Get Connected Day’’ To Feature Open House for Visitors To Sample High Speed Internet Access Connections ‘‘Get Connected Day’’ Also To Benefit Inner City Games Organization Through Corporate Donations
Mark October 15th on your calendars as the day to bring a laptop computer with an Ethernet card to a nearby Wingate Inn hotel as Wingate Inns International, Inc. is celebrating ‘’! Get Connected Day.’’ As the only national hotel chain to offer high speed Internet access in all of its open hotels, the brand is giving the public an opportunity to sample the amenity by having an open house throughout the chain.

‘‘Get Connected Day’’ gives any laptop computer toting individual a chance to stop by any open Wingate Inn hotel for a free trial run of the high speed Internet amenity in a guestroom, boardroom or meeting room, and to contribute to a noteworthy cause, the Inner City Games (ICG) Organization. In addition to getting a hands-on test of the speed and ease of this amenity, people visiting the hotel on October 15th will be asked to log onto www.wingateinns.com. Every hit on the brand website that day will result in a $.20 donation to ICG by Wingate Inns International, Inc., with the $.20 commemorating the 20-year an! niversary of the Internet.

‘‘Get Connected Day represents an opportunity for the brand to share this productive amenity with the general public, and for everyone to be part of a significant donation to ICG,’’ explains John Paul Nichols, president and CEO of Wingate Inns International, Inc. ‘‘As the only national hotel chain to presently have this amenity in all of its open hotels, we wanted to make sure that people could see how simple, yet profoundly effective, this amenity can be to them.’’

Nichols continues, ‘‘When business or leisure travelers check into hotels today, they expect the same advanced technology that’s available to them at home or in the office. These travelers expect to have the ability to access their email or favorite website quickly and directly from their guestrooms, and LodgeNet’s system enables guests to connect to the Internet at speeds up to 50 times faster than conventional data ports.

‘‘I! n addition, we wanted to share the success of Get Connected Day with the brand’s official charity. ICG is a nationwide charity that offers confidence and self-esteem building activities such as sports competition, as well as educational and cultural programs, to thousands of children as positive alternatives to gangs, drugs and violence. The donation from Get Connected Day will go a long way in helping ICG fund new programs to improve the lives of inner city children.’’

Wingate Inns International, Inc. partnered with LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation to equip its Wingate Inn hotels with LodgeNet’s Internet managed connectivity solution, On Line by LodgeNetsm, which is quick and easy to use. A guest simply plugs his or her computer into the room’s Ethernet-based Internet jack and launches the laptop’s resident browser application. Access is instantaneous, at speeds up to 50 times faster than traditional phone modems, with no software instal! lation or re-configuration required.

For the address of a Wingate Inn hotel near you, check the brand’s website at www.wingateinns.com or call 973.496.8539.
Wingate Inns International, Inc. is an all-new construction hotel chain that opened its first franchised hotel in July 1996. Its focused service, upper mid-market franchised hotels feature sophisticated, consumer-based technology and comfortable, oversized rooms that were created in response to business travelers’ needs. All Wingate Inn hotels are independently owned and operated under franchise agreements. Reservations can be made by calling Wingate Inns’ toll-free reservation center at 1.800.228.1000. For more information on Wingate Inn hotels, visit the company’s website at www.wingateinns.com. Wingate Inns International, Inc. is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation (NYSE: C! D).

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