Dr. Peter Agel & Sven Hohmann Of TRUST International To Speak At EURHOTEC 2001 Conference

Dr. Peter Agel will discuss the key trends and emerging technologies that will revolutionize the hospitality industry in the next year in a panel session on Monday, February 19. "Content and services, including methods of distribution, will rule the industry in 2001," stated Dr. Agel. "Companies will automate multimedia content management and distribution capabilities. Service-driven business models will begin to replace the traditional software license and products will need to be supported online in real-time."

Dr. Agel sees the convergence of hospitality and mobile technology as a critical next step for content distribution. "As the travel industry and the Internet continue to embrace the quickly developing mobile technology products, the use of hospitality-related wireless application providers will increase."

In a panel session on Tuesday, February 20, Sven Hohmann will discuss the benefits of embracing business-to-business technologies and the methods behind their development. "There are three strategic building blocks behind B2B strategies. The hospitality industry can cut costs and increase revenues through system and data integration as well as build knowledge and ease the flow of information through vertical portals," said Mr. Hohmann. "Companies in this industry have not placed appropriate emphasis on B2B technology in the past decade. The hospitality sector is a prime candidate to benefit immediately from B2B strategies."

Recently appointed to an executive position at TRUST, Mr. Hohmann previously worked in the investments and new business area of Bertelsmann AG. He will now look to optimize TRUST's capabilities as a provider and distributor of digital content for the travel and hospitality industries. "TRUST International provides a variety of products designed to unite members of the hospitality community with each other and our customers through technology," stated Mr. Hohmann. "As leaders in the travel and hospitality industries, it is our responsibility to play an active role in shaping our market with new products and technology."

Both Mr. Hohmann and Dr. Agel will be available for interviews prior to and following their appearances at the EURHOTEC conference. Please contact James Forte or Vicki Banner at Keating Public Relations at 973-376-9300 to arrange for interviews with either executive.

In January 2001, international media giant Bertelsmann acquired 100% ownership of TRUST International, a leading supplier of complete and individual reservation and distribution solutions for the hospitality industry, from SRS-WORLDHOTELS.

TRUST International is a subsidiary of the media giant Bertelsmann AG. TRUST develops and implements a state-of-the-art central reservation system, providing tailor-made, real-time reservations and global distribution solutions for the hospitality industry. TRUST services provide real-time solutions that seamlessly connect hotels and bookers worldwide, including private label telephone lines, connectivity to all Airline Reservations Systems and to various websites and Internet platforms. TRUST maintains three offices worldwide including the Headquarters in Frankfurt, the Americas office in Orlando, Florida, and a reservations center in Singapore.

Among TRUST's clients: some 1,300 hotels at 685 destinations in 95 countries such as SRS-WORLDHOTELS, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts, Kempinski Hotels & Resorts, Dorint Hotels & Resorts, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Swissôtel, Oberoi Hotels, Astron Hotels, and Small Luxury Hotels of the World.