Press Release
December 13, 2000
CORAL GABLES, FL -- Hotelworks.com, Inc. (AMEX:HWS) announced that at its annual shareholders meeting, held yesterday,
shareholders overwhelmingly approved the re-election of Mr. Louis K. Adler, Mr. George C. Asch and Mr. Richard
A. Bartlett to its Board of Directors; as well as the appointment of BDO Seidman LLP as the Company's independent
certified public accountants.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Douglas Parker, President and Chief Executive Officer, had the following remarks:
``The current hospitality environment, thanks in part to the proliferation of the Internet, has created renewed
awareness of the expertise we have established within the companies of Hotelworks throughout the past 30+ years.
We believe we cannot rest solely on the competitive advantage that our corporate history, vertically focused domain
expertise and volume buying have earned us in the marketplace. We further understand that a `virtual' purchasing
organization built around technology alone, will not serve to cure the weaknesses inherent throughout the supply
chain and customer-base. This has become evident with the recent trend toward convergence among the pure technology
players and the traditional brick-and-mortar companies maintaining domain expertise - ultimately resulting in a
sound business model that will leave the best-of-breed players dominating the marketplace for the long term.
``This trend toward convergence has taken the internet revolution full-circle, back to the beginning of our business
model - one that combines the strengths of services provided by Hotelworks with value-added technology solutions.
These solutions will help supply chain participants, customers, and us, operate more efficiently, resulting in
reduced costs and enhanced services that ultimately get passed on to our customers, while identifying and capturing
new, recurring revenue streams. If we had to give a simple answer to the question `what do you do?' we'd tell you
that we provide the expert services that manage the outsourced fulfillment for specifying, negotiating, ordering,
shipping and installing Furniture Fixtures & Equipment and Operating Supplies & Equipment, for hospitality-related
properties. Within the aggregated spend controlled by Hotelworks, suppliers compete for the purchase orders of
each customer under contract with Hotelworks, which effectively enables Hotelworks customers to benefit from a
lower cost of merchandise. Each project and/or contract customer of Hotelworks consists of an entity in need of
purchasing services. These services typically commence with consultative services involving a large degree of collaboration
among a team of experts and various entities, who work together to develop and define products, specifications
and budgets, and continue through logistics, freight management, installation and reorder services.
``For the benefit of fulfilling the recurring (day-to-day) purchases at a hotel property, our Parker Reorder Online
subsidiary has enhanced our service offering through the development of our Providis tool - a robust and functionally-rich
technology solution that is accessible by a web-browser using any PC with Internet access. This technology was
developed internally to help simplify the on-going reorder process for Hotelworks customers. By contracting with
Hotelworks, each customer has the ability to log-on to Providis where they can interact with a complete, private
catalog of their products and pricing, and reorder merchandise as needed with the click of a mouse.
``And what of the future? Can we ignore the changing landscape in the marketplace - the advancement in technology
and the many benefits it can bring to Hotelworks and its customers? Absolutely not. However, we must proceed with
caution so that we do not overlook sound business practices, which require us to look toward profitable opportunities.
This will require increased patience from shareholders as we forego entry into new, uncharted territories so we
do not compete with startup enterprises burning through cash reserves in order to establish market share.
``Unlike the newly evolving entities sitting on rapidly depleting cash reserves, we are not at liberty to expend
generous resources in the interest of pursuing new ventures that don't result in enhanced profitability for the
foreseeable future. As stated previously, we do believe that technology solutions can and will supplement our business,
solidify our position in the marketplace and ultimately result in increased profitability. Recognizing the value
of our cash reserves, we are cautiously pursuing various alternatives, including partnering strategies, strategic
alliances, buy vs. build analyses for technology, and other means that help us reach our goals of better serving
customers, while enhancing shareholder value. Our future can not and will not ignore our focus toward providing
exceptional customer service. Change must be gradual so we continue to leverage the customer relationships we have
worked hard to build, and convert those relationships into recurring opportunities for the future.
``Our executive team, and all our employees, have worked very hard in the last year to purge the legacy left by
former management. We are confident the Company can move forward in a professional and calculated manner that will
increase revenues, profitability and ultimately, value to our shareholders.
``Thank you very much for your continued support.''
Hotelworks.com, through its offices in the United States, Middle East, Asia, South Africa and Europe, is one of
the world's leading providers of goods and services to the global hospitality industry. The company headquartered
in Coral Gables, Florida, services such customers as Hyatt, Marriott International, Hilton, Ritz Carlton, Four
Seasons, Wyndham, Accor and Sun International. For more information about Hotelworks, please visit our web-site,
www.hotelworks.com. The statements contained in this release which are
not historical facts may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements with respect to events, the occurrence
of which involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, demand and competition for the Company's
services, and other risks or uncertainties detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
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Contact:
Hotelworks.com, Coral Gables
Peter Willis, 305/774-3206