Company Press Release
March 14, 2000
BERLIN -- WorldRes.com(TM) (www.worldres.com), an online hotel distribution
network for leisure travel, has signed agreements with a number of European hotel and distribution partners, further
bolstering its position as the central platform for matching supply to demand in the online hospitality market.
The announcements were made today at ITB Berlin, the International Tourism Exchange conference.
Among the new hotel partners is NetHotels.com, which will add more than 400 new hotel properties to the WorldRes.com system. NetHotels.com has built up a database of more than 4,000 hotels, of which more than 400 hotels directly enter their online room availability within the NetHotels.com system. NetHotels.com markets hotels via its Web site (www.nethotels.com), and through an increasing number of distribution channels, including tourist boards, affiliates, hotel Web sites, and now through the WorldRes.com distribution network.
The deal brings the number of European hotels signed by WorldRes.com in the last four weeks to more than 2,500. Other recent WorldRes.com hotel signings include: the TRUST hotel group, Quality Reservations, Med Hotels, Classic Hotels and Eazires Hotels as well as Supranational, which has expanded its existing WorldRes.com relationship to include its entire inventory of properties.
WorldRes.com provides e-commerce and Web marketing to its member properties through a vast network of web sites, call centers and other outlets. Distribution partners receive real-time hotel reservation capabilities along with detailed photos and property information, room availability, rates and special offers. To that end, the company also announced new distribution partnerships, including:
-- Dooyoo.de: the leading German consumer opinion portal
-- unicuml.de: the german student magazine
-- webguide.be: one of Belgium's leading portals
-- vakantiepagina.nl: the leading travel site of the Netherlands
``The European hotel market is primarily characterized by independent properties as opposed to large chains, and as a result is in need of a low-cost, risk-free e-commerce solution to get those hotels on the Web, and generating online revenue,'' said Greg Jones, CEO of WorldRes.com. ``The rapid pace with which we are signing both supply- and demand-side deals shows us that we are on the right track with our European expansion.''
About WorldRes.com
WorldRes.com, Inc. (http://www.worldres.com) operates the online distribution network that connects hotels to leisure travelers through a broad range of Web-based partners, including portals, travel and destination Web sites, convention and visitor bureaus, tourism authorities, online city guides, call centers and travel agents. For hotels, WorldRes.com offers an efficient, low-cost means for marketing and selling accommodations online. For distribution partners, WorldRes.com provides detailed information and booking capability for a wide range of properties, from bed and breakfasts and independent hotels to resorts, vacation rentals and hotel chains.
WorldRes.com was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in San Mateo, Calif.; WorldRes.com operates offices in Duesseldorf, Germany; Paris; Sophia Antipolis near Nice, France; and Staines, Middlesex, just outside London. WorldRes.com employees collectively possess an extensive knowledge of hotel marketing, systems and operations as well as Internet-based transaction technology. WorldRes.com owns and operates two consumer Web sites: PlacesToStay.com (www.placestostay.com), which offers real-time rates, reservations and information for all properties in the WorldRes.com system; and BedandBreakfast.com (www.bedandbreakfast.com), with information on more than 23,000 B&Bs and historic inns around the world.
WorldRes.com
Elizabeth Ripley, 650/570-3437
eripley@worldres.com
or
The Horn Group
Liz Sloan, 415/905-4011
esloan@horngroup.com