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Mar 03, 2005
Web Reservations International acquires WorldRes
Company to apply its successful online travel
model to WorldRes operations to benefit hotel and
distribution partners
Dublin, Ireland and San Mateo, California -
March 3 2005: Web Reservations International
(WRI) announced today that it is acquiring the business
and assets of WorldRes, the online hotel reservation
network. The WorldRes business will operate as a
new division of WRI and continue to use the WorldRes
brand. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Web Reservations International CEO and Co-Founder,
Ray Nolan, stated: "WRI has built a successful
and profitable budget accommodation business, and
this acquisition will significantly broaden our
operations. We look forward to applying our unique
business model to the global hotel market. We believe
our emphasis on value and clarity will be highly
attractive to existing WorldRes hotels and anticipate
growing the WorldRes business as a part of WRI."
The acquisition brings more than 35,000 hotels and
2,000 websites in 160 countries, as well as online
travel agents, tourist boards and destination management
companies, to the WRI platform. WorldRes technology
gives hotel partners greater inventory and pricing
control, supported by a truly global network of
distribution partners, including Opodo.com, Lastminute.com,
SAS.com and Hotel.de.
Under the terms of the acquisition most of the assets
and business contracts of WorldRes will transfer
immediately to WRI,and existing business operations
will transfer seamlessly and immediately to the
WorldRes division of WRI.
Said Nolan: "WRI will add some 1,000 distribution
outlets, providing WorldRes' member hotels the opportunity
to significantly grow their business. For distribution
partners, WRI will also deliver new technology providing
transparency and clarity on revenue earned. We aim
to reduce or remove the time-consuming and costly
book-stay-reconcile-pay cycle for hotels and affiliates."
Web Reservations International will now operate
two separate business units:
- Hostels division, focusing on online
bookings and reservations technology for the
budget, independent and youth travel sector
through its Hostelworld.com,
Hostels.com
and other brands. Leading this unit will be
Tom Kennedy, President and Co-Founder of Web
Reservations International. The Hostel division
will continue with its own dedicated support
team, concentrating on growing the hostels business
- Hotels division, focusing on online
hotel reservations through trade relationships
with hotel and affiliate partners. This business
will be managed for the immediate future by
Ray Nolan, CEO and Co-Founder of Web Reservations
International, assisted by the WorldRes management
team and staff, who will move to this new division.
According to Nolan: "WRI has a proven business
model that can profitably bring online sales opportunities
to hotels. The WorldRes technology, managed through
WRI, will allow hotels to have more success than
ever before."
Nolan will become Group CEO of the expanded
Web Reservations International organisation. The
company will be headquartered in Dublin, with offices
in Germany, the United States and Australia.
About Web Reservations International
Web Reservations International (WRI) is a leading
internet travel retailer and distributor, based
in Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1999, it is the biggest
global provider of confirmed online reservations
for the budget accommodation sector. Brands include
Hostelworld.com,
Hostels.com
and Trav.com.
WRI booking engines also provide reservation technology
to more than 1,000 affiliates including Ryanair.com,
Lonelyplanet.com, Flybe.com and Rail Europe. The
company is privately owned. For more information,
please visit Web Reservations International at www.webresint.com.
Contact:
Colin Lewis, Web Reservations International, +353-1-498-0744,
colin.lewis@webresint.com
Mark O'Toole, The Castle Group, Inc., +617-227-0012
x235, motoole@thecastlegrp.com
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