Darwin Networks to Equip 50,000 Hotel Rooms With High-Speed Internet Service As Selected HSIA Provider For Innovative New Company.

Business & High Tech Editors

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 2000

Darwin Networks, a leading provider of high-speed Internet access and network solutions, was recently selected as the Internet service provider for a new hospitality technology service company. The new company, Stay Connect, Inc., was created to provide in-room PCs and high-speed Internet access for laptops to the lodging industry.

Stay Connect, Inc., launched by Choice Hotels International (NYSE: CHH) and Baron Capital, plans to install approximately 50,000 hotel rooms with high-speed Internet access for laptops by the end of 2001, via Darwin Networks' guaranteed, "always on" Internet service. Approximately one third of these rooms will be equipped with in-room PCs.

Darwin Networks provides a broad range of full-service, high-speed Internet access and private, Wide Area Network (WAN) services, which include everything from equipment installation and maintenance to Internet site development for its customers. By creating its own, nationwide, 100 percent private network, Darwin has the ability to offer all Stay Connect users secure, reliable and top quality Internet service.

"Stay Connect's innovative concept, coupled with our ability to tailor high-speed Internet access and network solutions specifically for any hotel, is certain to produce a unique, high-quality service that most business travelers will come to demand," said David Wigglesworth, president of Darwin Networks' Hospitality Division.

The initiative to launch Stay Connect was preceded by a Choice-conducted test of in-room PC usage, which indicated a strong demand for the amenity. Results revealed a 52 percent daily usage of in-room PCs for approximately 67 minutes per session - more than double the average online time of a typical Internet user 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 portal," said Charles A. Ledsinger, Jr., president and CEO of Choice Hotels. "Less than one percent of the United States' four million hotel rooms provide high-speed Internet access or in-room computers. To capitalize on this vast potential, we created a turnkey solution that provides guest room Internet services, including in-room PCs, to the entire lodging industry."

Backed by the world's second largest lodging franchise, Stay Connect is the first hospitality technology company of its kind to be launched by a hotel corporation, as well as the first to offer Internet access to all types of travelers, even those who travel without laptops. As a Choice subsidiary, Stay Connect gains immediate access and exclusive distribution rights to 3600 domestic hotel properties.

About Darwin Networks:

Darwin Networks provides high-speed Internet access and network solutions to small and medium-sized businesses; office, flex, industrial and retail properties; apartment, condominium and student housing complexes; hotels and telephone companies; using wireless, wireline, and DSL technologies. The company has agreements in place and in progress to launch services in approximately 800 locations in almost 40 states and Canada.

The Louisville, Kentucky-based company offers a full complement of marketing and support services, including training, to assist business owners, property managers and their staffs in marketing and implementing the new services.

Additionally, Darwin is the nation's premier provider of public Internet access kiosks. To date, the company has installed hundreds of units throughout the country, in hotels, restaurants, tourist/travel centers, cafes, airports, and more. The company also produces, installs and operates multimedia kiosks designed for retail/eCommerce, interactive information distribution, communications, entertainment, advertising and other uses.

Darwin Networks has corporate offices in Louisville, KY, Seattle, WA and Walnut Creek and San Diego, CA. The company's investors include Broadband Solutions, LLC (led by Chrysalis Ventures, LLC), Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures, Richland Ventures, River Cities Capital and associates of Moore Capital. For more information about Darwin Networks, please visit www.darwin.net.

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 Inn 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 owned in part by Choice Hotels International and backed by Baron Capital. Stay Connect will equip guestrooms 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 second quarter 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 8-K.