SideStep has formed
a marketing partnership with Sol Melia Hotels & Resorts. Through this partnership, SideStep will drive consumers directly to Sol Melia’s Web site, www.solmelia.com, to book their travel.“SideStep offers us a variety of opportunities to market to American
travelers as they plan trips overseas, or to one of our Hard Rock Hotels
here in the United States,” said Ashwin Kamlani, Sol Melia’s director of
distribution. “SideStep reaches millions of avid travelers each month. By
directing these prospects to the Sol Melia Web site, SideStep not only
helps us to further develop our most cost-efficient sales channel, it also
enables us to forge direct relationships between travelers and our
brands.”

“From Melia Hotels to Paradisus Resorts, Sol Melia’s brands are known
throughout Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Don Smith,
SideStep’s vice president, hotels. “Sol Melia is eager to extend its brand
reach among Americans heading abroad. As their marketing partner,
SideStep will help this hospitality industry leader to build awareness
and promote its distinctive offerings to a large and valuable target
audience.”

SideStep will exchange product, pricing and availability information with
Sol Melia via SideStep TotalConnect(SM). With TotalConnect, SideStep can
efficiently communicate with a partner using the travel provider’s
preferred protocol - XML, SOAP, HTTP, CORBA or even EDI. TotalConnect’s
power and flexibility enable new partners to begin working with SideStep
immediately - without making any technical changes.
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