Feratel Media Technologies AG
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feratel : Joint venture with Room Finders for marketing hobooBox worldwide Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– feratel : Joint venture with Room Finders Inc. (USA) for marketing hobooBox worldwide Feratel media technologies AG, the e-tourism and media group quoted on the Specialist Market of the Vienna Stock Exchange, has signed a preliminary contract for a joint venture with the US-American provider of hotel reservation systems Room Finders, Inc. (Louisiana, USA) for the global development, marketing and sales of hobooBox. The joint venture involves the establishment of a new American company named Hotel Booking Solutions L.L.C., with feratel holding a ten percent share, Room Finders, Inc. seventy percent and the inventor of hobooBox twenty percent. Feratel is selling all its rights to the hobooBox interface and hoboo.com Internet reservation software to the joint American company. It has been agreed that the price should not be disclosed. Future sales and marketing activities are to be co-ordinated in New Orleans. The main focus will be on the US-American market, Canada and Latin America, where Room Finders, Inc. is already operating successfully. In addition, the successful sales effort in Europe will continue and be accelerated. The R&D department will continue to be located in Zell am See (Salzburg region, Austria). The joint venture with Room Finders, Inc. will permit effective placement of the software on the American market and very fast market penetration. Whereas our European customers are mainly tourism associations, Room Finders, Inc. has outstanding contacts with the hotel trade, with more than 44,000 hotels currently bookable via its system. We are convinced that Room Finders, Inc. is the ideal partner for marketing hobooBox at the global level, says an obviously delighted feratel CEO Dr. Markus Schröcksnadel. Some thirty percent of all reservations made with American middle-range and top- class hotels are placed via Global Distribution Systems and the Internet. However, no-one in America has so far developed an interface like hobooBox to link the individual hotel and reservation systems. We are therefore confident that there will be keen demand for a product that enables hotels to make effective use of the full range of sales channels while still maintaining a clear overview, Dr. Schröcksnadel adds. end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 25.01.2002 Issuer’s information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad-hoc-announcement: Room Finders, Inc. Headquartered in New Orleans (Louisiana, USA), Room Finders, Inc. is a leading provider in the field of hotel reservation systems. The company runs a 24-hour call center and one of the most prominent hotel reservation websites in America (http://www.turbotrip.com). Over 44,000 hotels worldwide, from luxury hotels to holiday cottages, are available for direct booking via the call center or website. The American company has distribution agreements with thousands of independent hotels and 100% participation from thirteen (13) major hotel corporations and management companies. The company was originally established in 1991 with the aim of helping visitors to New Orleans find suitable accommodation with a single telephone call. Their first hotel reservation website was established in 1995. HobooBox HobooBox solves a huge industry challenge, helping hotels manage all of their Distribution Sales Channels, i.e. reservation systems. The interface automatically or manual connects hotel Property Management Systems (PMS) simultaneously to all sales channels and is delivered at a remarkably low cost. In addition, rates and availability, automatically update the sales channels reducing the risk of lost bookings and maximizing revenue. Hotels can also opt to have reservations from sales channels delivered directly into their PMS. A number of reservation systems, including Property Management System Developers, On-line Travel Services, Hotel Reservation Services, Hotel Switch Companies have contacted hobooBox and view it as a solution that streamlines the reservation process for their hotel clients. hobooBoxs unique rules based solution allows hotel to set the rules once to manage all sales channels and then leave it to hobooBox to do the rest, i.e. automatically update all reservation systems involved. For further questions please contact: Martin Fritsch, Investor Relations Fon: 00437(0)512/7280-405, E-Mail: martin.fritsch@feratel.com Evelyn Geiger, Public Relations & Marketing Fon: +43-512/7280-407, E-Mail: evelyn.geiger@feratel.com feratel media technologies AG, Maria-Theresien-Str. 8, A-6020 Innsbruck, ——————————————————————————– WKN: 073780; ISIN: AT0000737804; Index: Listed: Amtlicher Handel in Wien; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Frankfurt, München, Stuttgart 250828 Jän 02