Manugistics to Showcase Next-Generation Chain Group Pricing Technology; In the 'Year of ADR,' Chain Hotels Capture More Group Business; Manugistics Centralized Solution Drives Higher Daily Rate

Business Wire, June 20, 2005

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- With chain hotel operators calling 2005 the "Year of ADR," Manugistics Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MANU), a leading global provider of synchronized supply chain and revenue management solutions, today announced it will showcase the company's new group pricing technology designed to support the hospitality market's focus on Average Daily Rate (ADR) and profitable management of groups at the HITEC Conference in Los Angeles, June 21-23. The technology demonstrates the latest next-generation price optimization and revenue management capabilities for the hospitality industry from Revenue Management pioneer Manugistics.

"The challenge for major hotel chains is to deploy a cohesive rate management strategy across all their hotels; one that adapts to the new traveler buying behaviors, and more importantly, honors negotiated contract pricing while it applies intelligent rate optimization principles to the increasing amount of group business returning to the market," said Manugistics Vice President of Revenue Management Graham Young. "Rate management has never been more important - or more difficult to do correctly in the hospitality industry. The blurring together of traditional segments and market channels, plus the increasing complexity of group rate strategies, has dramatically transformed the process of rate management for large hotel chains."

Elements of Manugistics' Hotel Chain Group Technology include:

Group Pricing - Using Manugistics Market Response Models, the system analyzes segment demand and win/loss history, transient displacement and total group revenue potential including incidental contribution. A leap forward compared to systems based primarily on transient displacement, the Manugistics' system optimizes group rates in times of both low and high demand.

Collaboration and Alerting - Provides ability to share, obtain input and gain consensus on critical business information - such as accurate group forecasts - and to send alerts based on business rules. Collaboration and alerting can be performed both internally and externally.

Reporting and Analytics - The capability within the system of analyzing historical results and refining forecast performance going forward. The solution reports on several key metrics, including forecasts and actual captured revenue, which allows operators to analyze the accuracy of their previous forecasts and refine them going forward. This comprehensive forecast-compared-performance loop for group business is key to increasing future revenue for operators.

Chain hotels can control - and optimize - group business

Group business is the one segment hotels can control. By investing more in direct sales efforts, chain operators are able to drive group business to their properties. The challenge with rate-managing group business has always been forecasting group demand. Manugistics has the capability to change that.

"In the past, hotel operators relied on Excel spreadsheets and instinct to estimate group demand and set rates based on historical reporting," said Young. "With the increase in corporate travel demand, there are simply too many data points to manually optimize group rates with any effectiveness. For this kind of analysis, hotel chains require a truly powerful real-time revenue management tool."

Young cited one upscale chain with approximately 40 properties that use Manugistics solutions to constantly process hundreds of thousands of data points every four hours for the coming seven days, and every 24 hours for day eight to 90.

"Our diversity throughout the travel industry and beyond helps us apply best practices from other markets to our hotel clients," said Young. "We have adapted successful optimization capabilities from our supply chain clients for our hospitality clients. Our forecasting solutions are used at more than 350 companies including many of the Fortune 100. This diversification gives Manugistics a strategic global perspective. Now is the time to apply the most effective rate management technology to every segment, channel and group. The hospitality and travel industries are in the strongest revenue generating position in five years."

Manugistics Revenue Management Group

Manugistics has pioneered and perfected industry leading pricing and revenue management solutions. Today, leaders in the service-based Travel, Transportation and Hospitality industries leverage Manugistics' expertise to maximize their profits. Manugistics clients include Caesars Entertainment, Omni Hotels, Princess Cruise Lines, TUI (formerly Thomson Holidays), Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines Cargo.

Visit Manugistics' HITEC Booth #126 for a demonstration of its Group Pricing Technology at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 21-23, 2005.

About Manugistics Group, Inc.

Clients depend on Manugistics to position them one step ahead of demand. With Manugistics' unparalleled supply chain and revenue management solutions, clients achieve improved forecast and inventory accuracy, leverage industry leading pricing and yield management solutions to maximize profits while ensuring constant supply for constantly changing demand. Its clients include industry leaders such as AT&T, BMW, Boeing, Caesars Entertainment, Canadian Tire, Cingular, Circuit City, Coca-Cola Bottling, Coty International, Delta Air Lines, DHL, Diageo, Dixons, DuPont, Eurostar Ltd., Georgia-Pacific, Great North Eastern Railway (GNER), Harley-Davidson, Harrah's Entertainment, H.J. Heinz, John Deere, LL Bean, Limited Brands, Kraft Foods, Marriott, McCormick, Nestle, Nissan, RadioShack, The Scotts Company, Sears, Sinotrans, Unilever and Wickes Building Supplies. For more information, go to www.manugistics.com.