Wingate Inns International, Inc. Launches WINFORMATION, New Brand Intranet Portal is Information Resource for Franchisees (9/00)

Wingate Inns International, Inc. is committed to providing its Wingate Inn® hotel owners with resources and tools to assist them in operating successful properties. Additionally, the high-tech hotel brand is doing its part to preserve the environment by continuing its paperless communication initiative. Those two goals led Wingate Inns to launch WINFORMATION(SM), a brand intranet portal that acts as a one-stop online location for a world of information and resources to help Wingate Inn hotel owners.

With a property-specific password, any owner can access WINFORMATION and its plethora of training modules, revenue enhancement tools, manuals, property-specific reports and other materials. Owners can find the information they need through an on-line search of directories such as Design & Development, Marketing/Public Relations, Franchise Services, Training, Manuals, Reports, Forms, Worldwide Sales, U1, Maps, Purchasing, Talk To Us, Calendar, Revenue Tools, and What's New. The paperless portal also allows the brand to update content and information quickly and cost-effectively, without having to mail bulky paperwork to every hotel owner.

"The brand portal was developed to provide Wingate Inn hotel owners with as many tools and resources as possible to assist them in their daily hotel management and sales," says Keith J. Pierce, president and CEO of Wingate Inns International, Inc. "Whether it's a sales and marketing resource guide, a monthly denial report or a training video, owners are gaining the advantage of zero-time communication, meaning they'll be able to immediately access these resources."

Pierce continues, "With all the available choices within each directory, WINFORMATION is an ideal information resource for franchisees. The portal also continues the brand's initiative to becoming a paperless hotel company as everything is accessible online, including manuals that were previously mailed. It's just another way in which the brand is attempting to make operating a Wingate Inn franchise easier for owners."

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.