LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation and Wingate Inns
International, Inc. today announced that 100 Wingate Inn hotels across the
United States now offer high-speed Internet access and interactive TV services
in their guest rooms, as well as high-speed connectivity in their meeting rooms and public areas.
The recent Internet system activation at the Wingate Inn in Concord, N.C., marked the 100-property milestone in the LodgeNet/Wingate Inns relationship, which began in January 1999 when the companies announced the lodging industry`s first chain-wide Internet services agreement.
LodgeNet`s laptop connectivity services which include a free connection in every Wingate Inn guest room -are integral to Wingate Inns` positioning as the upper
mid-market brand of choice for technology-savvy business travelers.
In addition to laptop services, LodgeNet provides every Wingate Inn hotel with
high-speed Internet on TV and a full range of interactive TV services including on-demand movies and Nintendo(R) 64 video games. Combined,
LodgeNet`s laptop and TV Internet services represent more than 18,000 points
of Internet access at Wingate Inn hotels nationwide.
“The relationship with Wingate Inns International has been everything we
envisioned when we signed our historic agreement with them more than two years ago,” said Scott C. Petersen, president and chief executive officer for LodgeNet. “As Wingate Inns continues to expand its property base, LodgeNet will provide their newly opened hotels with the same bundled, high-quality
Internet services that have helped the brand achieve such remarkable success to this point.”
Keith J. Pierce, president and chief executive officer of Wingate Inns International, added, “The opening of the 100th Wingate Inn hotel in Concord is a major milestone for the brand as it pushes the chain past a significant landmark in terms of open hotels and national presence. In addition, LodgeNet benefits as its high-quality Internet services are installed in the only
national hotel chain with high-speed Internet access in every one of its open
hotels.”
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