WorldRes Acquires BedandBreakfast.com -- Formerly Inns&Outs; 'Establishes WorldRes as the dominant 'category killer," According to CEO Greg Jones

The marriage of BedandBreakfast.com's content with WorldRes' booking engine benefits all segments of the two companies' respective businesses:

• WorldRes acquires access to BedandBreakfast.com's massive inventory of B&Bs and inns;
• the properties receive wider web-based distribution and turn their content-only listings into sources of reservations revenue;
• distribution partners retain a portion of transaction fees paid by the properties while providing their members with a popular service that encourages repeat visits, and
• potential travelers have the ability to book properties that heretofore were only static listings -- an historical achievement for the online B&B market.

The combined distribution partner network includes AOL, Yahoo!, Lycos, Travelocity, Microsoft Expedia, Atevo, iVillage and WorldRes' proprietary network of destination and activity-based partners.

The BedandBreakfast.com site, www.bedandbreakfast.com, promotes more than 27,000 B&Bs and inns from around the world to travelers, providing comprehensive information and access to discount and package deals, special events and destination information. In addition, BedandBreakfast.com is the online publisher of the leading print consumer publication for the bed and breakfast market, Country Inns Magazine.

"WorldRes' acquisition of BedandBreakfast.com brings the true potential of the Web as both a marketing and reservations channel to a category of properties that currently has only limited access," said Eric Goldreyer, founder and president of BedandBreakfast.com. "Adding BedandBreakfast.com's tremendous supply to the WorldRes network extends the reach of the platform and broadens the options for both Web consumers and innkeepers."

Worldwide annual hotel room revenue is greater than $220 billion, and it is a market that is ideally suited to electronic distribution. According to Forrester Research, the Internet will allow online hotel leisure lodging bookings to grow to $4.6 billion in 2000 and $10 billion by 2003.

However, this market of small and independent hotel properties has historically been under-served by the existing legacy Global Distribution Systems (GDS), which only support about 20% of the worldwide hotel properties. The other 80% represent an enormous market opportunity for a company that can provide an Internet strategy that is conducive to e-commerce for hotels of all sizes.

WorldRes has capitalized on this exploding market and solidified its leadership position by providing an open, end-to-end, Internet-based solution. WorldRes' rapidly expanding proprietary distribution network connects accommodations to leisure travelers through a range of front-end partners to generate reservation revenue.

Current partners include web portals and travel sites like AOL, Lycos, Yahoo! and Travelocity, destination marketing organization (DMO) web sites and call centers, and activity-based sites. The WorldRes network creates many unique value propositions, both for hotels and distribution partners. Hotels benefit from increased distribution and reservations income.

Unlike GDS-based systems, there is no fee to join the WorldRes network. Room rates, availability and detailed information (including room photographs) can be updated in real-time across the network. Distribution partners get access to a unique set of properties, many of which are bookable only through WorldRes, and receive a share of the transaction fees paid by the property.

"Our acquisition of BedandBreakfast.com firmly establishes WorldRes as the dominant 'category killer' for the growing market of online leisure lodging travel booking," said Greg Jones, CEO of WorldRes. "We recognized a long time ago that this market held immense potential, which is why we have systematically gone about developing the ideal technology and building the supply and distribution network to take advantage of it."

About WorldRes, Inc.

WorldRes, Inc. ( www.worldres.com) operates the online distribution network that connects hotels to leisure travelers through a broad range of Web-based partners, including portals, travel and destination Web sites, convention and visitor bureaus, tourism authorities, online city guides, call centers and travel agents. For hotels, WorldRes offers an efficient, low-cost means for marketing and selling accommodations online.

For distribution partners, WorldRes provides detailed information, booking capability and transaction revenue for a wide range of properties, from bed and breakfasts and independent hotels to resorts and hotel chains. WorldRes was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in San Mateo. WorldRes Europe is based in central London. WorldRes' over 80 employees possess an extensive knowledge of hotel marketing, systems and operations as well as Internet-based transaction technology.

Inns and bed & breakfasts interested in joining the WorldRes system can enroll online or contact WorldRes Sales either by phone at 650/372-1700, or by e-mail to [email protected]. Potential distribution partners interested in joining the WorldRes network can contact Scott Potter at 650/372-1714 or through e-mail to [email protected].