“We are excited to bring on TravelHero as our first Alliance Partner. It’s a win-win relationship that will benefit our members and the traveling public,” said IACVB’s President and CEO Michael Gehrisch.

“We believe that IACVB’s review of our company’s products and services will signal a green light for all CVBs to enable their own Web sites with online bookings from TravelHero,” said Gene Varni, TravelHero’s VP of Business Development.

Under the three-year agreement, TravelHero.com will be the default booking engine on IACVB’s www.officialtravelinfo.com Web site. “Our objectives for enhancing officialtravelinfo are to provide services that will make it truly ‘one stop shopping’ for visitors to the site. Through our partnership with TravelHero, IACVB members and visitors alike will be able to take advantage of the added services. Our members will benefit from the increased traffic to their sites, and visitors will be able to make hotel reservations and get comprehensive information on a destination all at one time in one place,” Gehrisch added.

Both IACVB members and consumers will be able to access TravelHero’s database -- the most comprehensive lodging database on the Internet. In addition, member bureaus will be able to take advantage of an affiliate program whereby CVBs can offer their hotel members access to a single reservation system through the bureau’s own Web site.

“TravelHero offers CVBs a booking engine that is fast and easy to implement, retains the CVB’s own look and feel, and makes possible bookings for every hotel member regardless of their connectivity to the Internet, CRS or GDS systems,” said Varni.

IACVB has identified seven distinct categories of products/services, each of which will be represented by an Alliance Partner. They are: convention housing, travel booking engine, credit card services, online event registration, research services, insurance/retirement services, and publishing. As the Alliance Partner in the “travel booking engine” category, TravelHero will sponsor various events at the Annual Convention and Professional Development Institute and promote their services in IACVB’s communications.

“TravelHero has been a strong supporter of IACVB and the CVB community. Their commitment to offering solutions for bureaus’ success is key to IACVB’s mission to enhance the professionalism of bureaus worldwide. Our partnership is a positive step toward fulfilling that goal,” Gehrisch stated.

Service providers interested in becoming an Alliance Partner with IACVB should contact Michael Gehrisch at mailto:mgehrisch@iacvb.org for more information.

Founded in 1914, IACVB is an international trade association representing more than 1,200 professional members from 500 convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) in 30 countries. The association’s mission is to enhance the professionalism, effectiveness, and image of destination management organizations worldwide.