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| DALLAS and WICHITA, Kansas -- Lexington Services, a subsidiary
of The Travel Company (Nasdaq: TRVL), the largest provider of global hotel
reservations in the nation and second largest in the world, today announced
Candlewood Hotel Company, Inc., as its newest member. This alliance
enables travel agents throughout the world to book rooms and access detailed
information about all of Candlewood's properties using the access code
LM on the major Global Distribution Systems (GDSs).
Candlewood is tapping Lexington Services to increase its visibility among more than 600,000 travel agents and planners worldwide. "With more than 100 properties open or under development in 31 states, Candlewood Suites is rapidly gaining national brand awareness. Partnering with Lexington Services can help us to accelerate our exposure by reaching more customers who are not familiar with Candlewood," said Jack De Boer, Candlewood's chairman and chief executive officer. "Lexington's capabilities allow us to provide domestic and international travel agents with easy access to information on all of Candlewood's properties via the GDSs and the Internet. Lexington also has an outstanding track record for addressing the unique needs of suite properties." Candlewood is also tapping Lexington's new LexLinkSM OnLine service for better revenue management. According to David Redfern, vice president of sales and marketing for Candlewood, "Lexington Services is the only third-party reservations provider that is able to offer real-time access to its reservation system through LexLink OnLine. Their service allows us to easily manage the complicated inventory associated with all-suite hotels, as well as to download reservations, and access up-to-the-minute information on productivity and guest arrivals." "This new agreement with Candlewood will add to the strong momentum Lexington has experienced with the development of our portfolio of all-suite and extended-stay properties," said Zolon Wilkins Jr., chief executive officer of Lexington Services. "Our individualized approach offers the latest and most comprehensive technological support available -- the kind of support needed to be competitive in the rapidly expanding extended-stay market." Company Background Candlewood Hotel Company, Inc., headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, develops,
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operates,
and franchises Candlewood Suites, the nation's premier brand of mid-market,
value-oriented, business travel hotels, delivering exceptional value
and unique amenities to its guests. Candlewood founder, Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer Jack DeBoer, created the extended-stay concept.
He founded the Residence Inn brand and later co-founded Summerfield Suites.
The latest product of Jack's unique vision, Candlewood Suites, was founded
in November 1995 as a joint venture with Doubletree Hotels, now Promus
Hotel Corporation. Candlewood completed its initial public offering
in November 1996, listing its shares on the NASDAQ National Market under
the symbol CNDL. The company opened its first hotel in May 1996,
and to date, has a system-wide total of 100 hotels open or under development
in 31 states.