Press Release: Bass Hotels & Resorts, Inc.
March 21, 2001
ATLANTA, GA -- Bass Hotels & Resorts, a global leader with more than 3,000 hotels in close to 100 countries,
yesterday launched the industry's most comprehensive wireless services for locating hotels and making room reservations.
Working with Air2Web Inc., the leading mobile Internet platform provider, Bass Hotels & Resorts guests can
now easily obtain hotel information from wireless devices including the Palm VII, Web-enabled phones and digital
text messaging phones. Bass Hotels & Resorts will provide these enhanced services for all their brands including
Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Express®, Inter-Continental®, Crowne Plaza® and Staybridge Suites®.
Guests, who are members of Priority Club, Bass Hotels & Resorts' frequent guest program, can also make reservations
on Web-enabled devices with a minimal amount of effort. As a Priority Club member, stored room preferences and
credit card information are used to offer personalized reservations and streamline the process.
``With the growth of wireless devices and Web-enabled phones, we want to offer new services to our guests to assist
them in researching and making their hotel reservations. In essence, we want to be first and foremost in the minds
of our travelers whenever and wherever they choose to shop,'' said Eric Pearson, vice president of E-commerce for
Bass Hotels & Resorts.
According to the Yankee Group, the number of wireless Internet users today in the US is one million, compared with
150 million personal-computer users. By 2005, there should be 177 million wireless Web users, compared with 200
million PC users. Furthermore, Forrester Research predicts that by 2005, one in 10 households in North America
are expected to have a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and four out of five people will have a Net-enabled mobile
phone.
``We didn't want to limit ourselves to one device given the constant change in the high-tech industry and the associated
costs with supporting these devices,'' Pearson added. ``As such, we found a solutions provider in Air2Web that
gives access to many devices today and support for new products as the market matures.''
Guests can register on any Bass Hotels & Resorts branded Web site to select their device and customize their
profile. Air2Web has tailored links for more than 260 wireless devices based on manufacturer and specifications.
``Air2Web is the fastest, safest and most scalable mobile Internet platform giving Bass Hotels & Resorts the
greatest flexibility to extend their hotel brands into the wireless world,'' said Sanjoy Malik, president and CEO
of Air2Web. ``Through our relationship with Bass Hotels & Resorts, Air2Web has not only created a landmark
capability in the hospitality and wireless industries, but has emerged as the platform of choice for businesses
extending their e-business initiatives into the mobile world.''
Air2Web combines a robust API with tools, information, and an online community to help Bass Hotels & Resorts
define, create, test and deploy its interactive mobile applications for travelers. Its technology is built to open
standards for both Web and wireless carriers and incorporates industry- accepted security standards. Air2Web is
working with PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of their strategic alliance partners, to develop the business strategy
and manage the integration of the wireless applications into Bass Hotels' enterprise infrastructure.
``Our relationship with Air2Web is allowing us to develop and deploy a leading-edge wireless solution for the hospitality
industry,'' said Geoffrey Vickrey, managing director, PricewaterhouseCoopers. ``PricewaterhouseCoopers is committed
to helping clients exploit the benefits of mobile business and this project clearly illustrates the enormous advantages
for companies and their customers.''
About Bass Hotels & Resorts
Bass Hotels & Resorts® (NYSE: BAS; London) (ADRs), the hotel business of Bass PLC of the United Kingdom,
owns, operates or franchises more than 3,000 hotels and 490,000 guest rooms in close to 100 countries and territories.
Bass Hotels & Resorts, Inc. offers information and reservations capability on the Internet -- www.basshotels.com
, www.interconti.com for Inter- Continental Hotels and Resorts, www.crowneplaza.com
for Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts, www.holiday-inn.com for Holiday Inn
hotels, www.hiexpress.com for Holiday Inn Express hotels, www.staybridge.com
for Staybridge Suites by Holiday Inn, and www.priorityclub.com .
About Air2Web
Air2Web, based in Atlanta, is the leading wireless application services platform. The Air2Web Always Interactive
suite of services enables organizations to create, deploy, and deliver their branded applications to consumers
using all types of wireless devices, from WAP and SMS phones, to pagers, and pervasive computing devices. The Air2Web
platform supports interactive text and audio applications across the widest range of wireless devices, including
one-way SMS. Air2Web provides state-of-the-art application hosting with day-to-day applications management and
24x7 support. Air2Web's customers include UPS, Digital Insight, TotalSports, and other leading media, finance,
travel, transportation, and e-commerce companies. For more information about Air2Web, please visit http://www.air2web.com
.
About PricewaterhouseCoopers
The Management Consulting Services practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers helps clients maximize their business performance
by integrating strategic change, process improvements and technology solutions. Through a worldwide network of
skills and resources, consultants manage complex projects with global capabilities and local knowledge, from strategy
through implementation. PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwcglobal.com ) is the
world's largest professional services organization. Drawing on the knowledge and skills of more than 150,000 people
in 150 countries, we help our clients solve complex business problems and measurably enhance their ability to build
value, manage risk and improve performance in an Internet-enabled world. PricewaterhouseCoopers refers to the member
firms of the worldwide PricewaterhouseCoopers organization.
SOURCE: Bass Hotels & Resorts, Inc.