MANHATTAN’S LANDMARK JUMEIRAH ESSEX HOUSE STREAMLINES ITS RESERVATION BOOKING SYSTEM WITH NEW CALL CENTER

OPERATED BY VIRTUAL-AGENT SERVICES

New York, N.Y., January 4, 2007 – Manhattan’s fabled Jumeirah Essex House, located on prestigious Central Park South, introduces its new call center operated by Shaumburg, Illinois-based Virtual-Agent Services (VAS), a high quality customer care service provider, in an effort to streamline its booking reservation system, including call volume, call times and operations.  VAS currently has 19 call centers in Canada and one in Milan, Italy. 

The center handling calls for the Jumeirah Essex House is located in Hillsborough, New Brunswick, Canada and recently opened in November 2006.  VAS currently employs over 1,000 agents with approximately 50 employees based at the Hillsborough center.  All of VAS’ centers range in size from 30-100 workstations.  VAS’ model is based on smaller centers located in rural communities tapping into untargeted, experienced labor.

The Hillsborough center will provide the Jumeirah Essex House with 24/7 support for overflow calls and outside operation hours by trained call center agents that adhere and follow all call standards.  The hotel will enjoy VAS’ vast array of benefits including the center’s proximity in the North American market, extensive and reliable telephone lines, technical support on-site, reporting on call volumes, call times, conversation, etc.  Plus, VAS is working on the same system as in-house reservations is, enabling to provide the same information to guests.  Another notable benefit is that the center is able to make bookings for call-in groups, promotions, etc.

VAS’ technology innovation has been recognized through the media and a variety of industry awards including ContactCenterWorld.com’s Best of the Best Award in the Americas. The Distributed Workforce Concept was a silver award winner in the World Awards presented in Las Vegas on November 8, 2006.

VAS currently provides inbound voice services to a number of high profile clients including CenterPoint Energy Minnesota Gas, Luxury Resorts, Admiral Insurance, Roadside Protect, TravelCLICK, Passkey International, Morgans Hotel Group, Dolce International, and Luxe Worldwide Hotels.

About Jumeirah Essex House
The 515-room Jumeirah Essex House is currently celebrating its 75th anniversary.  This historic New York City hotel, with a coveted Central Park address, is ideally located in the heart of Manhattan.  Jumeirah Essex House is part of the Dubai-based luxury international hospitality group Jumeirah and sister to the world’s most luxurious hotel, Burj Al Arab.  Features of the hotel include breathtaking views, unrivalled conference and banqueting facilities and top dining options including the renowned Sunday brunch at Café Botanica, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant.  The Jumeirah Essex House is a recipient of the AAA Four-Diamond Award for 2006 and most recently awarded New York’s Leading Business Hotel at the 13th World Travel Awards, voted by travel agents worldwide.  Other hotels in the Group’s portfolio include Jumeirah Carlton Tower and Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel in London, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Jumeirah Beach Club Resort and Spa, Madinat Jumeirah and Jumeirah Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa in Dubai. For reservations, please call Jumeirah Essex House toll free at 1-888-645-5697 or visit www.jumeirah.com

About Jumeirah
Jumeirah properties are regarded as among the most luxurious and innovative in the world and have won numerous international travel and tourism awards. The Dubai-based luxury hospitality group encompasses the Jumeirah Carlton Tower and Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel in London as well as the Dubai portfolio: the world renowned Burj Al Arab, the world’s most luxurious hotel; the multi-award winning Jumeirah Beach Hotel; Jumeirah Emirates Towers; Jumeirah Beach Club Resort and Spa; Madinat Jumeirah and Jumeirah Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa. 
The group’s activities are however, not restricted to hotel and resort management. The Jumeirah portfolio also includes Wild Wadi, regarded as one of the premier water parks outside of North America and The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, the region’s only third level academic institution specializing in the hospitality and tourism sectors.
For further information, visit the website at www.jumeirah.com.

About Virtual-Agent Services
Virtual-Agent Services (www.vagent.com), a privately held company headquartered in Schaumburg, IL, is a unique provider of contact center solutions for today's demanding customer care industry. VAS services a wide range of industries including logistics, banking, retail and catalog sales, travel and hospitality, insurance, and utility services. VAS provides a variety of support options that include inbound sales and customer service, customer account maintenance, credit management, and reservation services. VAS’ efforts have earned the company numerous accolades, including recognition from both Entrepreneur and Inc. magazines and a number of prestigious awards.