April 3, 2002, New York, NY - Less than a month after formally launching the CARINO Collection, President Joseph Carino, Jr., today announced that the Heathman Collection, based in Portland, Oregon, is partnering with the CARINO Collection for sales support focused on the corporate travel market. 

The agreement covers all of The Heathman Collection�s five hotels, including the landmark luxury Heathman Hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon. The CARINO Collection is a full service sales and customer information company that helps hotels build business by connecting them to corporate, group and leisure business customers.

In addition to a proprietary database of client profile information that provides a revolutionary new resource for hotels, The Heathman Collection will benefit from the CARINO Collection�s professional consultation, sales support and database management services. 
The CARINO Collection�s prestigious portfolio of charter members includes the Landmark Hotel, London; and the Trump International Hotel and the Chambers Hotel, New York, NY.

Jeff Jobe, Director of Sales and Marketing at The Heathman Collection said, �We are excited to announce this partnership with The Carino Collection, which is filling a long-time void in the industry by representing independent luxury full-service hotels in the corporate travel arena.� He concluded, �We expect the partnership will bring easier entry into corporate travel doors  that were once closed to independent hotel operators.�

Carino said, �Hotel professionals face a daunting task in securing business from a growing and increasingly diverse base of customers. For independent luxury hotels, in particular, that can be time-consuming, inefficient and, frequently, costly.� He concluded, �We are pleased and proud that The Heathman Collection has chosen our suite of products, featuring SalesConnect, TM as an end-to-end solution to the excessive costs and inefficiencies that can accompany the process.�

SalesConnectTM is a web-accessible database of corporate, leisure and group account information, available only to CARINO Collection members, which enables hotel sales professionals to maximize sales potential by gathering real-time, up-to-date contact and business profile information on existing and potential clients. For hotels that rely on corporate and consortia business, SalesConnectTM is linked to a variety of on-line RFP tools to facilitate on-line submission of completed proposals. 

Additional personalized member services provided by the CARINO Collection include:

• Sales database management
• Global and regional sales office support
• Marketing support via cooperative marketing opportunities and negotiated packages to support key distribution partners
• Direct links to online-RFP tools
• Special CARINO Collection Rates at all member hotels
• Clearing, holding and reserving space for special accommodations
• Special Carino Concierge Desk to assist with special needs
• Private label hotel services

The CARINO Collection is a full service sales and customer information company that helps hotels build business by connecting them to corporate, group and leisure business customers.