LodgeNet Realigns Into Three Divisions

LodgeNet Interactive Corp. -- Hotels, 8/27/2008 3:34:00 PM

LodgeNet Interactive Corp. will be realigning its organization around its three key business units:  Hospitality, Healthcare and The Hotel Networks. As part of this realignment, its operations addressing the hospitality and healthcare markets will be organized into two divisions. The Hotel Networks, the media marketing division, will continue to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.

"As our company continues to grow and evolve, we believe we can best enhance shareholder value by creating more tightly integrated teams with a clear focus on driving results within the markets they serve," said Scott C. Petersen, Chairman and CEO of LodgeNet.  "We believe we have outstanding opportunities to create increased shareholder value within our hospitality, healthcare and media marketing businesses, and this new organizational structure will enhance our ability to deliver innovative new solutions to our current and prospective customers more quickly and effectively."

As part of this new organizational structure, Scott E. Young has been named President of the Hospitality division.  He presently serves as Chief Marketing Officer of the Company, a position he will retain in the new organization.  In his new role, Mr. Young will be responsible for all aspects of the day-to-day management of the Company's Hospitality business division, which spans more than 1.9 million hotel rooms within 9,900 hotel properties. Mr. Young will be charged with driving emerging growth opportunities in Hospitality such as Broadband Solutions and Professional Solutions, as well as managing the company's core Interactive Media business in Hospitality.  In support of this new role, Young will now have responsibility for the company's Technical Operations functions, in addition to Sales, Marketing, Programming, Product Management and Content Licensing.

Mr. Young joined the LodgeNet organization in August 2006 after seven years at Best Buy Corporation, during which time he held the positions of Vice President Entertainment, BestBuy.com; Vice President Merchandising, Music; and Vice President of Digital Entertainment.  Mr. Young received his undergraduate degree at Yale University and has an MBA from UCLA.

"The Hospitality Industry continues to evolve to meet growing guest expectations for media and connectivity, and LodgeNet is positioned to be the leader in providing these solutions now and in the future," said Mr. Young. "I am energized by the challenge that these opportunities represent, and look forward to working with our team and our industry partners as we continue our transformation, leveraging our company's assets to build and deliver profitable new solutions that meet the growing needs of the industry."

With the creation of the Hospitality division, the Company also announced that Steven R. Pofahl has been promoted to General Manager of Hospitality Operations.  Mr. Pofahl, who joined LodgeNet in 1998, is presently Senior Vice President of Technical Operations.  In his new role, Mr. Pofahl will report to Mr. Young and will be responsible for all operational aspects of the Company's Hospitality business including technical, media and account management.