Broadwing Lands $18-Mil Hotel High-Tech Deal

AUSTIN-Broadwing Communications Inc., an Austin-based broadband company, has a deal to provide networking services for reservations and business processes to 1,700 hotels in the United States.

Broadwing’s deal is with Hotel Net Inc., a provider of Internet-based reservations software based in Phoenix. The agreement could be worth as much as $18 million.

Hotel Net will use Broadwing’s frame relay network and high-speed Internet access to provide reservation and credit card processing services for Best Western locations, Executive Inns, Hawthorne Suites, TravelLodges, Days Inns, Super 8s, Clarions and Independent Resort sites throughout the U.S. Broadwing’s frame relay services will enable the hotels to receive data, voice, video and other multimedia traffic within one network.

Broadwing Communications operates an 18,500-mile optical network. Broadwing Inc., formed with the merger of Cincinnati Bell and IXC Communications, has 6,400 employees.

Hotel Net has been developing hotel property management systems since 1983. The company’s technologies support real-time, transaction-based requirements.