CNG Travel Group, a leading provider of travel
services and technology, announced today that the world’s largest five star luxury
hotel organization, The Leading Hotels of the World, will adopt
CNG’s Travel Lodging Connector Prompt Pay solution to distribute its inventory
of 436 luxury hotels worldwide. Leading Hotels, which generated room revenues of US$412 million for member hotels
whose average room rate is US$346, will provide best available rates for its finest
quality luxury small, resort and stately hotels available in CNG’s inventory of over
17,000 properties. These rooms will be distributed across the TLC platform to
thousands of travel agents and 1,200 affiliate partners, including airlines.

TLC Prompt Pay provides a fast and seamless booking channel between agents’ GDS
systems and links directly into participating hotel reservation systems to provide
real-time booking capabilities and electronic confirmations. Through TLC, agents
gain access to some of the most competitive net hotel rates available, and also
receive above-average commission which CNG collects and pays quickly. This removes a
further accounting and administration burden from hotels.

CNG CEO Finbarr Power commented: “We are delighted to be chosen as a new
distribution channel by Leading Hotels of the World. The popularity of CNG’s
distribution technology is attracting a number of the foremost hotel brands to our
offer, and the addition of Leading Hotels is a significant step forward. Agents
using our TLC Prompt Pay programme, and particularly corporate travel agents, can
now offer their customers the best available rate for an outstanding range of
premium hotels, where first class service is the norm, not an aspiration.”

 

William G. McDonald, a former investment banker with Credit Suisse First Boston and
travel industry expert who is now CEO of Leading Hotels’ joint venture, Leading
Interactive Reservations LLC, added: “In our market niche, quality and excellence
are vital ingredients of our brand proposition, from member hotels to luxury brand
partnerships and added-value services.

 

“With our premium positioning, we recognize that in today’s market, corporate
travelers want three things from their corporate travel agents: A wide choice of
high quality hotels, a quality booking service, and competitive rates. CNG’s
distribution proposition delivers on those requirements and will enable our hotels
to control critical factors like rates and availability, while benefiting from wider
distribution to customers who demand the best. The TLC Prompt Pay model will help
drive sales and market share while protecting our core values.”

 

The luxury hotel sector typified by Leading Hotels provides significant strategic
opportunities for CNG which is strategically focused on the higher value corporate
travel market where booking margins are correspondingly larger. CNG is firmly
entrenched in the corporate travel market through its ownership of the Tzell Travel
corporate agency in New York whose market is higher value air and hotel bookings
that offer greater margins.
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