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Utell Hotels Resorts Signs Up Hundreds of New Members in 2009

Utell Hotels & Resorts has seen a substantial rise in the number of independent hotels and small independent group hotels seeking out and subscribing to its hotel representation services since the start of 2009.

Through to the end of May, more than 150 hotels have chosen to sign up for full service membership. This enables hotels to capitalize on Utell’s unrivaled expertise in global marketing, sales and distribution services with valuable benefits that include Utell’s strength of partnerships and programs in the agency, TMC (travel management companies) and corporate markets. Utell’s representation and distribution also makes hotels available on the GDS’s under Utell’s UI code, through Utell’s global call center network and the dedicated agent site Utellagent.com.
In addition, over 320 hotels have joined the Utell Connect service, which offers independent hotels and small groups a representation solution, allowing them to outsource electronic distribution and connectivity needs (under the Utell Connect brand and UZ chain code), while handling their own marketing and sales activities. This service was formerly known as Unirez and recently rebranded to clearly demonstrate its prominence as part of the Utell family.

Utell’s new member hotels cover a worldwide geographic spread across each continent in categories ranging from value to superior and luxury. To date, the top ten countries with hotels contributing to Utell’s recent sizeable portfolio growth are: Germany, Italy, United States, India, Thailand, China, Japan, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey.

Overall, Europe and the United States remain the strongest regions for full UI membership growth. The U.K. and Italy together accounted for 33 new hotels, and the U.S. saw a healthy addition of 27 new full UI hotels. These new members include renowned properties such as The Roosevelt in New York, Soho House New York and NCED in Oklahoma.

Asia Pacific has also realized a healthy boost this year across both Utell and Utell Connect services, a testament to Utell’s strong local presence worldwide, which now includes 18 offices in 11 countries.

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Ric Leutwyler, president of Utell and CMO of Pegasus Solutions said, “We are delighted to welcome a whole host of new international member hotels, demonstrating Utell’s far-reaching global presence. The recent turmoil in the worldwide economy has led many hotels to reassess their sales, marketing and distribution strategies, and has encouraged a renewed focus on targeted tactics for generating their fair share of revenue from the global hospitality market. Utell is committed to helping our member hotels achieve this. By offering flexible, user-friendly technology and revenue management tools that hotels can mix and match according to their core requirements, Utell is delivering results during both difficult and good times.”
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