OCTOBER 6 - NOVEMBER 1, 2004
TOP O' THE NEWS
- Poor or expensive wireless Internet access often a real deal-breaker, according to Jupiter report
No Wi-Fi, no return. Emphasizing the astonishing speed with which wireless high-speed Internet access has become an expected standard - and has caught many properties by surprise - a survey done by JupiterResearch for BT Consulting & Systems Integration reports that a majority of travelers in North America stated they would not come back to a hotel where the Wi-Fi internet service was unsatisfactory. Most respondents were business travelers to mid-level hotels, staying overnight more than once a month. Eighty-seven percent placed high importance on an internet connection and most did not want to pay a separate fee for it, preferring to have the cost included in the room rate or not be charged at all.
Three quarters of the travelers had some service problem with Internet service, half of them with the high cost. But it's not just the money; almost as many reported that they could not establish a connection to begin with, and 27 percent said their service was interrupted. (Given that when there IS a problem most hotels require the guest to act as their own trouble-shooter and resolve the problem directly with the service provider, that's way too high. Especially if the guest is paying for the access.)
Overall, 52 percent said they would probably not return to the hotel where they had the access problem, and half of those would tell their friends and family about the problem. Eighteen percent of the respondents said they would only stay at the hotel again if the service were free; the same number said they would stay with the same brand, but not the same hotel. The only bright spot for hoteliers' revenues: only 13 percent of those surveyed said they were not willing to pay at all for Internet access.
But folks: if you're going to charge for it, it has to work.
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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
- Diane Heppel joins UniFocus as an employee opinion specialist
- Daniel Sato appointed to head The TeleAdapt Group's Latin America operations
Diane Heppel has joined UniFocus as an employee opinion specialist, focusing on the application of opinion survey information to employee relations, organizational development, improved retention and impact on customer satisfaction. Ms. Heppel has previously held positions at La Quinta (in training and human resources0, as a training consultant in Field Management Training and Property Management Program Training, and as a corporate recruiter.
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Daniel Sato has been appointed to head guestroom technology vendor The TeleAdapt Group's Latin America operations, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
- Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort selects Agilysys' Lodging Management System (LMS)
- Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios, Jamaica orders Resort Data Processing's (RDP's) PMS
- MICROS selected by Forbes Magazine as one of The 200 Best Small Companies for 2004
- Foxhills Club and Resort adds Visual One's PMS, S&C and POS systems to GolfPro
- Maldives-based Universal Resorts picks Maestro for all nine resorts
- Ascott Group orders HIS' epitome Enterprise for serviced residences in 40 cities in 17 countries
- Grand Heritage Hotel Group orders HIS' epitome PMS for Windows for its 11 historic hotels
- TimeShareWare installs first TimeShareWare Essentials product, at Interval Management/Jackson Hole Racquet Club
- Garden City Hotel on Long Island, NY launches online check-in via the hotel's website
The 368-room Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario has selected Agilysys' Lodging Management System (LMS), Materials Management System (MMS) and Document Management System (DMS). (www.discoverniagara.com, www.agilysys.com)
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The 730-room Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios, Jamaica has ordered Resort Data Processing's (RDP's) PMS, the fourth Sunset Resort property to do so. (www.resortdata.com)
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MICROS has been selected by Forbes Magazine as one of The 200 Best Small Companies for 2004.
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The UK's Foxhills Club and Resort has added Visual One's integrated Front Office (PMS), Sales and Catering and Point of Sales systems to the GolfPro system it installed earlier. The property includes three championship golf courses, three pools, a tennis club, health club, squash courts, spa, 4 star hotel, creche and adventure playground, two rosette restaurant, a Brasserie and conference centre. (www.foxhills.co.uk, www.v1s.com)
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Universal Resorts, based in the Maldives, has selected NORTHWIND Maestro Enterprise Suite to automate all nine of its resorts, using Maestro Front Office, Club & Spa Management, Sales and Catering, Work Order Scheduling, Asset Management, Central Reservations, Accounts Receivable, and ResEze online reservations. Installation will be handled by e-clipse Computer Systems, Northwind's Australian distributor. (www.maestropms.com)
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The Ascott Group, which operates serviced residences in 40 cities in 17 countries throughout Europe and Asia Pacific, has ordered Hotel Information Systems (HIS) epitome Enterprise Solutions for all its sites. Pilot installations have been running in Citadines properties and selected Ascott properties in Australia.
The Grand Heritage Hotel Group (GHHG) has also ordered HIS' epitome PMS for Windows to manage operations throughout its 11 historic hotels, which include the Vanderbilt Hall Hotel in Newport, Rhode Island, the Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado, The Biltmore, Providence, Rhode Island, and The Governor Hotel and The Avalon Hotel & Spa, Portland, Oregon.
(www.grandheritageinternational.com, www.hotelinfosys.com)
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TimeShareWare recently installed its first TimeShareWare Essentials product, at Interval Management/Jackson Hole Racquet Club, a small resort with 10 employees and 26 units. (www.timeshareware.com)
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The 280-room Garden City Hotel on Long Island, NY has launched an online check-in service via the hotel's website, allowing guests to enter their room preferences and estimated time of arrival. Upon arrival they pick up their electronic key card and room number at the concierge desk. (www.gardencityhotel.com)
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RESERVATIONS
- Starwood to develop new CRS with HP
- FastBooking celebrates 2,000th installation of its Internet booking engine
- Sabre Travel Network adds hotel amenity information to its primary search screen
- NexTag launches MultiSite Search comparison shopping engine for hotels
- Vantis partners with VFM Interactive to offer rich media content to hotels' websites
- Melrose contracts with Vantis for reservations services
- Golden Tulip signs with Cendant TDS for distribution products and services
- Cendant Hotel Group averages nearly $1 million/day in own-brand Web site bookings
- Hyatt signs multi-year contract extension with Pegasus
- Pegasus signs Atel, Keytel, Hotusa and reconline for electronic distribution services
- Online travel experts launch kayak.com comparison-shopping site
- Best Western becomes 100th hotel company to implement Galileo's Inside Shopper
- Rooms.com terminates letter of intent by Teleplus Consumer Services to acquire it
- Lanyon clarifies that it has not been purchased by Sabre
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has signed a seven-year, $100 million contract with Hewlett Packard to build a new global reservation system that will be managed by HP. In addition to improved functionality Starwood anticipates savings of $15 million to $20 million annually in technology operating costs. In collaboration with HP, Starwood will completely re-design, deploy, manage and support a new hotel reservation system based on HP ProLiant servers and the HP-UX and Linux operating systems, replacing Starwood's legacy mainframe-based COBOL applications. HP also will operate Starwood's messaging environment, provide network management services, assist with application development and integration, support Starwood's multi-vendor server environment (including storage management) and build the infrastructure for and host Starwood's branded websites. HP also will take over the operational aspects of Starwood's core computing complex and provide an improved disaster-recovery facility. (www.hp.com, www.starwood.com)
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FastBooking celebrated the 2,000th installation of its Internet booking engine, at New York's Hotel 5A. (www.fastbooking.com)
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Sabre Travel Network has added hotel amenity information to its primary search screen, claiming to be the first GDS to offer this data. The customizable amenities column displays seven hotel features, such as high-speed Internet access, free airport shuttle, swimming pools and free parking. (www.sabre.com)
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Comparison shopping site NexTag has launched its MultiSite Search for hotels, its first move into travel shopping. MultiSite Search allows travelers to compare room rates offered through participating hotels, online travel agencies and hotel merchants. (www.nextag.com)
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Vantis, formerly VIP International and Lexington Services, has partnered with VFM Interactive to offer rich media content to its hotels' websites and to VFM's more than 5,000 partner travel websites, including Travelocity, Orbitz and TripAdvisor.
Philadelphia-based Melrose Hotel Company has contracted with Vantis International for revenue management, multi-channel reservations, GDS connectivity and call center services for its properties in Dallas, Texas, Washington, DC, and New York City.
(www.vfmii.com, www.melrosehotel.com, www.vantiscorp.com)
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Golden Tulip Hotels, Inns & Resorts has signed an agreement with Cendant Travel Distribution Services (TDS) for its distribution products and services. Golden Tulip is a privately owned franchise company based in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, franchising some 270 hotels across 41 countries, mostly in urban destinations across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
Cendant's Hotel Group announced that it averaged nearly $1 million a day in bookings made through its own-brand Web sites during this year's peak summer season.
(www.goldentulip.com, www.cendant.com)
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Hyatt Hotels & Resorts has signed a multi-year contract extension with Pegasus Solutions, under which Pegasus will continue providing Hyatt's US hotels with commission processing and electronic distribution services through June 2007.
Pegasus Solutions has signed Atel, Keytel, Hotusa and reconline as new customers for its electronic distribution services. Atel is a French hotel representation company covering around 400 hotels; Keytel, a Spanish representation company, represents around 2,000 hotels (approximately 800 in the GDSs) through its Keytel and Hotusa brands. Swiss-based reconline AG provides browser-based reservation, management and marketing systems for the hospitality industry. All three companies' CRSs now use Pegasus' electronic switch for GDS representation.
(www.hyatt.com, www.pegs.com)
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A group of online travel experts has launched kayak.com, a Web site to take on the Internet travel companies they helped develop. The site, which offers travelers a look at what's available on 60 Internet travel pages, along with user-created ratings and reviews, was founded by Steve Hafner (a co-founder of Orbitz), Paul English (a former vice president of technology at Intuit), Terry Jones (former president and chief executive officer of Travelocity.com), and Greg Slyngstad (former senior vice president of destinations and lodging at Expedia.com).
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Best Western International has become the 100th hotel company to implement Galileo's Inside Shopper, its highest level of GDS connectivity. The new agreement with Best Western brings Inside Shopper to 30,000 properties; the Galileo technology interfaces directly with a hotel group's Central Reservation System (CRS).
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Rooms.com Inc., an online wholesale merchant of discounted lodging and hotel reservations, has terminated the letter of intent by Teleplus Consumer Services to acquire it.
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Lanyon Inc.took the unusual step of announcing that it has not been purchased by Sabre Airline Solutions. Confusion had arisen when Nick Lanyon, majority shareholder in Lanyon, Inc., has sold Lanyon Ltd., a separate company owned solely by him and based in London, England, to Sabre. (www.lanyon.com)
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MARKETING / MANAGEMENT
- GuestWare partners with iPost to integrate e-mail and Web-based marketing
- Leading Hotels of the World chooses SpringBoard, Quaero's hosted CRM solution
- Lodging Interactive partners with Latin America Hotel Reservation System (LAHRES)
- Lodging Interactive launches suite of e-commerce managed services on a "pay for performance" model
- Phoenix Inn Suites contracts with HeBS for Internet distribution and marketing consulting
- Thayer Interactive Group changes name to "TIG Global"
GuestWare has partnered with e-mail services company iPost to integrate e-mail and Web-based marketing with guest recognition and service delivery; the companies have developed a two-way interface and query tools to generate lists and deliver targeted e-mail offers. Users can leverage data stored in GuestWare (such as guest stay and revenue history, preferences and service issues) to create, send and track direct e-mail marketing messages. Launch client for the partnership was Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, which uses the combined solution to help manage its guest loyalty program. (www.ipost.com, www.guestware.com)
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Leading Hotels of the World has chosen SpringBoard, Quaero's hosted CRM solution, to drive marketing performance and manage CRM initiatives to key customers including corporations and travel agents. The SpringBoard system will provide an integrated database and technology platform to drive global marketing programs for all constituencies including Leaders Club, the company's customer loyalty program. (www.lhw.com)
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Lodging Interactive and Latin America Hotel Reservation System (LAHRES) have formed a strategic partnership to offer Lodging Interactive's Internet marketing services to clients in Latin America.
Lodging Interactive has launched an all-inclusive suite of e-commerce managed services for the hotel industry based on a "pay for performance" model, charging on a per booking basis for Internet strategy and marketing services.
(www.lahres.net, www.LodgingInteractive.com)
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Phoenix Inn Suites, Wilsonville, Oregon has contracted with Hospitality eBusiness Strategies (HeBS) for direct Internet distribution and marketing consulting for its all-suite hotels in Oregon, Washington and Arizona. HeBS services will include direct online distribution strategy, Website optimization and eMarketing services that include online brand building, Pay-Per-Click and email marketing, link popularity and link creation.
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Thayer Interactive Group has changed its name to "TIG Global" to reflect its entry into the international market. (www.TIGglobal.com)
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REVENUE MANAGEMENT
- Caesars selects Manugistics' NetWORKS Hospitality Revenue Optimizer for Gaming Industry
- Leading Hotels approves both Optims and IDeaS as revenue management systems
- RAMADA-TREFF Germany selects IDeaS v5 for 8 properties in Germany and Switzerland
- Starhotels Italy chooses eRevMax's RTAllocator for rate/availability updating
Caesars has selected Manugistics' NetWORKS Hospitality Revenue Optimizer for the Gaming Industry as its revenue management tool. (www.caesars.com, www.manugistics.com)
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Leading Hotels of the World has selected both Optims and IDeaS as approved revenue management systems for its 440 hotels. (www.lhw.com, www.optims.com)
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RAMADA-TREFF Germany has selected IDeaS v5 ASP-based Revenue Optimization for eight properties in Germany and Switzerland. RAMADA-TREFF is a franchisee of Ramada International with 60 hotels located throughout Germany and Switzerland. (www.lhw.com, www.ideas.com)
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Starhotels S.p.A. Italy has chosen eRevMax's RTAllocator to update its rates and availability over the online distributor channels. Starhotels has used eRevMax's RT (RateTiger) Shopper for 2 years to monitor its competition's prices on 3rd party websites and GDS/CRS-driven websites. (www.starhotels.com, www.ratetiger.com)
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F&B/POINT OF SALE
- T.G.I. Friday's implements Squirrel POS in all its Scandinavian operations
- Salad Creations of America names HSI its exclusive approved POS for all franchises
- Baja Fresh Mexican Grill installs MICROS' mymicros.net at 140 sites
- Fazoli's Restaurants signs Major Account Sales Agreement to install MICROS RES 3000
- MICROS Systems selected by Forbes Magazine as one of 200 Best Small Companies for 2004
- Caesars Entertainment implementing InfoGenesis' Revelation POS at 41 different F&B sites
- Hon-Dah Resort-Casino in central-eastern Arizona installs InfoGenesis' Revelation POS
T.G.I. Friday's has implemented Squirrel's next generation restaurant management system in all its Scandinavian operations. (www.squirrelsystems.com)
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Salad Creations of America has named MICROS' Hospitality Solutions International (HSI) division as its exclusive approved point-of-sale system for all Salad Creations franchises, nationwide. Three locations in South Florida are currently being installed with HSI's Profit Series POS system; SCA plans to expand to 300-500 locations nationally over the next 48 months. Under the agreement, HSI offers to each Salad Creations franchise 1-3 MICROS Eclipse POS terminals pre-configured with the Profit Series software, a gift card solution and high-speed credit card processing.
Baja Fresh Mexican Grill has installed MICROS' mymicros.net at all company-owned stores and several franchise locations. Mymicros.net provides centralized business intelligence for all business levels, supplying a 360-degree view of the enterprise from store activity to transaction detail to customer relationship management. The entire installation process of mymicros.net in over 140 stores was achieved in less than two weeks.
Fazoli's Restaurants has signed a Major Account Sales Agreement to install MICROS RES 3000 with Enterprise Management. Fazoli's currently operates 376 restaurants in 32 states.
MICROS Systems has been selected by Forbes Magazine as one of The 200 Best Small Companies for 2004.
(www.saladcreationsofamerica.com, www.bajafresh.com, www.fazolis.com, www.micros.com)
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Caesars Entertainment is implementing InfoGenesis' Revelation POS at 41 different food and beverage operations throughout the casino-hotel resort.
The Hon-Dah Resort-Casino and Conference Center, owned and operated by the White Mountain Apache Tribe in the White Mountains of central-eastern Arizona, has installed InfoGenesis' Revelation POS system. The installation replaced an existing POS system and includes 17 IBM SurePOS 500 touchscreen terminals.
(www.caesars.com, www.hon-dah.com, www.infogenesis.com)
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GUEST SERVICES
- 21 companies join new HTNG workgroup on hotel guest room technology
- Charleston Marriott Town Center orders high-speed Internet access from Wayport
- Mandarin Oriental New York now offers plug-and-play live broadcast capabilities
- San Jose Marriott implementing interactive suite of hotel applications from Wiotel
- Multiband to supply Telkonet HSIA to customer base throughout the U.S.
- Costanoa Coastal Lodge and Camp has broadband wireless access from Montel Technologies
- Harrah's contracts with On Command for video-on-demand and pay-per-view services in up to 16,500 rooms at 22 hotel-casinos
Hotel Technology Next Generation (HTNG) announced that 21 companies have joined its new workgroup on hotel guest room technology. The participants are:
Hotel companies:
The Ginn Companies
The Kor Group
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
Marriott International
Peninsula Hotel Group
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Telephony companies:
Cisco Systems
Mitel
Percipia Networks
Telephone Management Systems Ltd. (Comtelco)
Entertainment and/or high-speed Internet:
General Dynamics Interactive
Guest-Tek
LodgeNet Entertainment Corp.
Quadriga Worldwide
Energy management and occupancy detection:
INNCOM International
Infrastructure and other vendors:
Datanamics Inc.
IP3 Networks
Microsoft Corporation
Paradyne Corporation
SolutionInc
Content providers:
XM Satellite Radio
The Center of Marketing Effectiveness (CeME) will share its existing knowledge and experience base on the competitive landscape, business models, pricing, and guest preferences, will facilitate a shared understanding of guest needs within the workgroup, and will shape a research agenda to assist the workgroup into the future. (www.htng.org)
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The Charleston Marriott Town Center in downtown Charleston, W.Va. has ordered high-speed Internet access from Wayport for its 352 guest suites and 11 meeting rooms.
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The Mandarin Oriental New York now offers plug-and-play live broadcast capabilities, providing guests with services for live television feeds, video conferencing and web streaming. The Time Warner Center (of which the hotel forms a part) has an on-site control room and production team available to capture, edit, produce, stream and duplicate feed from as many as 16 different cameras in 16 different locations throughout the hotel. Hotel guests can book the services to broadcast content ranging from live newscasts, filming keynote speakers or capturing wedding nuptials for live web streaming. (www.mandarinoriental.com)
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The 506-room San Jose Marriott is implementing an interactive suite of hotel applications from Wiotel for its networked business guests. Through wired and wireless laptop connections, hotel guests can directly access enhanced guest services such as document printing, scheduling hotel housekeeping services, and online ordering of room service dining. (www.wiotel.com)
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Multiband, a DirecTV system operator, will supply Telkonet's broadband HSIA-over-power-wiring PlugPlus system to Multiband's customer base, including timeshare resorts throughout the U.S. Multiband will begin deploying the service immediately in California, Illinois, New York and Florida and expects to have broadband services available to up to 5,000 customers by year-end. (www.telkonet.com)
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Northern California's Costanoa Coastal Lodge and Camp now has broadband wireless access from Montel Technologies' deployment of a BelAir Networks wide-area Wi-Fi system throughout the 40-acre resort property. (www.costanoa.com, www.montel-technologies.com)
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Harrah's Entertainment has contracted with On Command Video Corp to provide video-on-demand and pay-per-view services in up to 16,500 rooms at 22 hotel-casinos operated by Harrah's Operating Co. On Command also will provide Guest-Tek's GlobalSuite high-speed Internet-access. (www.harrahs.com, www.oncommand.com)
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INVENTORY/PURCHASING
- Boca Pointe Country Club selects Agilysys' Materials Management System
- Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario also selected Agilysys' MMS
- Parker Purchasing Technologies releases version 3.0 of Prollinx purchasing tool
The Boca Pointe Country Club in Boca Raton, FL has selected Agilysys' Materials Management System (MMS).
The Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario also selected Agilysys' Materials Management System (MMS), Lodging Management System (LMS) and the Document Management System (DMS).
(www.bocapointecc.com, www.discoverniagara.com, www.agilysys.com)
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Parker Purchasing Technologies released version 3.0 of its Prollinx purchasing tool, which includes product catalog management, requisition templates and user defined workflow. Enhancements include Multiple Product FastOrder, Product Comparisons, Electronic Order Delivery and detailed usage reporting. (www.prollinx.com)
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COMMUNICATIONS
- Redmond Marriott Town Center Hotel implements SpectraLink NetLink wireless telephones
The Redmond Marriott Town Center Hotel in Redmond, Wash., deployed SpectraLink Corp.'s Wi-Fi-based NetLink wireless telephones. The new seven-floor hotel, which has 258 guestrooms and four suites, now has 50 NetLink i640 wireless telephones.
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