"New Orleans is known as one of the most cultural destinations in the United States," said Mark Ozawa, SCEPTRE Vice President. "We were excited and proud to be associated with hotels such as the St. Louis, St. Ann and Maison Dupuy which provide old world charm and award winning service."

The Maison Dupuy hotel is one of only four hotels in Louisiana and one of only 172 in the United States chosen for the Conde Nast Gold List 2002, as being one the world's best places to stay.

Diana Daigle, director of revenue management for French Quarter Inns, the owners and managers of the St. Louis and St. Ann boutique properties, said it's challenging to be an independent hotel because the properties have no internal central-reservation system that can feed them reservations like those of the large chains or brand affiliates.

"We used to feel like an island, operating all alone with no reservations support in sight," Daigle said. "Then we found SCEPTRE--a company that offered the most comprehensive technology available, the experience to help independent hotels manage the day-to-day inventory and rate fluctuations in real time, and the relationships with the various distribution channels to help us compete in a very competitive market."

Previously, the St. Louis and St. Ann hotels worked with a provider that Daigle said had little regard for their business. She said rate and property information was sent to the reservations company in November of 2000 to be downloaded for 2001 reservations. The provider, however, did not download the hotel information until March 2001. That left the St. Louis and St. Ann hotels with no reservations from the GDSs and a drop in occupancy from 70 percent to 50 percent over a three-month span.

"With SCEPTRE, we don't have those problems," Daigle said. "I can now download rate and inventory information whenever I want, and I know that data will instantly will be shared with the GDSs. In addition, our customer service representative Chris Flear makes a point to call me continuously to review the program, answer any questions, update us on new GDS programs and solve any problems we may be having disseminating information to third-party distributors or other Internet sites. The bottom line is, SCEPTRE's not happy until we're happy."

When the Maison Dupuy hotel also experienced problems with the same reservations distribution provider as the St. Louis and St. Ann, Assistant General Manager Jennifer Kuhlmann called French Quarter Inns for a referral.

"SCEPTRE came highly recommended," Kuhlmann said. "The system's easy of use and its simplicity were very attractive to us."

SCEPTRE was installed at the Maison Dupuy earlier this month. Kuhlmann said she looks forward to working with the systems functionality and the support they will receive from the entire SCEPTRE team.

Customer commitment

SCEPTRE's growth and success stems from its commitment to customer service, Ozawa said.

"For SCEPTRE, our primary point of difference is the consultative and strategic expertise we provide on a daily basis," he said, noting that most of SCEPTRE's competitors work with a very high ratio of hotels to client managers -- as high as 300 hotels per customer service manager. "For these companies, the customer service manager's role is to answer the phone if the client has a problem. SCEPTRE works with a 50 to 1 ratio, taking the customer service commitment to a higher level."

Another point of difference, he said, is that when someone hires SCEPTRE, they not only hire a skill set deep in reservations management, but they hire the entire skill set of SWAN, a convergence company that combines the resources of Richfield (hotel management), Shield (on-line risk management and insurance) and Source (on-line and off-line procurement). This enables independent hotels to leverage the bigger buying power, management expertise and channel management services previously afforded to only the larger hotel companies.

"We help hotels select the specific services that fit their needs and their budgets," Ozawa said. "That way, independent hotels will enjoy the same resources and opportunities as the big chains, without compromising their independence or paying large royalties. Our goal is to help each of these hotels increase the number of reservations produced through the various distribution channels at the lowest possible cost."

SWAN Inc. is a global provider of one-stop shop integrated e-business solutions to hotels, backed by strong customer service levels. The Company's core competencies include a comprehensive palette of on-line and off-line hospitality services, including: hotel management, reservation distribution and on-line insurance and risk management. Headquartered in Denver, the company has approximately 2,000 employees and will operate initially in the United States, offering extensive services to the U.S. operations, followed by global operations, of Millennium Hotels & Resorts. Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc, a UK-based company, is an investor in SWAN. Hong Kong-based City e-Solutions Limited (CES) is majority owner.