DALLAS (Sept. 24, 2002) - Reinforcing the company’s mission of exceeding guests’ expectations, the La Quinta Corporation announces the launch of its redesigned loyalty program, La Quinta Returns®. New and current members now earn points based on dollars spent and redeem them for airline miles, free night certificates and a multitude of unique rewards, including a choice of gift certificates for use at more than 150 retailers and restaurants.
The new La Quinta Returns guest loyalty program is the result of more than a year’s worth of research and interviews with program members, hotel guests and general managers. As a result, the new program makes life on the road and at home more enjoyable, allowing members to begin redeeming their points much sooner and reach top tier membership levels faster than under most other hotel loyalty programs. Additionally, members can now enjoy instant online redemption and point transfers between family members in the same household.
“We have always realized the value of maintaining our core of frequent, repeat guests,” said Francis W. “Butch” Cash, president and chief executive officer of La Quinta Corporation. “We are confident the enhanced services and benefits we’re now offering will entice new members to join our program, while also more effectively rewarding the more than 500,000 members who continue to remain loyal to La Quinta. Based on our initial feedback, we feel the new La Quinta Returns program rivals and surpasses most of the loyalty programs in the limited-service hotel segment.”
While the previous program was based on the accrual of credits to only earn free room nights, the new La Quinta Returns program allows members to earn points that can be redeemed for a variety of rewards, in addition to free night certificates. Specifically, La Quinta Returns members can redeem points for:
*Airline miles from American Airlines® AAdvantage®, Delta SkyMiles® and Continental Airlines OnePass®.
*Certificates/gift cards for use at national retailers and restaurants, including Chili’s®, Target® and The Home Depot®.
*Tickets to professional sporting events including the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Coyotes, Atlanta Hawks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
*Passes to entertainment venues, including jazz clubs, comedy clubs, amusement parks and rounds of golf at 1,600 resorts across the country.
Under the new program, all members are assigned to three distinct benefit categories, Silver, Gold and Elite based on their level of participation in the program. In addition to many of the member benefits consistent with the previous program, the new program now includes services, such as express check-in, late check-out and secure account access via the Internet. Gold level members receive additional benefits, including bonus points and room upgrades, while Elite level members receive these benefits as well as in-room welcome gifts, guaranteed availability up to 48 hours prior to arrival and no blackout dates for free night certificates.
For more details or to enroll in the new La Quinta Returns guest loyalty program, guests can go online at www.LQ.com/returns, call the La Quinta Returns Service Center at 1-800-642-4258 or visit the front desk at any La Quinta hotel.

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