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Hotel Industry News |
Sunday July 6th, 2008 |
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Wingate Inn Brand Introduces Wireless Hotel-Wide Internet Access |
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Five years after becoming the first hotel brand to offer free, wired high-speed Internet access in all guest rooms, Wingate Inns International Inc. plans to complement that service by introducing free wireless Internet access in all guest rooms and public spaces. |
Wireless service will be available in a substantial number of Wingate Inn hotels during the first quarter of 2004, according to Keith Pierce, Wingate Inn president. LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation – the exclusive Wingate Inn provider of high-speed Internet and interactive TV since 1999 –began installing the wireless services this month.
“We were pioneers in 1999 when we began to provide free wired high-speed Internet access, and we plan on being pioneers again today as the first hotel brand in the mid-scale segment to offer both free wired and wireless service in every Wingate Inn hotel,” he said.
During the last five years, free high-speed Internet access has proven to be a “huge competitive point of difference,” evidenced by the fact that Wingate Inn guests use high-speed Internet service four to six times more frequently than the industry average of 5 percent, Pierce said.
Through LodgeNet, Wingate Inns International will procure Visitor Based Network hardware and SolutionIP software, providing Wingate Inn franchisees with enhanced administrative controls and reporting and security functions, according to Scott C. Petersen, LodgeNet president and chief executive officer.
Concurrent with the wireless initiative, the Wingate Inn system will begin installing LodgeNet’s SigNETure TVSM marketing and entertainment systems, which will deliver brand and hotel-specific information and a wide range of in-room entertainment options including digital movies, music, on-demand video programs, games and television Internet services.
SigNETure TV will be installed in all new Wingate Inn hotels as they are constructed. Wingate Inn hotels that already offer LodgeNet interactive TV systems will be upgraded to SigNETure TV upon renewal of their individual agreements with LodgeNet.
“With nearly 130 Wingate Inn hotels to be installed with full-property wireless high-speed Internet access and incrementally with our SigNETure TV platform, we look forward to helping the Wingate Inn brand write the next chapter in a success story that began with our historic 1999 agreement,” Petersen said.
LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation is one of the leading providers in the delivery of broadband, interactive services to the lodging industry, providing service to nearly one million rooms including more than 954,000 interactive guest pay rooms in more than 5,800 hotel properties worldwide. These services include on-demand digital movies, digital music and music videos, Nintendo® video games, high-speed Internet access and other interactive television services designed to serve the needs of the lodging industry and the traveling public. More than 260 million travelers have access to LodgeNet systems on an annual basis. More information about LodgeNet (NASDAQ: LNET) can be found at www.lodgenet.com
Wingate Inns International opened its first franchised hotel in July 1996. Its focused service, upper mid-market franchised hotels feature sophisticated, consumer-based technology and comfortable, oversized rooms that were created in response to business travelers’ needs. The hotel chain was recognized in the Zagat Survey 2003 Top U.S. Hotels, Resorts and Spas guide. All Wingate Inn hotels are independently owned and operated under franchise agreements with Wingate Inns International. Reservations can be made by calling the Wingate Inn toll-free reservation center at (800) 228-1000 or through the company’s Web site at www.wingateinns.com. Wingate Inns International is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD).
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Wingate Inns International opened its first franchised hotel in July 1996. Its focused service, upper mid-market franchised hotels feature sophisticated, consumer-based technology and comfortable, oversized rooms that were created in response to business travelers? needs. The hotel chain was ranked the highest in the midscale, limited-service segment in the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index StudySM. The chain also was recognized in the Zagat Survey 2003 and 2004 Top U.S. Hotels, Resorts and Spas guides. All Wingate Inn hotels are independently owned and operated under franchise agreements with Wingate Inns International. Reservations can be made by calling the Wingate Inn toll-free reservation center at (800) 228-1000 or through the company?s Web site at www.wingateinns.com . Wingate Inns International is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD). |
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