Broadband Increasingly Important to Hotel Competitive Ability Reports In-Stat/MDR.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 25, 2003

The hotel broadband market has experienced a considerable recovery over the past year and is positioned for further future growth, reports In-Stat/MDR (http://www.instat.com). The high-tech market research firm reports that, despite the downturn in the travel industry, hotels now perceive broadband as a necessary service offering to remain competitive in the current environment. As a result, there has been a significant shift in the market from being a service provider driven one to what is now a demand driven business, both on the part of the guest and hotel.

"Hotels are acting on the new vision of broadband's importance to their competitive ability, and more and more properties are offering high-speed access as an amenity," said Amy Cravens, a senior analyst with In-Stat/MDR. "This renewed strength in the hotel broadband market will be reflected by an increasing number of rooms deployed each year."

In-Stat/MDR has also found that:

-- Although there are considerable regional differences, hotels

worldwide are following this trend. While North America leads

the worldwide market, Asia Pacific also represents strong

opportunity. Europe has been a slower market in the past, yet

In-Stat/MDR expects considerable growth in this region in

2004.

-- According to an In-Stat/MDR survey, over half of the

respondents indicated that the hotel owned the network

equipment, illustrating a significant adoption of this new

model. Hotel ownership of the equipment, and the broadband

service, creates a more stable operating environment for the

providers, as well as allowing the hotel more creativity for

pricing structures -- some even making the service free, as

the Marriott chain has recently done.

-- The emerging new business models are also capitalizing on the

introduction of new services and applications. Simple service

offerings, such as creating a printing network, which link

guestrooms to a central printer, are emerging, as well as more

complex offerings, such as Video-on-Demand (VoD). Networks are

also being viewed as operational tools. For instance, branded

portals act as a virtual concierge for in-room services, as

well as a marketing device. Some hotels are even envisioning

creating "smart guestrooms," where environmental controls and

other in-room devices are linked to the network.

The report, "Battling with Broadband: How Hotels are using High-Speed Access to Compete for Guests" (#IN030829MU), provides in-depth analysis of the technologies, services/applications and business models that are the foundation for this market. Five-year worldwide forecasts are provided for footprint/locations deployed, equipment revenue, and usage rates. To purchase this report, or for more information, please visit: http://www.instat.com/catalog/cat-mtb.htm or contact Courtney McEuen at 281-246-4668; [e-mail]. The report price is $3,495.

About In-Stat/MDR

In-Stat/MDR (http://www.instat.com) offers a broad range of information resources and analytical assets to technology vendors, service providers, technology professionals and market specialists worldwide. The company stands alone in its ability to integrate both supply-side and demand-side research methodologies into a single comprehensive view of technology markets and products. This capability relies on a unique ability to cover the entire value chain from engineering-level technology, through equipment, infrastructure, services and end users.

In-Stat/MDR is part of the Reed Electronics Group, a division of Reed Elsevier (www.reedelsevier.com), a world-leading publisher and information provider. With over 38,000 employees worldwide, Reed Elsevier operates in the science & medical, legal, education and business-to-business industry sectors, providing high value and flexible information solutions to professional end users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet.