Currently, it's estimated that there are two million hotel rooms in the U.S. that do not offer video-on-demand entertainment to their hotel guests. On Command announced plans to address the void in providing on-demand entertainment services to the small hotel market in June 2002.
The MiniMate platform is an extension of On Command's Roommate(TM) platform, but at 50% of the per room cost. Roommate was launched in the fourth quarter of 2001 and is operating in more than 43,000 hotel rooms.
"It's extremely important to grow our account base by opening up new markets," said Chris Sophinos, president and chief executive officer of On Command. "MiniMate enables us to reach a market that has long been ignored by in-room entertainment providers. We feel there is a compelling revenue model that will enable small, limited service properties to increase bottom line with the addition of video-on-demand services."
"MiniMate opens up an entire new world of revenue opportunity for smaller hotel properties," said Tad Walden, vice president of marketing for On Command. "The early results show there is clearly a demand for in-room movies from small hotel guests. Preliminary RER's are in the 65 cents per room, per day range. Better than we had forecasted."
"We are very excited about being able to provide on-demand entertainment to our hotel guests," said Mike LaMalfa, owner of the Holiday Inn Express LaMalfa Center in Mentor, Ohio. "In such a short period of time, we have already experienced impressive results. The fact that our guests are purchasing the products speaks for the level of satisfaction they have with the service. The addition of video-on-demand services is a definite competitive advantage for our property."
A key benefit of the platform is that it will operate On Command's new hotel customized menu system. This menu system enables the television power-up channel and subsequent menu categories to be designed to reflect the hotel's brand look and feel.
About On Command
On Command Corporation ( www.oncommand.com ) annually serves more than 230 million guests through 916,000 rooms in approximately 3,440 hotel properties throughout Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States. These hotel properties include more than 100 of the most prestigious hotel chains and operators in the lodging industry: Accor, Adam's Mark Hotels & Resorts, Fairmont, Four Seasons, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Hyatt, Loews, Marriott (Courtyard, Renaissance, Fairfield Inn and Residence Inn), Radisson, Ramada, Six Continents Hotels (Inter-Continental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn), Starwood Hotels & Resorts (Westin, Sheraton, W Hotels and Four Points), and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. On Command is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol ONCO, and its warrants are traded under the symbols ONCOW and ONCOZ.
Certain of the above statements, other than statements relating to the historical performance of On Command, 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 important factors that could cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of On Command, or industry results, to differ materially from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others: general economic and business conditions and industry trends; the regulatory and competitive environment of the industry in which On Command operates; uncertainties inherent in new business strategies; new product launches and development plans, including the future profitability of such added services and the large capital expenditures involved; rapid technological changes; the acquisition, development and/or financing of telecommunications networks and services; the development and provision of new services, including the customer acceptance and use rates; future financial performance, including availability, terms and deployment of capital; the ability of vendors to deliver required equipment, software and services; availability of qualified personnel; changes in the nature of key strategic relationships with hotel chains and their franchises, including the renewal of existing agreements on favorable terms; and competitor responses to On Command's products and services, and the overall market acceptance of such products and services. These factors are also discussed in On Command's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its recent filings on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. These forward-looking statements (and such risks, uncertainties and other factors) speak only as of the date hereof, and On Command expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein, to reflect any change in On Command's expectations with regard thereto, or any other changes in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.