Grupo Posadas Selects xenon®CRS Central Reservation System

Commenting on the decision, Hugo Jiménez, Director of Franchising Services for Grupo Posadas said, "we knew that our aggressive growth into Latin America has to be sustained by a technologically advanced CRS that can connect into the various facets of our enterprise. We realized that with the changes contemplated by our service provider in the US, that it was time to bring everything into our direct control. We believe that xenon®CRS, our new reservations platform, will help sustain our reservations growth that will give us tremendous competitive marketing power and control in our markets. xenon®CRS will give us the ability to control and sell product, and even destinations, as opposed to just rooms. Thus we are very pleased with our selection of the xenon®CRS."

The xenon®CRS central reservation software will be implemented at the Grupo Posadas call center in Mexico City to manage all incoming reservation channels. Additional reservation call centers in the US and Sao Paulo, Brazil will also be linked using dedicated telecommunications to a single database. Posadas will also implement the xenon®Web tools for on-line reservations, xenon®GDS interfaces for GDS connectivity, and xenon®InnSynch for full two-way enhanced interfaces. The feature rich xenon®CRS software, developed by Hotel Data Systems, will furnish Posadas with a highly advanced and powerful Client/Server solution that is designed to help the Reservation Agent sell product, by concentrating the process to access critical data.

"We evaluated a number of central reservation systems, old and new. However we could not find a system that could consolidate all our different products on one system to implement our distribution strategies, " continued Hugo Jiménez. Grupo Posadas operates a number of deluxe luxury resorts, some of which are members of The Leading Hotels of the World. "We invited HDS to an initial demonstration of their software in June 1998. After the initial demonstration we just knew that this was the software best suited for us."

The xenon®CRS has tangible depth in features and functionality and the ability to meet Posadas challenging requirements almost exactly. The xenon®CRS required almost no customization to meet Posadas's complex needs. The Policies and the Packages module could almost have been built to Posadas specifications. In conclusion, Hugo Jiménez commented, "we were very impressed with the design of the software and the dedication of the company and people behind it. The software design makes it very easy to navigate between the screens."

The software will provide real time room and rate availability, to all point of sale locations using the powerful xenon®InnSynch module. These marketing requirements include among other things, guest loyalty programs, customer service, source of business analysis, travel agent profiles, guest, reservation and transaction history, and trend forecasting. xenon®CRS is a marketing based central reservation system providing unsurpassed package and promotion handling, comprehensive revenue management techniques including explicit rate availability and inventory strategies, Convention and group handling, detailed allotment handling and multiple levels of commission handling in addition to detailed reporting.

Grupo Posadas is the best known Mexican based Hotel Corporation in the world. It is also the fastest growing hotel operator. The company has more than 50 hotels located in beach resorts and cities in Mexico, the United States and Latin America. Grupo Posadas owns and operates Caesar Park in South America, Fiesta Americana, Fiesta Inn, specializing in lodging for the frequent business traveler, and the recently introduced The Explorean offers totally exhilarating adventures to truly exquisite dining, private Nature Suites deep in a Maya jungle or on a mile and a half of virgin Caribbean beach. Grupo Posadas is in a process of developing ambitious expansion plans to develop new hotels that will considerably increase its geographic coverage. Grupo Posadas can be located on the Internet at www. Posadas-hotels . com.

Commenting on this agreement, Paul Firos, President of HDS said, "The addition of Grupo Posadas is significant in terms of our ability to handle a multiple call center environment. Posadas will link their call center operations in Mexico City, the US and Brazil over dedicated circuits to a robust Oracle database. This will provide them with a single database for inventory and marketing information. With the implementation of the system for Posadas, xenon®CRS will enter yet another level in reservation processing."

Hotel Data Systems, Inc., headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA is a highly specialized and unique software firm dedicated to the development of sophisticated information technology, customized for hotel central reservation call centers worldwide. Established in 1976, the company has been known for its software design and ability to customize software for customers. Customers include Baymont Inns & Suites, Motel 6, SuperClubs, Restel Hotel Group, Relais de Silence and Westmark Hotels. Hotel Data Systems, Inc. can be located on the Internet at . com.