OpenWays Mobile Application is Live at a Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express Hotel

OpenWays, the hospitality industry's first mobile-based front desk bypass solution, is live and operating well at the Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago O'Hare Rosemont and the Holiday Inn Express Houston Downtown. IHG is the first company in the world to launch a pilot of the OpenWays technology. Today, guests are given the option to either stop at the front desk to check-in and receive a plastic keycard or bypass the front desk altogether and use "MobileKey" to proceed directly to their rooms using their cell phone to securely open their door. (See link: http://innovationcenter.ihg.com/).

OpenWays works with any of the 5 billion cell phones in the world, including the latest smartphones, such as the Apple iPhone 4 and 3GS, the Google Android-based phones, Blackberry’s, Windows Mobile, Nokia Symbian etc., and it operates with the major electronic-locking systems and access-control systems across the globe. Using the principle of Crypto Acoustic Credential (CAC™) and text messaging (SMS), OpenWays delivers an encrypted tone or "credential" to the right user anywhere in the world. It is highly secured as each encrypted sound produced becomes obsolete the moment it is used, making a fraudulent recording totally inefficient.

During the IHG pilot, guests will have the option to “enroll” for the MobileKey pilot via the e-mail sent prior to their check-in date or at the front desk. If they choose to participate in the pilot, they will be among the first guests to use MobileKey. Participants will be rewarded with a $10 Amazon.com Gift Card for filling out a short survey after their stay.

"We are pleased to work with OpenWays on a check-in solution that provides our guests with a freedom of choice,” said Bryson Koehler, senior vice president of revenue and guest technology, IHG. “We are always looking to enhance the guest experience at our hotels, and OpenWays has provided us with a very viable check-in and room key option to meet our guest's needs. We look forward to collaborating with OpenWays throughout the pilot at the Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago O'Hare Rosemont and the Holiday Inn Express Houston Downtown.”

"We would like to thank IHG, Holiday Inn and the wonderful staff at the properties for recognizing the needs of their guests and the brand-differentiation benefits of deploying a mobile-based front-desk bypass program," said Pascal Metivier, OpenWays Founder and CEO. "We'd also like to say 'thanks' for the proactive and efficient cooperation extended by both companies. It has been a true honor to work with such visionaries who strive to keep guest-service at the forefront of their operations and who understand the value that a mobile strategy brings to today's discerning travelers."

This program was launched in close cooperation with the two global leaders in electronic-locking solutions. At the Houston property, the electronic locks from SAFLOK (KABA Group) were upgraded to OpenWays; In Chicago, ONITY (United Technologies Fire and Security Division) electronic locks received the OpenWays add-on module. At each property, 100% of the locks were retrofitted.

With cell phones ubiquitous and a dominant part of everyday life, Metivier said the hospitality industry was in need of a mobile solution that could offer travelers on the go a faster check in option. More and more people want to use their mobile phones to streamline their life, and a MobileKey provides them with an efficient solution for their hotel check in experience.

In addition, OpenWays offers a “green” alternative by reducing the use of plastic key cards thus lessening the environmental impact.

"We will now focus on maintaining guest satisfaction and on system refinements at these two valued properties," Metivier said. "Based on the anticipated success of this program, we are working on phased larger scale deployments with our customers."

For information on how MobileKey is working at Holiday Inn, click on this link: http://innovationcenter.ihg.com. For more information on OpenWays contact Pascal Metivier at ++ 33 6 85 622 306 or .

About OpenWays | OpenWays is a global solution provider of mobile-based access-management and security solutions. With offices in Chicago, Las Vegas, Seoul and Paris, OpenWays provides technology solutions allowing for the secure issuance and delivery of access rights and keys process via any cell phone operating on any network. The OpenWays solution is truly unique as it built on the concept of credential dematerialization. The OpenWays mobile room key solution works on ALL the 4 billion cell phones in service in the world today. For more information, please contact Pascal Metivier at ++ 33 6 85 622 306 or email [email protected] or Barb Worcester at +1 440 930 5770 or email [email protected]. .

About InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) | InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns, through various subsidiaries, over 4,500 hotels and more than 650,000 guest rooms in 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognized and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites® and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club® Rewards with 52 million members worldwide.

IHG has over 1,300 hotels in its development pipeline, which will create 160,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England andWales.

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