There's No Room At the Inn as Occupancy Rates in New York and Las Vegas Soar; HRN Boasts Availability Even as Occupancy Rates Reach Record Highs

Business Wire, Sept 27, 1999

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 27, 1999--

Hotel Reservations Network (HRN), a USA Company (Nasdaq:USAI), and the Internet's primary source of discount accommodations (www.hoteldiscount.com), as well as the premier provider of room availability during peak, sold-out travel periods, announced today it has rooms available in New York and Las Vegas -- two of the most popular destinations in the world -- even though occupancy rates in both cities are exceeding all predicted occupancy levels for Fall 1999.

According to HRN, occupancy levels in New York will be at more than 90 percent in October while in Las Vegas occupancy will be at more than 95 percent.

"New York and Las Vegas have historically been among the top two travel destinations, however, both cities are experiencing unusually high levels of travelers," stated Bob Diener, president of HRN. "Several factors can be attributed to the increased traffic including a booming economy, airfare specials and excellent promotional efforts by both cities," explained Diener.

According to Diener, it will be difficult to find a room in New York every day in October, all weekends in November and the first two weeks of December, because of the holiday shopping period. November 5-8 will be extremely tight due to the New York Marathon and the Hotel & Motel Show while the last few days of December will be extremely tight because of Millennium bookings. Las Vegas will be tight now through the end of November due to an increase in both leisure and business travel.

"Often times cost is a major determining factor for travelers. However, finding a room can be even more important," said Diener. "HRN is uniquely qualified, and has been recognized for its ability, to provide travelers with accommodations even during peak travel periods," continued Diener. HRN has rooms available during sold out periods in both cities in all categories of accommodations from economy to deluxe, nevertheless, Diener recommends travelers should book accommodations as early as possible. He says rooms will open up in Las Vegas in early December and will get busy again for the New Year's holiday period while New York has greater availability during the third week of December.

Hotel Reservations Network, a USA Company, is the Internet's primary source of discount accommodations worldwide. Hoteldiscount.com, a service of HRN, is one of the most successful and fastest growing hotel booking sites on the Internet, offering its customers discounts of up to 65 percent off published rates, as well as, room availability during peak, sold-out travel periods. HRN provides travelers with a unique, one-stop-shopping source for hotel pricing, amenities and availability. Through its affiliate program, hoteldiscount.com has partnered with over 3,000 Internet sites, including most major travel-related sites, offering discount hotel rooms through HRN's booking engine. In addition to its Internet-based business, which accounts for approximately 80 percent of the Company's revenue, HRN also runs a call center operating 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. For more information call 1-800-96-HOTEL.

USA Networks, Inc. is a diversified media and electronic commerce company with assets that include the following: USA Network; SCI FI Channel; Studios USA; USA Films; USA Broadcasting; Home Shopping Network; Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com) and USA Networks Interactive, which includes the Hotel Reservations Network (www.hoteldiscount.com), SCI FI.com and the Internet Shopping Network, whose primary services are First Auction (www.firstauction.com) and First Jewelry, launching later this month. The Company also owns a controlling interest in Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch, Inc., (Nasdaq:TMCS), (www.citysearch.com) an Internet provider of local content and online ticketing.