Newsletter -August 14, 2002  

Cendant buys Lodging.com

Cendant Corporation (NYSE:CD) today announced that it has acquired Lodging.com. Lodging.com is a leading and growing online hotel reservation travel site, generating approximately 115,000 hotel reservations per month predominantly through its network of web sites as well as through its call center at 888-LODGING. The transaction is expected to be accretive to earnings but not material to Cendant. The consideration paid was in the form of cash.

Providing its growing customer base with access to both discounted and regularly published lodging rates, Lodging.com spans more than 500 markets, primarily concentrated in North America and the Caribbean. Lodging.com offers unpublished, discounted rates at approximately 3,000 hotels. Through its affiliate program, Lodging.com has partnered with over 2,500 travel-related Internet sites. Lodging.com will further broaden Cendant's marketing of discounted hotel rooms to consumers and travel agencies as it is integrated into Cendant's Travel Distribution Division.

"This acquisition fits perfectly into Cendant's Travel Distribution strategy as it gives us immediate access to additional discounted lodging merchant inventory, great technology and long-term lodging partnerships while providing a platform on which to grow," said Samuel L. Katz, chairman and CEO of Cendant's Travel Distribution Division. "We expect Lodging.com to increase annual bookings across all travel brands, provide discounted deals for customers that can be cross-marketed through other Cendant businesses and affiliates, expand our agencies' and Galileo's non-air distribution, and deliver more attractive offerings to the desktops of Galileo travel agencies."

It is expected that Lodging.com will add Cendant's global vacation rental, timeshare and RCI Holiday Network inventory as well as continue to add other hotel partner inventory into its rapidly growing portfolio of well-known lodging brands. Lodging.com will also become the preferred hotel distribution partner of Trip Network, Inc., an independent Cendant affiliate, providing even greater lodging discounts to Trip.com and Cheaptickets.com customers. It is further expected that Galileo travel agencies and their customers will gain access to Lodging.com's discounted lodging inventory.

"Adding Lodging.com to Cendant's growing list of hotel distribution and services businesses is yet another great value-add service to our lodging suppliers, who receive the benefit of a new effective and flexible distribution channel," said Sam E. Galeotos, president and CEO of Galileo International, who assumed this post and operational oversight of all Cendant's Travel Distribution businesses last week. "We are excited to incorporate the expertise and entrepreneurial spirit of Lodging.com's management team as an integral part of our distribution business."

"We are excited to become part of Cendant and its innovative and growing Travel Distribution Division," said Carl Marbach, president of Lodging.com. "We've been diligent in establishing a successful business model by providing flexible, consistent and quality services for our customers and suppliers that we expect will only improve with the power and experience of Cendant."

Richard Lewis to join Summit Hotels & Resorts as Managing Director

Summit Hotels & Resorts has today announced that Richard Lewis, formerly Chief Operating Officer for WorldRes Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), will be joining the luxury international hotel group as Managing Director, as of September 2nd 2002.

As Managing Director of Summit Hotels & Resorts, Lewis will direct the development of the global brand and assume responsibility for driving business into the portfolio of 160 independent luxury properties.  One of his chief remits will be to oversee the growth of the portfolio (which has recently seen the addition of hotel members such as The Eton Group in the UK and Estanplaza Hotels in Brazil, and to continue the development of Summit’s QXL quality assurance programme introduced earlier this year.

Lewis has spent 25 years in senior management roles throughout the world, including key positions with Forte Hotels and CNN International.  As Chief Operating Officer (EMEA) of WorldRes, he was instrumental in developing and implementing the company’s business strategy.

Lewis will report to Peter Cass, President and Chief Executive Officer of IndeCorp, Summit’s parent company.  Mr Cass states: “Richard Lewis will bring strong leadership skills and experience to Summit Hotels & Resorts at an important time. His background, which includes reservations and distribution technology, hotel operations, account based marketing and advertising, coupled with strong leadership skills, will serve Summit and its members well as they move forward with new branding initiatives and the expansion of their marketing and sales services.”

Richard Lewis said: “I look forward with great enthusiasm to the challenge of developing the Summit brand and establishing it as a global leader for luxury independent hotels. My aim is to ensure that Summit remains at the forefront of the independent hotel business, offering the choice and unique experience that so many travellers are seeking today.  We will continue to work with the travel trade, and the consumer and to develop our Internet presence to ensure that our members benefit from the reservation and marketing capabilities Summit will bring them.”

Legacy Hotels Boss Bruno Corte dies

Dispatch Online…-  Bruno Corte, one of South Africa's foremost hotel businessmen, was shot dead in cold blood during a botched robbery on Saturday night.

Corte, 59, who was managing director of Legacy Hotels, the chain that owns the posh Michelangelo Hotel in Sandton, was murdered while shopping at Woolworths at a shopping centre in Melville.

His daughter Nicola said Corte and his wife Gail had gone shopping together.

''My mother was at the till paying, while my father was packing stuff into bags with his back to the door.

''My mother said someone ordered everyone to lie down and the cashier to open the till. When she looked up she saw a man pointing a gun at my father. The gunman fired quite a few times and my dad collapsed,'' said Nicola.

Police spokesperson Captain Mashadi Selepe said Corte had been shot in the cheek, chest and stomach by the robbers, who fled empty-handed.

Police have offered a "substantial" reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the men, who fled the scene in a Toyota Corolla.

Nicola described her father as a fair and intelligent man who had been dedicated to his family.

"He was one of those people who was truly great, whom you seldom meet. He had a presence you would not forget, even if you met him once," she said.

Corte studied at a Swiss hotel school after matriculating at Pretoria Boys' High School. He spent 23 years at Southern Sun hotels, 10 of them as managing director of the hotel chain.

Nicola said her mother was devastated by the loss of a man she had known for 41 years, and to whom she had been married for 33 years.

She said the family had not yet had time to be angered by their father's callous murder.

Corte is survived by his wife, four children and three grandchildren  

New tourism council for Thailand

TravelWeeklyEast.com   -  A new central tourism council has been set up in Thailand to support the private sector and to promote new initiatives aimed at shaping government policy for travel related business.

Vichit na Ranong, chairman of the new Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT), said the agency would be Thailand's first true representative of the private sector, representing the problems of private operators at all levels.

"We aim to be an integrated body that represents all areas of the tourism industry. Our main aim, of course, will be to support the private sector, but secondly to support the national goal and the government's tourism policy, so that the whole industry can work together," Vichit told TravelWeekly.

Temporary offices of the TCT have already been set up at the Tourism Authority of Thailand's (TAT) Bangkok headquarters on Ratchadapisek Road, where Vichit said the council would be able to work "hand in hand" with the TAT to develop new travel policy initiatives.

In addition the TCT would provide consultancy services for tourism-related companies, with particular focus on small and medium-sized operators.

A "Tourism Clinic" would be set up to provide investors with vital information on fund raising, business management and marketing issues.

Vichit said he hoped to secure initial funding for the TCT from the government, but would also be looking at fund-raising schemes to secure a reasonable budget.

A veteran of the travel industry, Vichit is also chairman of the Pearl hotel group, which owns two hotels in Phuket.

Philippine’s Hotel occupancy climbs to 60.6%

BusinessWorld  -   Summer is a time of merriment for hotels and tourist spots in the Philippines, this being the peak of arrival of foreign visitors in the country. It is also the season when local residents are in for a nice, warm vacation.

Thus, it is not surprising that the 60.63% average hotel occupancy rate of accredited hotels in Metro Manila from January to May 2002 had climbed 4.09 percentage points from the 58.25% rate during the same period in 2001, latest data from the Department of Tourism showed.

However, for the five-month period, overall average length of stay of guests deteriorated 8.21% to only 2.57 nights from 2.8 nights in 2001.

Among the four hotel classes, only deluxe hotels and standard hotels recorded increases in occupancy.

Occupancy rate of deluxe hotels from January to May 2002 went up 6.28 percentage points to an average rate of 64.46% from 60.65% in the comparable period a year ago. However, average length of stay of guests was only 2.55 nights, down slightly by 1.54% from 2.59 nights in 2001.

The number of deluxe hotels for the period was unchanged but room supply decreased as the average number only totaled 6,520 rooms, 7.53% lower from the average 7,051 rooms a year ago.

On the other hand, first-class hotels experienced the largest decline in occupancy rate as this averaged only 57.79%, down 4.65 percentage points from the 60.61% a year before. The 12.32% decrease in average length of stay was also the highest. Guests only stayed for an average of 3.13 nights, down from the 3.57 nights last year.

The weakened performance of first-class hotels owed to the fact that competition has grown. The number of first-class hotels increased 60% while room supply went up 29.27%.

Meanwhile, the average occupancy rate of standard hotels was 56.55%, stepping 6.04 percentage points up from the 53.33% level in 2001. Despite this, clients only stayed for an average of 2.52 nights, shorter by 11.27% from the 2.84-night stay a year before.

The number of standard hotels from January to May this year only numbered 33 from 34 a year ago, while number of rooms inched up 0.2% to a total of 2,967 rooms from 2,961 rooms a year before.

Economy hotels recorded a slight decrease of 0.59 percentage point in occupancy rate to 42.09%, from the 42.34% level it registered a year ago. Similarly, the 2.21 nights average stay of guests was 11.95% lower than the 2.51 nights average in 2001.

There were only six economy hotels for the period, down from seven hotels a year ago. Likewise, room supply decreased 8.4%, down to an average of 360 rooms from 393 rooms a year earlier.

For the five-month period, occupancy rate was highest in April as the overall average rate reached 63.06%. Meanwhile, the total surge in growth rate was brought about by the 14.3-percentage-point occupancy increase in May. Occupancy rates declined in February and March before recovering again in April and May.

For the month of May alone, all deluxe hotels, except Hyatt Regency Manila and the Manila Hotel, registered positive growth rates compared to their last year's level.

Mandarin Oriental Manila was the most preferred as it registered the highest occupancy rate of 91% and the longest stay of guests with an average of 4.02 nights.

Meanwhile, Makati Shangri-La Manila, with an 81.2% occupancy rate, ranked second and recorded the highest growth rate of 108.15%, followed by Edsa Shangri-La Hotel and the Peninsula Manila with 43.63% and 41.4% growth rates, respectively.

Of the eight first-class hotels that operated during the month, Great Eastern hotel recorded the highest occupancy level of 84.7% and the largest growth rate of 225.14%, followed by Traders Hotel Manila and Manila Midtown Hotel, with 69% and 67% occupancy rates, respectively.

Of the 33 standard hotels, Kabayan Hotel, the new addition to the list, lodged the highest occupancy of 94%. Best Western Hotel La Corona and Herald Suites followed with a similar 87% occupancy rate.

For economy hotels, Jade Vine Executive Inn, with occupancy of 83%, was still the most favored, followed by Swagman Hotel and El Cielito Hotel.

Source: Department of Tourism

Source: Department of Tourism

TravelCLICK Advises Hotels to Face Challenging Budget Period Head-On

Company Offers Low/No-Cost Ideas for Generating Revenue

Chicago (August 12, 2002) -- TravelCLICK, the leading provider of digital media and data solutions to the travel industry, today released advice to hotels for facing the challenging budget period head on, providing a list of marketing "must-do's" for every hotelier.

"The sluggish economy and lowered occupancies are especially challenging for hoteliers as they are tasked with streamlining their marketing budgets for 2003," said Bruce W. Mainzer, senior vice president of marketing for TravelCLICK. "We are advising our clients that regardless of their funding levels for next year's marketing and advertising budgets, there are opportunities to increase their hotels' competitiveness and revenue."

TravelCLICK provides the following recommendations.

1. Review Your Presence in All Electronic Channels. Many hoteliers have never viewed their property's appearance on the GDS or on key Internet travel sites. Often, the information is outdated, incorrect, or doesn't list recent improvements made to the hotel.

Since these are point-of-sale mediums, providing correct information translates immediately into new bookings. Do your annual GDS/Internet checkup and ensure that your hotel is properly referenced to key locations in the area (such as distances to attractions and airports), and that your property description is current. TravelCLICK local sales experts are available to assist properties in fixing listings on the GDS and on the Internet. 

2.   Move Traditional Print Dollars to Electronic Marketing.  You can re-allocate dollars traditionally spent on print ads, brochures, and sales kits to electronic venues such as Web sites, email campaigns and GDS media; and yield greater results at a fraction of the cost. TravelCLICK research shows that more than 50% of all transient hotel customers are now using the Internet or the GDS to research and gather information about hotels.

Moreover, e-commerce channels are continuing to grow in importance for determining hotel choices as well as for booking hotel rooms.

3.   Take Advantage of Lowered Marketing Costs to Attract Groups.  Meeting planners and Fortune 1000 corporations are quickly adopting Web-based tools, and electronic group bookings are increasing at a rapid pace. Meeting planners prefer the ease of online research and RFP management that Web sites like StarCite.com offer. Hoteliers who have been proactive in these electronic marketing channels have increased RFPs four-fold versus hoteliers who are passive.

4.   Know What Your Competition is Doing.  With the vast amount of information available through the e-commerce channels, consumers are boss - and they know it.  Staying on top of your competitor's pricing and availability gives you one more edge.

In addition to competitive benchmarking data at the property level, TravelCLICK offers hoteliers free market-level information on their Web site, http://www.travelclick.net. This information is always updated with the most recent booking data for each local market.

5.   Acknowledge Your Customers' Online Savvy.  There will be an estimated 320 million Web users by year end - nearly fives times more than there were in 1997 - and travel is the largest revenue category on the Internet. Hotels are the fastest growing segment in this category.

"Make all of your retail inventory available on the Internet and the GDS. You'll get better yields and surprise yourself at how much more retail inventory you can sell through your own Web site, GDSs, and third party Web sites," said Mainzer. "Whatever you do - don't restrict your Web presence to your net rate inventory. This will only further erode your yield, and encourage your customers to book with net rate wholesalers, instead of buying from you directly through electronic channels." 

"These simple actions will help boost revenue share for the majority of hotels who pay attention and respond to consumer demands," said Mainzer.

"The good news is that there are budget-conscious resources available for hoteliers who want to work to get solutions and maximize their revenue performance, while at the same time control their marketing costs." 

TravelCLICK consultants are poised to offer guidance in each of these areas. More information, including case studies and examples of how these strategies have worked in your market, is available on www.travelclick.net,

China's hotels graded by environmental standard 

(Xinhua) --The benchmark of eco-efficient hotels are under way in China and the first group of green hotels and restaurants with eco logo will receive their certification this September, China Daily reported Monday.

Five grades have been set up from one A to five As, according to the new category adopted by the China Hotel Association in this June.

The classification for green hotels or eco-efficient hotels provides a benchmark on hotel's environmental performance rather than their facilities and service quality as the hotel star rating describes.

New evaluation items cover energy use, water and waste gas emission, air quality and prevention of fire and food poisoning.

The newspaper quoted Zhang Jun, assistant president of the association as saying, "Environmental concerns among travelers are growing worldwide."

He said the new standard aims to provide hoteliers with a green management system to minimize resource consumption and reduce environmental impact, "which may save money while saving the environment."

The standard is expected to lower operational costs of hotels and improve their public images.