News Releases

03/15/1999

Bass Hotels & Resorts (SM) (BHR) Endorses Hitachi's PBX in Landmark Property Upgrade Program

ATLANTA, GA

Mar 15, 1999 16:52 PM

Hitachi Telecom (USA), Inc. today announced that Bass Hotels & Resorts has endorsed the Hitachi HCX5000 PBX (private branch exchange) product family as the "PBX solution of choice" for all North American BHR hotels with sizes greater than 150 rooms. BHR hotel brands include Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Select, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts and Holiday Inn Sunspree Resorts.

Under the agreement, Bass Hotels & Resorts will recommend the Hitachi HCX5000 to their hotel franchisees along with voice mail and other voice system peripheral devices. The recommendation is a part of a BHR corporate initiative to upgrade the appearance, service and amenities of all franchised properties. Specifically, all properties must have such amenities as two-lines per room and voice mail by certain dates extending to the year 2003. Telecommunications Value Network, Inc. (TVN) will administer the technology initiative as program manager. According to BHR executives, the company has identified over 800 properties which may require upgrades to their telephone systems to meet the new standards. In addition, they anticipate continued growth of this segment through competitors converting into the BHR system as well as planned new construction projects exceeding 100 hotels annually.

"We seek to offer to our hotel guests the finest amenities in every area," stated M.L. Gable, BHR Senior Manager - Hotel Telecommunications. "Hitachi's HCX5000 is widely recognized as having superior capabilities for the hospitality industry, and we are pleased to be able to make these Hitachi systems available to all of our hotels as they update their technology systems." Continued Mr. Gable, "In keeping with our leadership position in the hospitality industry, we believe that this is the largest and most comprehensive technology upgrade ever undertaken by a single hospitality operator".

For many years we have supplied Holiday Inns and other brands in the BHR group with Hitachi PBX products - the HCX5000 family and the DX Series PBX before that," stated Masakatsu Toiya, Hitachi Telecom president, "Hitachi has had a continuous commitment to the lodging industry since the 1970s, and our ability to understand and meet the industry's needs is reaffirmed by Bass Hotels & Resorts' commitment to our product."

The HCX5000 with WelCOMM lodging software includes popular features such as property management system interface, voice mail system interface, and caller ID to guestroom. Digital trunking allows hotels to take advantage of ISDN or T1 digital trunking facilities to help control long distance costs and assure accuracy of guest call billing. The HCX5000 is Year 2000 compliant.

The HCX5000 also offers a flexible array of features designed to ensure that hotel staff are notified when a 9-1-1 call is placed from a guest room, as well as notification of local emergency authorities when Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) service is available.

Hitachi's HCX5000 Communication System has led the market for the past two years in the number of PBX lines shipped to the lodging industry. In a study conducted by Phillips InfoTech in March 1998, the HCX5000 held a 32% share in lines shipped to the lodging market, approximately 14% more than the nearest competitor.

Bass Hotels and Resorts, the hotel business of Bass PLC of the United Kingdom, operates or franchises more than 2,700 hotels and 450,000 guest rooms in more than 75 countries and territories. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the company's hotel brands, among others, include Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Select, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts and Holiday Inn Sunspree Resorts. These properties are located throughout the world with approximately 80% of all properties within North America.

TVN is a St. Petersburg program management company which will assist authorized Hitachi distributors in the implementation and management of the BHR voice technology standards. TVN will maintain a substantial inventory of Hitachi products for Hitachi's participating distributors. In addition, TVN will manage and audit all installations for compliance with BHR standards. TVN will maintain a 24-hour, seven-day a week customer support center dedicated exclusively for Bass Hotels & Resorts.

For more information about TVN, please contact Dana Sorrow, Executive Director of Telephony Solutions, at 727-570-2025.

Hitachi Telecom (USA), Inc., a subsidiary of Hitachi America, Ltd., develops, manufactures and markets telecommunications equipment for the U.S. market. The company has been a supplier of telecommunications to the lodging industry for more than 25 years. For more information, please visit www.hitel.com.

Hitachi America, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., Japan, markets and manufactures a broad range of electronics, computer systems and products, and semiconductors, and provides industrial equipment and services throughout North America. For more information, please visit www.hitachi.com.

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE:HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, is one of the world's leading electronics companies, with fiscal 1997 (ending March 31, 1998) consolidated sales of 8,417 billion yen, $63.8 billion.(a) The company markets and manufactures a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information, please visit www.hitachi.co.jp.

Note*:At an exchange rate of 132 yen to the dollar.