HONG KONG and SANTA BARBARA, Calif., June 8, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- CrystalVoice Communications (www.crystalvoice.com) a leading provider of enterprise IP voice communications software solutions, today announced that Langham Hotels International has deployed the company's Click-to-Talk solution at its trend-setting Langham Place Hotel in Hong Kong. Touted as perhaps the most technologically advanced hotel in the world, Click-to-Talk will leverage the hotel's Cisco IP phone system to bring the entire outside world access to the hotel, its guests and their associates via the hotel's website and CrystalVoice's business-class Voice over Internet communications solution. Langham Place Hotel, Mongkok, Hong Kong, the first new five-star hotel to open in Kowloon in a decade, is slated to open this summer. The hotel will offer guests making hotel reservations via CrystalVoice Click-to-Talk between 9 June 2004 and 30 June 2004 a special promotional package of HK$888++ for an Executive Room which includes a special HK$150 credit that can be redeemed for any expenses in the Hotel.
Opening 140 years after the first Langham Hotel, Langham Place Hotel offers leading edge technology and amenities for guests and staff. Adding to the unique guest experience is the deployment of CrystalVoice's Click-to-Talk solution. Accessible directly from the hotel's website, Click-to-Talk allows guests, their associates, friends and family to call into the hotel without cost, from anywhere in the world, via the Internet and their web browser. By simply clicking on the "Click-to-Talk" icon located on www.langhamhotels.com/langhamplace/hongkong, guests will be in direct contact with the hotel's 24/7 service center. During pre-opening, the Hotel's service centre will operate under regular office hours.
"With one of the most exciting locations in Hong Kong, Langham Place Hotel is thrilled to partner with CrystalVoice to provide our clients with state-of-the-art Voice over Internet communication technology," said Brett Butcher, Managing Director for Langham Place Hotel. "After a thorough evaluation and in conjunction with our IT Consultant -- Pertlink Limited, we found no peer to CrystalVoice's flexibility, quality and overall value proposition. The integration of Click-to-Talk demonstrates our vision for providing the highest quality hotel experience incorporating the very latest in service technology.
Without CrystalVoice, quality of service remains a limiting factor for calls over the Internet. CrystalVoice provides consistent, full-duplex, business quality voice capabilities that are far more personal and efficient than "text chat" solutions or call back systems. For Langham Place Hotel, CrystalVoice is deploying a customizable Click-to-Talk solution that utilizes the hotel's Cisco CallManager IP phone system, enabling calls to be directed to specific departments such as room reservations, conference and banquet sales and the Chuan Spa, so facilities can be reserved or inquires fielded instantly and conveniently.
"Recognizing that the foundation of the hospitality industry is built upon service, we are excited to provide communications solutions that enable premier property owners such as Langham Hotels the ability to provide leading edge services for hotel guests and employees," said Steve Zola, President and CEO for CrystalVoice. "The integration of our solution further validates CrystalVoice's leadership in providing software that delivers clear, high-quality voice communications. Our relationship with Langham Hotels reinforces our position as a leader in Internet voice communications for enterprises around the globe."
CrystalVoice's Click-to-Talk product provides the opportunity for visitors to a web site to click a button and be immediately connected to the resource they need -- over the Internet. The destination may be an agent at a contact center, an after hours support line, a remote agent, a connection to a collaborative teleconference or any number of others that are best supported by instantaneous voice communication.
NOTE TO EDITORS -- A press conference and live demonstration will be held today, June 9, 2004 at the Langham Place Hotel, Mongkok, Hong Kong at 15:00.
About Langham Place Hotel, Mongkok, Hong Kong
The 665-room, 42-storey Langham Place Hotel, Mongkok, Hong Kong, to be located in the vibrant heart of urban Mongkok opens in Summer 2004. The first new five-star hotel to open in Kowloon in a decade, the Langham Place Hotel forms the centrepiece of a mega 1.8 million sq ft development, Langham Place, which encompasses the high energy 300-shop mall and a 59-storey Grade A office tower.
The Langham Place Hotel is managed by Langham Hotels International which is a dynamic, modern hospitality ownership and management company which operates a number of luxury hotels and serviced apartment properties in prime locations within Hong Kong and overseas.
Its parent company is the publicly listed Great Eagle Holdings Ltd., which was founded in 1963 and was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1972.
Properties managed and operated by Langham Hotels International in Hong Kong include the luxury Langham Hotel, Hong Kong, the Langham Place Hotel (the above mentioned five star property in Mongkok due to open in 2004), the superior Eaton Hotel, three Eaton House serviced apartment buildings and the Yat Tung Heen Chinese Restaurants.
Other overseas properties owned by the Group -- in addition to the hotels in Melbourne and Auckland which will be rebranded under the Langham flag in 2005 -- include the Langham Hotel, London in England, the Langham Hotel, Boston in the US; and the Four Diamond rated Delta Chelsea Hotel, Toronto, Canada.
About CrystalVoice
CrystalVoice Communications is the leading provider of Voice over the Internet software solutions. CrystalVoice's award-winning enterprise products include Remote Extension, Click-to-Talk, and Interoffice Voice Trunking. CrystalVoice is a Cisco(r) AVVID (Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data) Technology partner and a member of the 3Com(r) VoIP Solution Provider Program. The company's voice solutions have universal compatibility with common telephony and collaborative platforms. Headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, CrystalVoice has developed leading edge technology to enable clear, reliable voice to be transmitted over the Internet. CrystalVoice provides applications for enterprise communications, e-commerce, customer relationship management, conferencing, distance learning and enhanced telephone services. The CrystalVoice website is www.CrystalVoice.com.