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GenaRes Worldwide Reservation Services Expands into Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and Switzerland Through Agreement With SLY Marketing Services

Posted on: Thursday, 15 December 2005, 06:00 CST

Mediterranean Traditional Mansions Joins as First Greek Client, Bringing Dozens of Castles, Manors, Abbeys and Mansions to the Web for

the First Time

GenaRes Worldwide Reservation Services(SM) Ltd., the hotel industry's newest and fastest growing international representation and reservations company, announced today that it has chosen Cyprus-based SLY Marketing Services Ltd. to be the exclusive provider of GenaRes' hotel reservations services in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and Switzerland. Hotels in these regions will now have a local source with which they can contract to access GenaRes' state-of-the-art Internet-based central reservations system (CRS) for reservations processing and for distribution of their hotel room inventory to the global distribution systems (GDSs) and thousands of consumer-focused travel Web sites around the world.

Since signing on with GenaRes in late October, 2005, SLY has been actively marketing the GenaRes hotel distribution technology services throughout the region. SLY's first customer is Mediterranean Traditional Mansions (MTM), a unique collection of more than 80 independently owned properties located primarily in Greece. GenaRes and SLY will be loading the MTM properties into the GenaRes reservations database over the next six months. As a result, for the first time ever, many of these castles, manors, abbeys and mansions will be available for booking by travel agents via the GDSs: Sabre, Amadeus, Galileo, Worldspan, as well as by consumers worldwide via thousands of travel-booking Internet sites.

In early 2006, GenaRes will also complete the automation of the MTM Web site (www.medtm.com), switching its current email reservations functionality to full online booking capabilities, enabling the site to take online bookings for the first time.

"In order for a property to join Mediterranean Traditional Mansions, the property must be well known for its high quality and timeless historical presence, but most importantly it must have a reputation of impeccable guest service," said MTM President Triantafillou Vassilis.

"Likewise, we expect any technology providers for our consortia to also be known for impeccable service .... And that's why we chose GenaRes and SLY. For the last five years we have been searching for a company that can provide the sales/marketing and distribution tools that will bring us and our hotel members into a new era, and we're pleased to announce that we've now found the perfect solution: GenaRes and SLY," MTM's Vassilis said.

The extensive industry experience of SLY's three founding partners contributed to GenaRes' decision to choose SLY to exclusively represent its services in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and Switzerland. Founding partner Lefteris Karatarakis originally became familiar with GenaRes as a client: he is the owner of a hotel in Greece that moved its central reservations system processing to the GenaRes platform nearly one year ago. SLY founding partner Yannis Dimitriadis has many years experience as the managing director of a large travel agency with a network throughout Greece, Cyprus and Switzerland, and founding partner Said Nefil is a 14-year hospitality and travel industry veteran, with extensive experience working with hotel chains as well as independent properties in the areas of reservations and revenue management, electronic distribution, account management, call center operations and e-marketing.

"The Greek hotel market is highly influenced by its local tour operators. SLY's founders have many years experience working in this market and have a good reputation with both the local hoteliers and tour operators," said GenaRes President Eugene Harris. "SLY will help bring GenaRes' services to a market that has typically been difficult to penetrate."

"My partners and I have realized for quite some time the need for a solid reservations provider in Greece and the surrounding region," said Lefteris Karatarakis, managing director, SLY. "We chose to represent GenaRes because we are closely familiar with their technology, and believe it's the best in the world. GenaRes is one of the few CRS providers that has both GDS and Internet distribution, and has quickly established a reputation of excellent customer service. GenaRes is also unique in that most of its staff are former hoteliers, and therefore they really understand the challenges and needs of their customers. With GenaRes' easy-to-use technology, we believe we will be able bring great benefits to hotels throughout Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and Switzerland."

GenaRes services that SLY Marketing Services is exclusively representing to hotels throughout Greece, Cyprus, Switzerland and Turkey include:

--Full use of the GenaRes Web-based --Online booking engine for CRS with inventory management proprietary branded Web across all distribution channels sites --Next-generation seamless --Rate and availability channel connectivity to all GDSs management --Representation on the GDSs via --Revenue management the chain code "GZ" --Online distribution to thousands --Ongoing customization as of travel Web sites needed --Online training --XML interface for two-way interface connections

GenaRes' system is the one of the few CRSs to be developed since 1999. Built from the ground up by experienced industry veterans, the system uses the latest technology and incorporates functionality that is most vital for hoteliers of today, including next generation seamless connectivity (Seamless 2), true sales distribution channel management, advanced yield management capabilities, and customized reporting. GenaRes provides its hotel customers with distribution via all the major GDSs, and distribution to the thousands of Internet sites around the world that are connected to the Pegasus Solutions Online Distribution Network (NASDAQ: PEGS).

GenaRes (http://www.genares.com) was formed last year by hotel industry veterans Michael G. Wilkins, Ricky A. Wilkins and Eugene Harris, who were founders of the Dallas-based hotel representation and reservations company Lexington Services Corp. In addition to originally founding Lexington Services, the GenaRes founders together have more than 30 years experience running a hotel company: Lexington Hotel Suites and Inns, which at one point had 50 hotels in its portfolio. "GenaRes is probably the only third party representation service that was truly created by hoteliers for hoteliers," GenaRes' Harris commented. "As former hoteliers, we understand the day-to-day challenges that hotel operators face." GenaRes' other customers include Americas Best Value Inn, Korman Communities, Italy's Hotel Marketing Solutions (HMS), India's Spectra Hospitality Pvt Ltd, and hundreds of independent properties.

About SLY Marketing Services Ltd.

Formed in early 2005 by three travel industry executives, Lefteris Karatarakis, Yannis Dimitriadis and Said Nefil, SLY Marketing Services Ltd. is the exclusive representative of GenaRes Worldwide Reservation Services in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and Switzerland. Headquartered in Nicosia, Cyprus, SLY also has an office in Heraklion in Crete, Greece. For more information, email info@slyhotels.com.

About GenaRes Worldwide Reservation Services(SM) Ltd

Launched in 2004 by former Lexington Services Corp. founders and executives, Dallas-based GenaRes Worldwide Reservation Services(SM) Ltd (www.genares.com) is the hotel industry's newest hotel reservations and representation company. As the first new central reservation system (CRS) to come to market since 1999, GenaRes' GenaRater(SM) Web-based CRS and related services are provided on an ASP basis and are designed for properties ranging from small independents to large chain hotels worldwide. Laying its claim as the lodging industry's only privately held reservations technology provider that was created by hoteliers for hoteliers, GenaRes' services include: seamless GDS and Internet connectivity, a private-label Internet booking engine, a Web-based CRS with two-way XML property management system interfaces, and private-label voice reservations/call center services. GenaRes is headquartered in the Dallas/Fort Worth suburb of Grapevine, Texas, and has sales offices in Denver, San Diego, Fort Lauderdale, and India.

Editor's Note: Photos of GenaRes executives available on request.

Source: Business Wire

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