Press Release
January 31, 2001
SAN FRANCISCO & WHITE PLAINS, NY -- OpenTable, Inc. (www.opentable.com)
and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) announced yesterday that OpenTable will provide electronic
reservation solutions to Starwood restaurant properties under the terms of an agreement the two companies executed
earlier this week. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchiser of hotels and resorts including
the St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton and W brands. OpenTable is the
leading supplier of Internet-enabled yield management, CRM, marketing and reservations solutions to the restaurant
industry.
Following an evaluation of the successful pilot installation at the prestigious St. Regis Hotel in New York, Starwood
has installed OpenTable's electronic reservation book (ERB) in several of their properties in the U.S. and has
selected OpenTable as a preferred provider of online restaurant reservations and onsite reservation and table management
software for their properties. The new corporate partnership will begin in January 2001 and the first phase of
the project will target installations in a number of Starwood's top domestic hotels by April 2001.
``Starwood is a cutting-edge company that understands the ways that technology and the Internet can be harnessed
for positive impact on every aspect of the hospitality business -- from operational forecasting to permission marketing
to sophisticated yield management,'' said Jeff Edwards, OpenTable's CEO. ``We're looking forward to working with
Starwood corporate and with each of their individual restaurant properties to help them maximize revenues and enhance
operations.''
``After thorough research and performance testing, Starwood has determined that OpenTable provides technology solutions
that have proven to help us streamline operations and enhance the experience of our restaurant guests,'' said Danny
Hudson, VP of Distributed Systems at Starwood. ``We look forward to utilizing OpenTable's online reservation services
and table management product in and for our restaurants.''
About OpenTable, Inc.
OpenTable, Inc. is the leading provider of Internet-enabled customer relationship management (CRM), marketing,
yield management and reservations solutions to the $500 billion global foodservice industry. The company's proprietary
electronic reservation book (ERB) automatically builds a comprehensive customer database which enables restaurants
to manage yields, communicate with diners more efficiently, enhance customer service, and conduct highly targeted
on-line and off-line marketing campaigns.
OpenTable introduced real-time online reservations to the restaurant industry in 1998, and now has products that
deliver the conveniences of 24/7 online reservations to hotel concierges (OTConcierge) and administrative assistants
(OTAdmin). Dining consumers can tap into the OpenTable network and make reservations online at www.opentable.com,
and also through the company's many distribution and content partners including America Online, The New York Times,
The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times. OpenTable's customers include leading hotel
chains and more than 1100 of the nation's top restaurants.
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with
more than 725 properties in 80 countries and 120,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally
renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchiser of hotels and resorts including:
St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation
Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts.
For more information, please visit us at www.starwoodhotels.com.
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Contact:
OpenTable, Inc.
Regan Daniels, 415/551-1510 ext. 249
rdaniels@opentable.com
or
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide
Nadeen Ayala, 914/640-8259
nadeen.ayala@starwoodhotels.com