The 1,777 room leisure and business class hotel will be utilizing the LodgingTouch PMS via a Local Area Network (LAN) with 12 PC workstations at the front desk and 25 workstations installed at the management offices of the property. The Cosmos Hotel is the largest international LodgingTouch implementation in HIS's history since acquiring the rights to sell and market the product in October 1996.
"During 1998 we thoroughly studied the market of Property Management Systems in order to choose one that would enable the Cosmos Hotel to efficiently handle large tourist groups," stated Ravil M. Yulgushev, director general, Cosmos Hotel. "We tested well-known international systems as well as local brands, and as a result, chose LodgingTouch to be the most suitable system for our complex requirements," he continued.
The LodgingTouch PMS embodies key features that parallel the needs of global leisure and business class hotels; Guest History, Travel Agency, Wholesaler, Stay Wizard and Group Sales. Additionally, the intuitive Microsoft Windows design streamlines daily operations, maximizes productivity and provides unlimited data exchange capabilities to increase efficiencies and provide users with competitive advantages.
Yulgushev continued, "Currently, Cosmos Hotel's management focus is to streamline hotel operations while maintaining the highest levels of customer service. We believe the LodgingTouch system will be the best product to support these efforts."
"This is a significant implementation not only for HIS and LIBRA International," stated Clive Smith, director of Sales and Distribution, EMEA, "but also for the LodgingTouch product. The magnitude of the installation combined with the international capabilities demonstrate to the hospitality world that the product has come of age and has the scalability capacity for large, independent, leisure and business class hotels."
"The implementation of LodgingTouch at the Cosmos Hotel is a strategic milestone in LIBRA's expansion across the whole spectrum of hotel properties of virtually every size in the Russian Federation, CIS and Baltic States. LodgingTouch sites now include such properties as the 86-room luxurious Savoy Hotel in Moscow city center through to the 300-room airport property, the Domodedovo Aerotel Hotel," said Nikolai Balba, managing director of LIBRA International. "We will continue to introduce the latest technology available on the market today providing hoteliers with the best management control and competitive marketing techniques."
Hotel Information Systems, a division of MAI Systems Corp., is a worldwide provider of total information systems to the hospitality industry.
With headquarters in Irvine, Hotel Information Systems has offices in Canada, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico as well as a worldwide distributor network. Hotel Information Systems sells, installs and supports a wide variety of automation solutions including LodgingTouch, Paragon and CLS Software. Offering superior performance and leading-edge technology, these feature-rich solutions operate on Windows NT, OS/400 and UNIX platforms and include modules for Front Office, Back Office, Point-Of-Sale (POS), Central Reservations Systems (CRS) and Central Information Systems (CIS).
For more information about MAI Systems Corp., visit the MAI Web site at www.maisystems.com. For more information about Hotel Information Systems, visit the Hotel Information Systems Web site at www.hotelinfosys.com.
LIBRA International specializes in providing a complete range of information technology solutions to the hotel industry in Russia, CIS and the Baltic States. Since LIBRA International's partnership with HIS, the foremost developer of global hotel information solutions, the LodgingTouch Front Office system with its cutting-edge Windows technology has been gaining rapid recognition within the Russian hospitality industry. For more information about LIBRA International, visit the LIBRA Web site at www.libra-russia.com or call +7 (095) 937 8222.
The Hotel Complex Cosmos is located in one of the most beautiful and ecologically safe areas of Moscow. It is a comfortable 26-floor building, built in 1979 under a French project design. The hotel is situated near the VVC (All-Russia Exhibition Centre), a business centre with various exhibitions and festivals held there. Offering a magnificent view of Losiny Ostrove ("Elk Island") National Preserve, Sokolniki Recreation Park and the Botanical Garden, the hotel has 1,777 rooms and is only 45 minutes from the international airport and 20 minutes from Red Square. For additional information, call (095) 234-1212, fax (095) 215-8880 or visit the hotel's Web site at www.hotelcosmos.ru.
(c) MAI Systems Corp., MAI, CLS, Paragon and HIS are registered trademarks of MAI Systems Corp. All other products and services are trademarks of their respective companies.
Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, carrying out strategic relationships, competition and technological change; obtaining customer orders; delays in product development; lack of enforceability of patents, copyrights and proprietary rights; changes in business strategy or development plans; and other factors set forth in the company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 1998. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Owen Daley
