History
Print and technology. They are as natural of a fit as ham and eggs or Hewlett and Packard. That’s why we made the strategic decision to merge Uniguest and U.S. Hospitality in 2009. Our two companies have been closely linked for years, successfully serving the same industries. Uniguest delivered great technology and public computing services and solutions. U.S. Hospitality offered superb printing products and services.
As hoped, the combination of our two brands is greater than the sum of their parts. For the future, we look forward to continued growth and the expansion of our offerings in public computing, digital signage, commercial digital printing and strategic advertising opportunities for the lodging, healthcare and restaurant industries.
A History of the U.S. Hospitality Brand
For more than two decades, U.S. Hospitality has been a specialty publisher for the hospitality industry. Founded in 1986 by Mark and Sharon Oldham in Huntsville, Ala., the company moved to Nashville in 1987. Products included hotel/resort guest directories, keycards, TV channel stands, menus, event/wedding planner guides, visitor guides and apartment/condo guides. The corporate office served as the central location for all of its print work. With nearly 60 independent Affiliate Publishers nationwide, U.S. Hospitality was able to connect its print products with advertisers looking for valuable space.
U.S. Hospitality’s sales and distribution increased so significantly (a 1,254% growth rate in five years), the hotel industry and business world began to take notice. It was named one of America’s fastest-growing privately held companies in the 1990s by Inc. magazine.
A History of the Uniguest Brand
The year was 1999 and dial-up Internet still reigned supreme. But finding access while staying in a hotel was difficult. Entrepreneur Shawn Thomas and a few associates had the idea to take a home application, WebTV, and install it in hotel guest rooms. After several successful installations, broadband Internet hit the world. A dramatic shift was about to take place.
Shawn’s early company was finished. Instead of giving up, Shawn dusted himself off and started researching ideas for a new business. In 2002, Uniguest was born. It would supply and service computer workstations for the hotel industry. By the end of 2004, Uniguest was servicing 111 hotel properties throughout the U.S. and had become the largest supplier and servicing company for free-to-guest public PCs in the hotel industry.
In early 2005, with a large contract about to be executed with a major hotel brand, Mark Oldham of U.S. Hospitality purchased 51 percent of Uniguest. That summer, Uniguest executed an “industry-first” contract with Embassy Suites Hotels in which Uniguest would sell and install the newly created BusinessLink™ by Embassy Suites business center solution in all Embassy Suites hotels. This announcement sparked interest by many brands and individual hotels. Uniguest ended 2005 servicing more than 279 hotels throughout the U.S., a 251 percent increase in year-to-year growth. Uniguest secured its position as the leading supplier and servicing provider for free-to-guest automated public PC workstations in the United States. Uniguest has become the preferred vendor for many hotel brands, implemented many industry-first features and continues to set the mark for high levels of customer service. Currently, Uniguest supports the largest network of public computer systems in the U.S. with nearly 6,000 locations.
