Choice Hotels International Launches Stay Connect, Inc.; 50,000 Hotel Rooms Equipped by End of 2001, Company Projects.Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers SILVER SPRING, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 10, 2000 Choice Hotels International (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :CHH CHH Cartilage Hair Hypoplasia CHH Crustacean Hyperglycemic Hormone CHH Carter Holt Harvey Limited (Australia & New Zealand) CHH Chuan Hup Holdings Limited (Singapore) CHH Certified Hardware Hosineer ) today announced the launch of Stay Connect, Inc., a hospitality technology services company created to provide high-speed Internet See broadband. access for both in-room PCs and laptops to the lodging industry. The new company plans to install Stay Connect services in approximately 50,000 hotel rooms by the end of 2001. Backed by one of the largest lodging franchisors in the world with a minority investment by Baron Capital, the prominent New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of based investment advisor Investment Advisor 1. A person making investment recommendations in return for a flat fee or percentage of assets managed, known as a commission. 2. For mutual fund companies, it is the individual who has the day-to-day responsibility of investing and monitoring the cash and , on behalf of its investment advisory clients, Stay Connect is the first hospitality technology company of its kind to be launched by a hotel corporation. This company is also in the forefront of offering Internet access See how to access the Internet. to all types of travelers, even those who travel without laptops. As an endorsed supplier of Choice, Stay Connect has immediate and direct access to 3700 domestic Comfort, Quality, Clarion, Sleep, Econo Lodge Econo Lodge is an economy motel chain based in the United States. Econo Lodge is the second largest brand in the Choice Hotels system. It is one of the best known names of its category and provides affordable rooms to budget travelers. , Rodeway Inn Rodeway Inn is an upper-priced economy chain of motels in the United States and Canada. Rodeway Inn is a brand of the Choice Hotels group. There are over 150 locations in North America. and MainStay Suites Mainstay Suites is a brand of mid-priced extended stay hotels franchised by Choice Hotels International. Mainstay Suites hotels provide comfortable and affordable accommodations to extended stay travelers as well as provide many amenities to its guests. brand hotels. Addressing Guests' Demand for Innovative Amenities The initiative to launch Stay Connect follows a previous test of in-room PCs by Choice, which indicated a strong demand for the amenity. Results revealed a 52% daily usage of in-room PCs for approximately 67 minutes per session - more than double the average online time of a typical Internet user Internet user n → internauta m/f Internet user Internet n → internaute m/f session and more than the average time spent monthly on most Internet portals. "When Choice first evaluated the demand for Internet connectivity from guests last fall, we recognized a huge - and untapped - business potential," said Charles A. Ledsinger, Jr., president and chief executive officer of Choice. "Less than one percent of the U.S.'s four million hotel rooms provide high-speed Internet access or in-room computers. To capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. this vast potential, we created a turn-key solution that provides guest room Internet services, including in-room PCs, to the entire lodging industry." Daniel Rothfeld, senior vice president, e-commerce and emerging business opportunities at Choice, added, "Choice is strongly focused on developing business opportunities for the industry. Our ongoing research clearly indicates that the growing demand for in-room PCs and Internet access simply is not being satisfied by existing solutions. Being able to access the Internet is quickly becoming as basic to hotel rooms as refreshments, telephones and televisions, yet it is imperative to meet this fundamental need in a sustainable way that works for both guests and hotel owners. We believe Stay Connect provides the right solution for the whole industry." Delivering Benefits to Lodging Industry Stay Connect offers complete turn-key services from installation to in-room Internet PCs and a 24x7 help desk for a single low monthly fee. In addition, Stay Connect is in the process of developing its own Internet portal to create an added value Added value in financial analysis of shares is to be distinguished from value added. Used as a measure of shareholder value, calculated using the formula:
David Goldberg, vice president, operations at Stay Connect, said, "There is no limit to the value proposition the Stay Connect solution brings to hotel owners. By meeting customer demand and providing a highly valued amenity, hotel owners can simultaneously increase room rates and raise occupancy levels. Our services provide all guests the ability to access all the Internet has to offer whether or not they travel with a laptop." Partnering for Success Stay Connect has selected premier partners to provide a quality end-to-end solution (jargon) end-to-end solution - (E2ES) A term that suggests that the supplier of an application program or system will provide all the hardware and/or software components and resouces to meet the customer's requirement and no other supplier need be involved. Compare: turn-key solution. to hotel owners and guests. Darwin Networks, a leading broadband solutions company, is managing the "nerve center" of the Stay Connect service? - providing the entire telecommunications infrastructure. David Wigglesworth, president of Darwin's hospitality division, said, "We are delighted to be working with Stay Connect on this important business initiative for the industry. Their research, expertise and focus, coupled with a real understanding of the hospitality business and the needs of individual hotel owners, complements our strategy of delivering best practices in the business." In-room Internet PCs are being provided by Compaq (NYSE: CPQ CPQ Compaq CPQ Conseil du Patronat du Québec (Canada) CPQ Configure-Price-Quote CPQ Conseil de Presse du Québec (Québec Press Council, Canada) CPQ Companion Parrot Quarterly ). The stylish new `iPAQ' Desktop PC offering one-touch Internet access will be installed in at least a third of all rooms in Stay Connect enabled hotels. "We're proud to be selected by Stay Connect as their technology solutions partner for equipping hotels across the U.S. with iPAQ desktop PCs," said Mike Winkler Winkler may refer to:
Quarterly sales $2499M, profits $210M (Aug 1994). http://compaq.com/. . "Because of its simple design and small form factor, the iPAQ is the ideal platform for in-room computing, providing guests with anywhere-access to business applications, email and the Internet. As evidence of our goal to take everything to the Internet, we are pleased to provide Program Management Services and iPAQ desktop PCs to assist Stay Connect in their new venture to supply every customer with this high quality, reliable and valuable amenity." Editor's Note: For photos of Choice and Stay Connect executives, and iPAQ desktop PC please contact Christiana Campos at 202/452-9489. About Choice Hotels International Choice Hotels International of Silver Spring, MD, is one of the largest hotel franchise companies in the world with almost 5,000 hotels currently open or under development in 37 countries. Choice franchises hotels under the Clarion, Comfort, Quality, Econo Lodge, MainStay Suites, Sleep and Rodeway Inn brands. For more information about Choice, visit www.choicehotels.com. About Stay Connect Headquartered in Silver Spring, MD, Stay Connect is an independent operating company operating company A business that engages in transactions with outsiders. owned by Choice Hotels International with a minority investment by Baron Capital on behalf of its investment advisory clients. Stay Connect will equip guest rooms in hotels nationwide with state-of-the-art in-room computers and high-speed Internet access for laptops. The company plans to install approximately 50,000 hotel rooms with the Stay Connect service by the end of 2001. For further information please visit www.stayconnect.com or call 1 888-304-STAY. Certain matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities law. Such statements are based on management's beliefs, assumptions and expectations, which in turn are based on information currently available to management. Actual performance and results could differ from those expressed in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond Choice's ability to predict or control. For further information on factors that could impact Choice and the statements contained therein, we refer you to the filings made by Choice with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its registration statements on Form S-4 and report on Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. for the period ended June 30, 1999. Comfort, Quality, Clarion, Sleep, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn and MainStay Suites are registered trademarks and service marks of Choice Hotels International, Inc. |
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