Thistle Hotels, one of London’s largest hotel companies, has chosen London-based Utell, the world’s largest third-party provider of representation, reservations and marketing services to the hotel industry1, for voice and Internet representation. The agreement covers bookings by telephone through the worldwide network of Utell reservation offices and via the Internet at www.hotelbook.com, Utell’s online bookable Web site. Utell is one of several services acquired by Dallas-based Pegasus Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: PEGS) through its recent acquisition of REZsolutions.

With this new agreement, Thistle Hotels is the first hotel group to take advantage of service offerings across the spectrum of Pegasus Solutions, as the company is known following the acquisition of REZsolutions. Thistle is connected to the global distribution systems (GDS) via Pegasus’ Electronic Distribution switch, allowing Thistle’s hotels to be booked by travel agencies around the world, using the GDS code TI. Thistle’s new Web site at www.thistlehotels.com is Powered by Pegasus?, allowing consumers around the world to make online, real-time bookings at all of Thistle’s hotels.

Thistle Hotels, with 23 properties (6,349 rooms) in London, operates hotels in some of the city’s best locations, including: the Thistle Tower in the City with views of Tower Bridge and The Tower of London; the Thistle Charing Cross on the Strand, close to Trafalgar Square; and the Thistle Marble Arch, overlooking Oxford Street. There are 33 additional Thistle properties in the United Kingdom, bringing the Thistle portfolio to 56 hotels. Thistle’s hotels are located in most business centers, including Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle, as well as in resort areas, such as Grasmere in the Lake District and Brighton on the South Coast.

“We are delighted to have Utell represent our international voice reservations,” said Tony Dangerfield, sales and marketing director for Thistle Hotels. “Utell’s global reach, and particularly its strength in Asia Pacific, should help us solidify our presence in what is very much a target market for us. We are looking to increase business traffic from Australia and Japan and feel that the arrangement with Utell will be a beneficial partnership for all concerned.”

“We are very happy to welcome Thistle Hotels. Its extensive portfolio, particularly in London, will significantly enhance the quantity, style and range of accommodation that we can offer our travel trade customers across London and the U.K.,” commented Mike Prager, Utell’s senior vice president and managing director. “We are also delighted that, as a result of the Utell acquisition by Pegasus Solutions, we are able to offer Thistle Hotels an end-to-end representation and distribution solution all under one roof.”

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