Strengthening online presence and direct web distribution with strategic partners
HONG KONG - September 2008 - Preferred Hotel Group partners with one of Asia Pacific's leading travel meta-search engines, Wego.com, to further extend its reach to travelers booking hotels online. Through this partnership, Wego.com will drive online bookers directly to Preferred Hotel Group's brand websites including www.PreferredHotels.com, www.PreferredBoutique.com, www.SummitHotels.com, and www.SterlingHotels.com.
Wego searches across 100+ travel websites in the time that it normally takes to search just one. This partnership will enable Preferred Hotel Group to promote its global portfolio of over 650 independent hotels and resorts to online visitors using Wego.com. Consumers will see the latest pricing and room availabilities for Preferred Hotel Group member properties.
"We recognize the importance of partnerships with vertical search engines as a cost-effective channel to increase our online distribution, as well as promoting brand awareness directly to potential guests. There is no doubt that Wego will assist in significantly increasing our online market share through rate transparency," commented Mark Wong, Vice President, Marketing and Development - Asia Pacific.
Wego Founder & Chief Commercial Officer Craig Hewett said, "We are delighted to be working with Preferred Hotel Group as their portfolio offers our users a selection of the finest independent hotel and resort properties worldwide. This year is set to be a year of great growth for Wego, in terms of new product features and increasing user traffic, all of which are sure to benefit partners like Preferred Hotel Group."
About Preferred Hotel Group
Celebrating 40 years of excellence, Preferred Hotel Group is a global leader in the hospitality industry, delivering high-performance sales, marketing, and technology solutions to more than 650 independent hotels and resorts in over 75 countries. Its family of brands represents a collection of the finest hotels in the world and include: Preferred Hotels® & Resorts (www.PreferredHotels.com), Preferred Boutique? (www.PreferredBoutique.com), Summit Hotels & Resorts? (www.SummitHotels.com), Sterling Hotels? (www.SterlingHotels.com) and Historic Hotels of America? (www.HistoricHotels.org). For more information, please visit www.PreferredHotelGroup.com.
In September 2007, the company entered the luxury real estate market with the launch of Preferred Residences? - a membership and exchange program for luxury shared ownership resorts that provides an exceptional level of service and amenities. Properties are held to exacting standards derived from the same Preferred Global Standards of Excellence? on which the company has built its 40-year heritage in the hospitality industry. For more information, please visit www.PreferredResidences.com.
About Wego.com
Wego.com (formerly Bezurk.com) allows travelers to search for flights, hotels, travel deals and travel research across 100+ travel websites in the time that it normally takes to search just one. Wego searches travel websites in real-time so that the latest pricing and availability are shown. Travelers are then linked through to partner websites to book. Wego.com was founded in 2005 by former executives from Intercontinental Hotels Group, Yahoo!, Priceline and ZUJI. News Digital Media, the Australian digital arm of News Limited and part of News Corp (NYSE: NWS), is an investor. In 2007, Business 2.0 magazine named Bezurk as one of "31 of the world's hottest international web startups." For more information, please visit www.wego.com/about.
