CHRON's Affiliate, Zen Technologies, Announces Partnership with Major Hospitality Groups

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwired - Mar 8, 2017) - Zen Technologies, Inc. (Zen), a wholly-owned subsidiary of The CHRON Organization, Inc. (OTC: CHRO), announced today that it has entered into the first stage in a partnership agreement with three of the nation's leading hotel franchisers. The group is led by the Houston-based, Ameristar Hospitality Group and represents more than 300 hotels owned between the three groups. The plan is to offer and implement the Zen Zero-Cost Program™ to the three hotel groups, who collectively own more than 300 hotels. The first stage commenced this week and includes the implementation of Zen's products and services for a pre-selected 10 hotels. This first group will serve as a case study and help to generate marketing materials that will be useful in further targeting the hospitality industry.

The hotels range in size from 50 rooms, to as many as 500 rooms, with the majority falling into the latter range. Some of the solutions Zen provides include smart thermostats, motor controls, LED lighting and ozone-water treatments systems, to name a few. One case study by EcoTex showed that the implementation of the ozone water treatment system achieved more than 30 percent in annual savings of laundry expenses, one of the largest expenses in the industry. Smart controls are especially beneficial to the hospitality industry because unlike in the average commercial business, hotel management cannot control how much energy is used in each individual room.

"Based on the first few site surveys we've conducted, we're estimating that we will be able to save these hotels between 30 and 40 percent of their annual utility costs," said Zen VP of Business Development, Jeff-Bay Andersen. "These groups have done business both nationally and worldwide and we are so excited to have them as partners moving forward."

According to Energy Star, the hospitality industry spends more than $7.5 billion on energy annually and reducing usage by a little as 10 percent across the industry could not only save $750 million, but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 million tons. Through this strategic partnership with Zen and the Zero-Cost Program™, hotels can capitalize on energy savings simply through the installation of LED lighting, occupancy sensors, attachable motor controls and more all without paying anything out-of-pocket or incurring any new liabilities to balance sheets.

"Energy efficiency is something that has long plagued the hospitality industry, however it was not until we discovered Zen that we found a turn-key solution that would allow us to save money without inconveniencing any of our guests," said Ameristar President Michael Usadayan. "We are so thrilled to have found a group like Zen that shares our vision of smarter, greener solutions."

In April, both Bay-Andersen and CHRON CEO Alex Rodriguez will be attending a trade show in San Antonio hosted by the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, one of the fastest-growing organizations in the hospitality industry. Owners representing more than 20,000 hotels will be in attendance and Zen's management team is very much looking forward to this event, as well as attending similar trade shows in the future to establish a presence in the hospitality industry.

"This is a major client for us and what excites me most about the Zero Cost Program™ is the mutually rewarding nature of the transaction," Rodriguez commented. "The client wins by significantly reducing their operating expenses at zero cost, Zen of course wins through the revenues associated with this powerful offering -- and of course, the environment wins big through the decreased use of electricity, natural gas and water." 

This also will provide synergistic opportunities for Enertrade Electric, LLC, the Company's Retail Electric Provider, to offer advanced commercial electricity monthly service plans to the hotels in the three groups that are located in Texas, some of which have annual electricity bills currently in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

ABOUT ZEN TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Zen Technologies, Inc. (Zen) is a next-generation technology company committed to bringing all the benefits of the "Smart Home" to millions of homeowners and apartment dwellers across the US, at an affordable price. Zen provides consumers a custom suite of products and services to enrich their lifestyle, however they want. Zen offers home automation, security monitoring, and energy conservation services, so families and individuals can connect to their home to perform everyday functions from the comfort and convenience of their smartphones or internet-connected smart devices. Zen combines our exclusive and customizable product solutions with green energy services, which allows our consumers to save money on their monthly energy costs, while reducing their long-term carbon footprint. To learn more, visit www.livewithzen.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "should," "intend," "estimate," "projects," variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not a forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements are based upon the company's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the company's filings at www.OTCMarkets.com.