WorldRes.com Partners with Virgin Net Recommends

Business Wire, April 28, 2000

Business Editors & Travel/High-Tech Writers

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 2000

WorldRes.com(TM) (www.worldres.com), an online distribution network that connects hotels to travelers through a broad range of Web based partners, today announced that the United Kingdom edition of its consumer site, PlacesToStay.com (http://www.uk.placestostay.com), is set to become the preferred hotel reservations partner on Virgin Net's travel channel through Virgin Net Recommends, Virgin Net's online shopping service (www.virgin.net/travel/bookahotel/index.html). Virgin Net is the United Kingdom's number one online entertainment and leisure service.

"The uk.placestostay.com site offers real time reservations at a diverse and attractive collection of properties world wide," said Bruce Frankel, European vice president of Business Development for WorldRes.com. "Our deal with Virgin Net will expose our service to millions of online users and bring value to our member hotels."

WorldRes.com has been chosen as Virgin Net's preferred partner because of its good record in customer service and commitment to delivering a total user experience -- real time booking; wide area search; secure transactions and a wide choice of property types.

Alex Dale, publishing director, Virgin Net, commented: "Virgin Net is a trusted and credible force online. The process by which we choose online brands to recommend to our users is very thorough. In order to get the Virgin Net stamp of approval, potential partners must deliver on quality, range and customer service. WorldRes.com has fulfilled all of these criteria and it's great to have them onboard and bring our 1.4 million monthly unique users another online service."

PlacesToStay.com, founded in 1995, is owned and operated by WorldRes.com and offers an online reservation service for hotels, bed and breakfasts and resorts from across the globe. The site has over 11,500 properties in 142 countries, and allows travellers to search its database by criteria such as location, price, and date of travel, property type and amenities.

About WorldRes.com, Inc.

WorldRes.com, Inc. (http://www.worldres.com) operates an online distribution network that connects hotels to leisure travelers through a broad range of Web-based partners, including portals, travel and destination Web sites, convention and visitor bureaus, tourism authorities, online city guides, call centers and travel agents. For hotels, WorldRes.com offers an efficient, low-cost means for marketing and selling accommodations online. For distribution partners, WorldRes.com provides detailed information and booking capability for a wide range of properties, from bed and breakfasts and independent hotels to resorts, vacation rentals and hotel chains.

WorldRes.com was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in San Mateo; WorldRes.com operates offices in Duesseldorf, Germany; Paris; Sophia Antipolis near Nice, France; and Staines, Middlesex, just outside London. WorldRes.com employees collectively possess an extensive knowledge of hotel marketing, systems and operations as well as Internet-based transaction technology. WorldRes.com owns and operates two consumer Web sites: PlacesToStay.com (www.placestostay.com), which offers real-time rates, reservations and information for all properties in the WorldRes.com system; and BedandBreakfast.com (www.bedandbreakfast.com), with information on more than 23,000 B&Bs and historic inns around the world.

About Virgin Net

Virgin Net (www.virgin.net) the UK's no. 1 entertainment and leisure service online, delivering thirteen UK-specific entertainment and leisure content channels, an online shopping service with Virgin Net Recommends, integrated site and global Internet search, email and free Internet access.