PARIS, December 10 /PRNewswire/ --

- "The European Technology Award" Won by the Firm's First Client, City Inn, has Confirmed the Impact the 2007 French Start-Up is Having on the Market for Digital Solutions for Business and Leisure in the Hospitality Industry.

The European Hotel Design Awards held just days ago in London turned the spotlight on French company DirectStreams when the Technology Award was handed to its very first client, the City Inn hotel of Manchester. This prize recognises DirectStream's innovative multimedia solutions which give hotel guests in-room access through a single terminal (here, the Apple iMac) to a range of digital services such as HDTV, music (radio, CDs, etc.), movies (DVD, VOD), Internet and more, in a way that is both streamlined and fun to use.

The "digital room" experience offered by DirectStreams in partnership with Apple apparently has a wider fan base than the City Inn and its guests: its elegance and technological excellence have also won over many professionals in the hospitality sector in France and internationally.

1st year in business and 1st award with 1st client!

The City Inn Manchester quickly understood the competitive potential of such a convergent digital solution and was the first facility to entrust DirectStreams with equipping its 285 rooms with "iMac Multimedia Centres". This work and leisure station operating under Mac OSX allows guests to access an entire range of services via a single multimedia portal and screen.

DirectStreams is a young French company that aims for ultimate streamlining in the use of new technologies for business and entertainment.

The most comprehensive in-room entertainment system in the market

"City Inn now offers the most comprehensive in-room entertainment system currently existing in the hospitality market. It is also the most elegant and transparent solution when it comes to billing given that it is fully integrated into the facility's IT system," comments Huw O'Connor, Managing Director of the City Inn Group.

On the heels of this initial success, DirectStreams is counting on expanding its presence and multiplying agreements with new establishments. "Once begun half done" as the saying goes, and given that other hotels in France and abroad have already chosen to be connected to the "all digital" environment offered by the firm, the technology award should only serve to reinforce a trend already underway.

For more information http://www.direct-streams.com

To learn more, please contact us: DirectStreams Valérie Brisswalter Tel: +33(0)1-56-43-76-91 E-mail : vbrisswalter@direct-streams.com Agence PLEON Bastien Rousseau / Mathilde Hurtaud Tel: +33(0)1-53-04-23-53 / 12 E-mail : bastien.rousseau@pleon.com / mathilde.hurtaud@pleon.com

To learn more, please contact us: DirectStreams, Valérie Brisswalter, Tel: +33(0)1-56-43-76-91, E-mail : vbrisswalter@direct-streams.com; Agence PLEON, Bastien Rousseau / Mathilde Hurtaud, Tel: +33(0)1-53-04-23-53 / 12, E-mail : bastien.rousseau@pleon.com / mathilde.hurtaud@pleon.com