All 277 guest rooms on the business floors of the Crown Towers are cabled to provide a range of services from inter-touch. The Crown Towers� 14 meeting rooms also offer Internet availability for meetings and conferences, using inter-touch TEAMWORK�.  This solution enables seven or multiples of seven people to securely access the Internet in hotel meeting rooms. inter-touch TEAMWORK  is a valuable addition to the hotel�s audio-visual offering to conference organisers, as the hotel attracts significant meetings business in the competitive convention market.

The Crown Towers joins 10 hotels and apartment buildings across Victoria, with a total of 2049 rooms, which have selected inter-touch. Attached to Australia�s largest 24-hour casino, Crown Towers is also the first casino property to install solutions from inter-touch.

�inter-touch directly addresses the needs of business travellers and meeting organisers by offering Internet connectivity that is fast, easy-to-use and economical,� said Ron Ross, General Manager, South Pacific for inter-touch. �The expansion of inter-touch�s presence in Victoria, and the installation at a key property like Crown Towers, is especially important as inter-touch moves further into the international market � our national network of partner hotels is integral to our growing global success.�

inter-touch WORKLINK  is installed in guest rooms to allow business visitors to quickly and easily connect to the Internet at a high speed through their PC serial port, following an easy set-up procedure. It gives them fast and convenient connection to the Internet in the comfort of their own hotel room.  Guests simply plug the cable provided into the serial port on their laptop computer to make a network connection for a low, flat rate of $20 per day for unlimited access

There is no need for an Internet Service Provider (ISP) account, special software, new computer settings or even a modem, and the cost is simply added to the guest�s hotel bill.  

The cabling infrastructure provided by inter-touch will ensure that the hotel can meet current and future guest technology needs with value-added services such as videoconferencing and video-on-demand as they become available. The hotel can also use the network for its own IT systems.
 

�The installation of inter-touch allows Crown Towers to deliver its promise to our guests to provide the highest level of customer service and up-to-the- minute technology,� said Bryan Hiscock, Executive General Manager, Crown Towers. �Crown Towers aims to establish the hotel standard for the 21st century, combining state-of-the-art technology with the ultimate in luxury, comfort and service. We particularly cater to the business traveller and corporate guest, with guests enjoying a level of service and luxury previously unavailable in Australia,� he said. The Crown Tower�s systems will be managed by inter-touch�s recently established Melbourne sales office, headed up by Michael Glynn who has

Thirteen other properties across Australia have also signed up to install an inter-touch solution this month: Hotel Sofitel, Melbourne - 363 rooms,  Grand Hyatt, Melbourne - 547 rooms Park Hyatt, Melbourne - 249 rooms Hyatt Regency, Adelaide - 367 rooms Franklin Central Apartments, Melbourne - 69 rooms Ritz Hotel, Adelaide - 68 rooms Punt Hill Group, Flinders Lane Apartments, Melbourne - 60 rooms Oakford Apartments, Melbourne, Gordon Towers - 54 rooms, Gordon Place - 54 rooms, Collins Street - 54 rooms, Lygon Street - 54 rooms King William All-Suite Hotel, Adelaide - 52 rooms (due to open August 2000) Norwest International, Sydney - 132 rooms

Mr Glynn has over nine years experience in supervisory and management roles in the hospitality industry. He was previously Sales Manager for Duxton Hotel Melbourne, and prior to that, Sales Manager for Brisbane based hotel group Fortland Hotels and Resorts.

inter-touch�s latest installation follows the company�s name change from NetPort Hospitality Systems in April, and the announcement that its investors have provided a further $15 million to launch inter-touch onto the global stage.

About inter-touch
inter-touch is a multinational company, founded in Sydney, Australia, that partners with the hospitality, airline, convention and property industries to provide emerging communications technologies to business travellers. inter-touch communications infrastructure spans all areas in a property where broadband and Internet access may be required, including guestrooms, convention and exhibition centres, meeting rooms and business lounges. For further information, visit www.inter-touch.com http://www.inter-touch.com

About Crown Towers � a Summit Hotel
A deluxe class hotel, the Crown Towers is located on the banks on the Yarra River. Comprising of 500 appointed guestrooms, including 92 suites, with spectacular 360-degree views of Melbourne City and Port Phillip Bay. The Crown also has 30 meeting rooms and the Crown Ballroom, which accommodates a capacity of 2200 people theatre style. The Crown Towers is part of the Crown conference and entertainment complex, also featuring Australia�s largest 24-hour casino, a retail promenade, restaurants and bars, 14 cinemas and a 1000 seat Showroom. For further information, visit www.crownltd.com