InterContinental Hotels Group [LON: IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)], the first hotel company to offer web bookings more than eight years ago, announced that its Internet revenue has increased by 80 percent since the launch of the industry-leading Lowest Internet Rate Guarantee one year ago.
“InterContinental Hotels Group was the first hotel company to offer the Lowest Internet Rate Guarantee and it’s proving to be a win-win-win situation for our customers, the hotels and for InterContinental Hotels Group,” said Eric Pearson, senior vice president of e-commerce, InterContinental Hotels Group. “Since the launch of the Lowest Internet Rate Guarantee, more people are booking direct on our web sites than ever before. This guarantee ensures that our guests can book with confidence; the confidence that they will always get the best available rate, that their reservation will be there when they arrive, and that their security and privacy are always protected.”
Since the Guarantee launch in May 2002:
* Revenue growth for InterContinental Hotels Group Internet bookings shot up 80 percent over the past year - compared to industry average of 40 percent;
* InterContinental Hotels Group’s web sites hit a major milestone, more than $3 million booked in a single day and growing;
* Challenges to the rate guarantee average approximately one per thousand online bookings (0.1%), confirming the rates are the best available;
According to a recent Forrester Research report, U.S. households will spend nearly $50 billion in online leisure travel in 2007. Hotel and lodging is expected to lead this travel rocket with a 142 percent growth over the next 5 years.
Continued Pearson, “Clearly, there is a great opportunity and potential with the Internet. InterContinental Hotels Group will continue setting the bar higher to bring consumers to our sites with new products and services ultimately encouraging their continued return to our brands.”
This month, InterContinental Hotels Group will introduce the Lowest Internet Rate Guarantee to a broader audience with the launch of its off-line advertising campaign. In a series of print advertisements to run in USA Today, the campaign will highlight the benefits of booking direct. According to Pearson, “The off-line campaign is exciting in that the success of the program so far has been driven exclusively in the online world. This campaign will expose the benefits of booking online our highly recognizable brands to a much broader audience.”
The Lowest Internet Rate Guarantee is a consumer promise that states every hotel reservation booked directly through an InterContinental Hotels Group web site is guaranteed to have the lowest rate publicly available on the Internet for that hotel. If a lower, publicly viewable and bookable rate is identified within 24 hours on another web site for the same hotel and accommodations, and for the same dates, InterContinental Hotels Group will honor that rate plus an additional 10 percent discount. The Guarantee is offered for any InterContinental Hotels Group brand worldwide, including InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites.

For more information about the Lowest Internet Rate Guarantee, and for Terms and Conditions, please visit any of the InterContinental Hotels Group brand web sites or call the Lowest Internet Rate Guarantee Telephone Number: U. S. and Canada - 1-800-447-2981; Europe, Middle East and Africa - call the nearest Toll-Free Worldwide Reservation Office and request to be transferred to Guest Relations (Europe & Israel only); All other countries - Contact the nearest Worldwide Reservation Office.
Each InterContinental Hotels Group branded web site communicates the guarantee on its established page, which include InterContinental (www.intercontinental.com), Crowne Plaza (www.crowneplaza.com), Holiday Inn (www.holiday-inn.com), Holiday Inn Express (www.hiexpress.com) and Staybridge Suites (www.staybridgesuites.com)].
InterContinental Hotels Group is a leading global hotel group whose brands include InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, CrowneÊPlaza Hotels and Resorts, HolidayÊInn, HolidayÊInnÊExpress and StaybridgeÊSuites. It owns, operates or franchises more than 3,300 hotels and over 515,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world.
he following are some of the service marks owned by InterContinental Hotels Group, Inc., its subsidiaries or affiliates: HolidayÊInn®, CrowneÊPlaza®, Express by HolidayÊInn?, HolidayÊInnÊSelect®, HolidayÊInnÊGardenÊCourt, HolidayÊInnÊSunSpree®ÊResort, StaybridgeÊSuites® by HolidayÊInn, Holidex®, PriorityÊClub®, InterContinental®, Forum®, Parkroyal®, and Centra®.

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