Press Release
June 13, 2001
PARSIPPANY, NJ -- WizCom International, Ltd. (``WizCom''), a leading supplier of reservation and information management
systems for the travel industry, yesterday announced that Luxe Worldwide Hospitality (Luxe), Jolly Hotels SpA (Jolly)
and ScanRes, have signed contracts with WizCom to implement its stateof-the-art reservations booking technology.
Luxe and Jolly will be implementing WizCom's FastConnect, a flexible electronic distribution system that offers
hotels quick and cost-effective connectivity for bookings through the major Global Distribution Systems (GDSs),
while ScanRes will be provided with GDS connectivity through WizCom's Wizdom reservation system or switch as it
is commonly called.
``The addition of these new customers reinforces our role as the definitive source of innovative distribution solutions
for the travel industry,'' said Flo Lugli, President of WizCom. ``Furthermore, signing Jolly and ScanRes demonstrates
the growing demand for electronic distribution technology in Europe.''
Luxe and Jolly signed a contract for WizCom's Fastconnect, which will provide GDS connectivity for more than 200
of Luxe's hotel properties and resorts around the world, including Boutique Hotels of Australia and Jarvinen Worldwide
Hotels, and 45 Jolly Hotels in Italy. FastConnect also enables WizCom's Internet Distribution System (IDS) and
TravelWiz, which respectively enable bookings over major Internet sites and creates a powerful booking engine on
Luxe's Web site.
``FastConnect fits the growing demand among small- to medium-sized hotel chains, larger independents and management
representation firms for cost-effective distribution solutions,'' said Flo Lugli. ``FastConnect will enable Luxe
and Jolly to distribute booking information for their various properties to major points on the Internet and the
GDSs - a process that has become increasingly costly and difficult to manage.''
The FastConnect system is independent and does not require hotels to build an interface with their existing central
reservations system. Its cost is based on the number of transactions processed, in addition to the initial set-up
costs. FastConnect also supports WizCom's TravelWiz, an optional Internet booking engine that enables hotels to
process real-time reservations at their own Web site.
``FastConnect is a proven connectivity system that promises to grow with the company, even as the volume of transactions
increase,'' said Lugli. ``WizCom has proven itself the industry leader by providing flexible products that give
our customers choice and control in developing distribution strategies that complement their own business objectives.''
WizCom International, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE:CD), is a leading global provider
of electronic reservations processing and information management systems for the travel industry. WizCom provides
its hotel, car rental, and tour / leisure travel customers with innovative, flexible and cost-effective electronic
distribution and e-commerce solutions for the Internet, GDS and other travel reservation systems. Established in
1987, WizCom has an extensive customer base with more than 90 hotel companies and over 25 car rental firms operating
in more than forty countries worldwide.
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Contact:
WizCom International, Ltd.
Joe Neubig, 973/496-7984
or
Fleishman-Hillard
Sunil Oommen, 212/453-2315