet-enabled and booking blocks in minutes across the globe.�

About NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker
Newmarket International Inc.�s NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker helps properties and management companies secure business and increase their profitability and productivity through shared electronic access to the most-qualified booking opportunities. Leads are received at Internet speeds and prospects can be contacted immediately, resulting in improved customer service and sales opportunities. Leads are automatically captured in users� databases for future prospecting. NetXchangeTM MeetingBroker allows leads to be distributed to hotels electronically, eliminating related faxes and manual data re-entry, as well as empowers Convention Centers and Visitors Bureaus to respond quickly to leads sent by eRFP and meeting planner web sites by matching group needs with nearby properties. 

About Newmarket International
Newmarket International, �the makers of Delphi,� is the leader in delivering groups, sales, catering and banquet software solutions to global travel and entertainment organizations. Hotels, Casinos, Visitor Bureaus, Meeting Houses, Convention Centers and Arenas all use this powerful technology. Newmarket International provides competitive advantages to all of its customers by enabling leads to electronically transfer across cities and around the world. By harnessing award-winning technology and support, the industry's best return on investment, domain expertise, and a commitment to the travel industry, Portsmouth, N.H.-based Newmarket enables customers to increase efficiencies and maximize profits. For more information, please visit www.newmarketinc.com.

Wyndham International
Wyndham International, Inc. offers upscale and luxury hotel and resort accommodations through proprietary lodging brands and a management services division. Based in Dallas, Wyndham owns, leases, manages and franchises hotels and resorts in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe. For more information, visit www.wyndham.com. For reservations, call a travel professional or 1-800-WYNDHAM.