WizCom International, Ltd. (“WizCom”) and Jade Technologies announced today a strategic alliance that will pair WizCom’s proven connectivity and transactions processing with WynTrac®, Jade Technologies’ breakthrough Web-based housing and registration software. The WizCom-WynTrac® partnership will provide event planners and site providers with the most efficient, cost-effective and fastest reservations processing system in the meetings and conventions industry.

“We are excited that our alliance with Jade Technologies will broaden our product offerings to include the housing and registration market. The venture combines the cutting edge features of WynTrac’s® Web-based convention and meetings software with WizCom’s powerful and proven back-end transactions processing and connectivity,” said Flo Lugli, president of WizCom. “The alliance furthers our efforts to deliver flexible products that give our customers choice and control in their travel distribution strategy and help them provide high quality services for their customers.”

The WizCom-WynTrac® alliance will simplify and improve the way hotels and event planners capture and transfer reservation information. Conventional group registrations are gathered and submitted in bulk, usually on paper, and require manual entry by a hotel reservations center. The WizCom-WynTrac® “Immediate Link” platform will automate the process by transmitting reservations electronically, delivering instantaneous reservations and immediate confirmations. With Immediate Link, the electronic reservations transmission reduces the errors of manual entry and lowers the costs associated with it. The WizCom-WynTrac® alliance will also give hotels an accurate, up-to-the-minute measurement of their inventory.

“WizCom has proven itself an industry leader by providing reliable Global Distribution System and Internet connectivity for the travel industry. WynTrac’s® interface with WizCom makes the housing and registration process easier and more efficient for event planners, attendees and hotel companies,” said Michael Foster, president of Jade Technologies. “With WizCom’s international reach and strong relationships with the GDS’s, we look forward to exploring the boundless opportunities for WynTrac’s® growth in our industry.”

Launched in March of 1999, WynTrac®, the Web-based software for the meetings and conventions industry, distinguishes itself with its “Four Aces:” Capacity, Speed, Cost Effectiveness and Event Monitoring. WynTrac® was designed to empower the event attendee, giving him or her control of the entire registration process and provide decision-makers with a simple method of monitoring and tracking an event.

WizCom and Jade Technologies expect the WynTrac® platform to be available by Third Quarter 1999. The companies plan to partner with hotel customers to develop and roll-out the product.

“We expect that having access to both online housing and registration will become essential to the growth of hotel bookings from group planning organizations,” said Connie Rheams, Vice President Business Development, The Americas, Trust International Hotel Reservations Services. “By offering a comprehensive package of registration and travel capabilities in the industry, WizCom and Jade Technologies will enable hotel companies to maximize reservations generated from group meeting planners.”

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