Hotel Technology Next Generation

Exhibiting at the Hospitality Industry Technology Exhibition and Conference — being held June 24-26 at the Louisiana Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans — the two companies' continued partnering has spawned a unique next-generation interface that is seamless and real-time, further eliminating manual data re-entry and workflow process gaps.

"The ability to integrate systems at the database level has been a fundamental part of our design philosophy for many, many years," said John Springer-Miller, President & CEO of Stowe-based Springer-Miller Systems. "Now, we have been able to achieve this with our strategic partner, Newmarket International.

"This marks the first time two leading companies will provide standard business functionality driven directly by each other's databases," he said. "The benefits of this for our customers, and indeed the entire hospitality industry, are significant."

Springer-Miller said SMS and Newmarket International have a long-lasting, mutually beneficial technology partnership that has progressed from daily updates of guestroom availability during the interface's "nightly cycle," to real-time seamless functionality for accurate, up-to-date information on reservations and cancellations.

"By coupling our complementary systems and the very latest in interface technology, a query launched from Delphi now can invoke SMS|Host Hospitality Management System to send up-to-the-second room availability for a range of dates," Springer-Miller said. "Delphi, in turn, will display the query results within a 'read only' browser."

Newmarket International's NetXchangeTM I-Server, a systems integration platform providing enterprisewide data snapshots, serves as the information exchange hub between Delphi and SMS|Host Hospitality Management Systems. The NetXchange I-Server won Microsoft Corp.'s 2003 Retail Developer Application (RAD) Award for Best Use of .NET Technologies and was built from the ground up with connectivity foremost in mind. The seamless real-time interface between Delphi and SMS|Host Hospitality Management Systems was in direct answer to related requests from several of the two companies' shared clients, such as the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, American Skiing Company and Marcus Hotels & Resorts.

"Our NetXchange I-Server represents leading-edge Xtensive Markup Language (XML) integration technology," said Sean O'Neill, President & CEO of Portsmouth-based Newmarket International. "The I-Server enables transactions from one application to display a response to the user — even if the data resides on another system, in this case a PMS. Our seamless, real-time interface with Springer-Miller Systems is a successful proof-of-concept of our I-Server vision introduced in 2002.

"The days of proprietary, closed systems must finally come to an end so hotel professionals can fully realize and reap the benefits of their various existing technology investments," O'Neill said. "Our NetXchange I-Server is another big step in that direction as Newmarket International supports open standards integration among best-of-breed solutions in the industry."

O'Neill said Delphi's interface with SMS|Host Hospitality Management Systems creates the foundation for future system interfaces. Traditionally, interfaces involve the recoding and transmission of data packets. Newmarket International's enhanced interface with SMS occurs directly at the database level — and ultimately will significantly improve functionality, flexibility and productivity through bi-directional, real-time information flow.

"For SMS, this uniquely functional interface fully connects us with Newmarket's market-leading Sales & Catering solutions, as well as opens the door to significant sales opportunities with larger management companies and upscale property operators," Springer-Miller said. "By combining our two product suites through this high tech/high-touch interface, we can better cross-market each other's companies and solutions for maximum market penetration."

As the partners' interface alliance progresses, Delphi users will be able to access corporate contractual obligations including number of rooms consumed, average rate and availability, while SMS|Host Hospitality Management Systems users will be able to access and view actual group booking and other information from Delphi.

"Everything we do is customer and market driven — from new releases and solution applications to strategic partnerships and integration alliances," O'Neill said. "As the booking window continues to shorten, more than ever before hospitality professionals require up-to-the-second, accurate information on site options, guestroom and meeting room availability, and rates. Firms providing this information first will usually book the business — and that's why we're working tirelessly today to provide this technology to our growing base of clients around the globe."

About Newmarket International - Newmarket International, "the makers of Delphi," is the leader in delivering group, sales, catering and banquet software solutions to global travel and entertainment organizations. Hotels, Casinos, Visitor Bureaus, Meeting Houses, Convention Centers and Arenas all use this powerful technology. Newmarket International provides competitive advantages to all of its customers by enabling leads to electronically transfer across cities and around the world. By harnessing award-winning technology and support, the industry's best return on investment, domain expertise, and a commitment to the travel industry, Portsmouth, N.H.-based Newmarket International enables customers to increase efficiencies and maximize profits. Newmarket International is the only Hospitality Sales & Catering solutions provider to garner a second consecutive Excellence in Customer Satisfaction rating and its accompanying 2002 NorthFace ScoreBoardTM Award, presented by Omega Management Group. In 2003, Newmarket International won the coveted Microsoft® Retail Application Developer (RAD) Award for the third time in three years — this time for Best Use of Microsoft® .NET Technologies for its NetXchangeTM I-Server. A unique systems integration platform providing enterprisewide data snapshots, NetXchange I-Server serves as the information exchange hub seamlessly linking disparate systems, databases and people continents apart. Newmarket International also was recognized in 2003 by Investors in People (U.K.) for its training and employee development programs and its unwavering commitment to continuous improvement. For more information on the company and its business-generating, cost-cutting solutions, please visit www.newmarketinc.com.

About Springer-Miller Systems - Springer-Miller Systems Inc. is a leading provider of hospitality management solutions that meets the technology needs of all types of hospitality enterprises including city-center hotels, destination spa and golf properties, timeshare properties and casino resorts worldwide, setting the pace as a pioneer in the hospitality industry. Springer-Miller Systems' SMS|Host Hospitality Management System is distinguished from other property management systems with its truly integrated design and unique approach to guest service. The SMS|Host product suite, including more than 20 seamlessly integrated, guest-centric application modules, provides hotel/resort staff with the tools they need to personalize service, exceed guest expectations, and increase revenue. For more information on Springer-Miller Systems, visit www.springermiller.com.

Contact
Shawn McDonald
Director of Marketing
Phone: (603) 430-7434
Fax: (603) 436-1826
Email: smcdonald@newmarketinc.com