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Named E-Marketer of the Year |
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| CHICAGO (June 6, 2005) � TravelCLICK and the Hospitality Sales and
Marketing Association International (HSMAI) honored excellence in electronic
marketing for 2004. Top honors went to Hyatt International.
TravelCLICK also recognized outstanding career achievement in electronic marketing and regional excellence within several additional �E-Marketer of the Year� categories. The winners in these categories included, a hotel brand, a hotel group and four individual hotel properties. The 2004 E-Marketer Award winners are:
This year's E-Marketer award winners, as in previous years, were selected based on booking performance and superior marketing strategy in electronic channels. HSMAI/TravelCLICK E-Marketer of the Year � Hyatt International Hyatt International was selected as the Overall E-Marketer of the Year winner based on its strong performance in electronic channels and effective use of both targeted electronic media and competitive knowledge to maximize the electronic revenue of its hotels throughout 2004. Hyatt International and its subsidiaries operate 90 hotels and resorts in 39 countries. To improve its performance in electronic channels, Hyatt International recommends select hotels with a high electronic share of total business to actively use TravelCLICK�s suite of strategic marketing products. North America E-Marketer of the Year � Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group The Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group had a strong 2004, due to the fact that two-thirds of all Kimpton properties experienced year-over-year growth in revenue penetration in the GDS channel. The majority of the Kimpton properties utilized Hotelligence reports to competitively benchmark their electronic marketing and continually maximize their revenue from GDS and online channels. The properties also targeted travel agents through Travel Agent Media products, which included Hotel Spotlight, Galileo Headlines and Sabre PromoSpots. Overall, by employing these tools, the group�s revenue penetration increased 4.1% from 2003 to 2004. Latin America E-Marketer of the Year � Country Club Lima Hotel Built in 1927 and renovated in 1998, this 75-room luxury property had an amazing e-marketing year. Country Club Lima utilized a state-of-the-art web booking engine and instituted best practices in web design to develop a professional web presence. The hotel implemented an aggressive e-marketing strategy, which included pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization and GDS media executions. This strategy resulted in their tripling of electronic bookings and becoming one of the top-ranked websites in Latin America. Asia-Pacific E-Marketer of the Year � Crown Towers Hotel and Crown Promenade Hotel Located in Melbourne, Australia, both the Crown Towers and the Crown Promenade had successful e-marketing years. The Crown Towers, a 482-room luxury hotel, embarked on a lucrative search marketing campaign, which increased the property�s website visitors by approximately 41%. This growth in users, in turn, increased room nights by 40%. The Crown Towers used rate intelligence reports to competitively price itself in the marketplace, Travel Agent Media products to maintain a solid presence on the GDS and Hotelligence to track their performance in the GDS. The Crown Towers� focus on the web, continual presence in the GDS and effective use of intelligence reports increased revenue by 50% over 2003. The Crown Promenade, a 465-contemporary property targeted travel agents through tactical electronic marketing campaigns and used Hotelligence to track its performance in the GDS and benchmark itself against its competitive set. In addition, the Crown Promenade utilized a central reservation system to manage inventory on the four major GDS, their website and GDS-powered sites from one interface. This combination proved successful, as the Crown Promenade became one of the top 15 hotels in Melbourne, based on revenue booked through the GDS, within one year of opening. Europe/Middle East/Africa E-Marketer of the Year � Radisson Edwardian International Plaza Hotel Heathrow The Radisson Edwardian International Plaza Hotel Heathrow, a 459-luxury five-star hotel located near Heathrow Airport, was a clear choice for the Europe/Middle East/Africa E-Marketer of the Year award. Throughout 2004, the property strategically executed electronic marketing campaigns giving them an advantage over their competitive set and increasing their revenue penetration in the GDS channel. The property increased its revenue penetration from 116% in 2003 to 124% in 2004. E-Marketer Lifetime Achievement � Tom Civitano A new category added this year, recognizes career achievement within electronic marketing channels. Candidates for this award are nominated from TravelCLICK�s active customer base, representing more than 8,000 hotels in over 140 countries. The first honoree to receive the E-Marketer Lifetime Achievement award was Tom Civitano, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at The Plaza hotel for 16 years. While at The Plaza, Civitano was a strong supporter of the continually advancing e-marketing mediums. Prior to The Plaza, Civitano served as Director of Marketing for five years at the Waldorf Astoria. There, Civitano created innovative marketing programs that drove revenue and delivered the most profitable quarters in the hotel�s history. About TravelCLICK TravelCLICK (www.travelclick.net) is the leading provider of solutions that help hotels and other travel industry suppliers maximize profits from electronic distribution channels. The company�s iHotelier booking engine platform and website marketing programs enable hotels to better execute strategies that increase business into their own websites. TravelCLICK's competitive benchmarking reports provide hotels with price and booking performance information, and the company's exclusive electronic marketing networks allow hotels and other travel related suppliers to target promotional messages to specific travel agents and consumers when they are booking travel. Established in 1996 and headquartered in the Chicago area, TravelCLICK has over 8,000 customers in more than 140 countries. |
| Contact:
Marie Cabo
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