Excellent release....
USA TECHNOLOGIES INKS DEAL WITH CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL TO INSTALL
Business Express(TM)
WAYNE, Pa. and SILVER SPRING, Md., April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- USA
Technologies, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: USTT) and Choice Hotels
International (NYSE: CHH), the world's second largest hotel franchisor,
have reached an agreement for the installation of Business Express(TM)
business centers in Choice Hotels properties worldwide. Business
Express will give hotels the ability to provide unattended, credit card
access to industry-leading, state- of-the-art business services without
incurring the cost of traditional staffed or in-room facilities.
The agreement -- which establishes USA Technologies as a preferred
supplier to Choice Hotels International -- calls for immediate
installations in corporate-owned locations pursuant to the terms of a
one-year renewable contract. The agreement also provides for
cooperative marketing activities. Initial units have been installed at
Clarion Hotel locations in Miami, Fla. and Richardson, Texas, with the
installation of additional units at corporate locations to take place
within the next 90 days. Franchised locations are expected to follow.
Choice Hotels will formally introduce Business Express to Choice
franchisees -- representing over 4,000 locations -- as the "preferred
business center solution" at the franchisor's May 1997 management
development conferences in Orlando and Las Vegas.
"We are enthusiastic about this opportunity to work with Choice Hotels
International and its franchisees in meeting the needs of business
travelers," said Stephen P. Herbert, executive vice president of
marketing and sales with USA. "We are confident that Business Express,
which offers unattended, credit-card access to technology-based
business services -- including Internet access and laptop printing,
copying and faxing -- will provide Choice properties with a key means
of differentiation in the marketplace," he said.
According to William Poe, vice president of corporate systems for
Choice Hotels, Business Express allows Choice to address the
office-related requirements of its business travelers with a minimal
commitment of resources. "Business Express gives us the ability to meet
our customers' business- specific needs without staffing traditional
business centers, all within a small footprint that conserves valuable
real estate," said Poe.
Choice Hotels International has over 4,000 hotels -- open and under
development -- in 33 countries marketed under the brand names Comfort,
Quality, Clarion, Econo Lodge, Sleep, Rodeway and MainStay Suites.
Targeting business professionals is a priority of Choice Hotels
International. Quality Inns and Suites offers special accommodations
and amenities in the "Quality Executive Room." Clarion recently
introduced the "Clarion Class Business Room," designed expressly with
the needs of business travelers in mind.
Founded in 1992, USA Technologies, Inc. is a leading owner and licensor
of networked credit card activated control systems for the personal
computer, copier, facsimile and vending industries. The company's
proprietary technologies make available unattended, point-of-sale
control systems for credit card payments. USA Technologies also
provides "back office" financial services for real-time credit card
processing. Business Express(TM), Public PC(TM), Copy Express(TM), and
Fax Express(TM) -- which incorporate the company's proprietary
technologies -- are marketed in cooperation with IBM, Lexmark and
Minolta, and may be purchased or leased by commercial outlets.
SOURCE USA Technologies, Inc.
-0- 04/23/97 /CONTACT: George R. Jensen,
Jr., President-CEO or Stephen Herbert, Executive Vice President of USA
Technologies, Inc., 610-989-0340, or sherbert@usatech.com; or Madeleine
Franco or Bryce Benson of Jordan Richard Assoc., 801-595-8611, or
ir@jordanrichard.com; or Anne Papa-Curtis of Choice Hotels
International, 301-979-5032, or anne_curtis@choicehotels.com/
(USTT CHH)
CO: USA Technologies, Inc. ST: Pennsylvania, Maryland IN: LEI FIN
SU:
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