May 13, 2001 New York and Boston  . . . The CARINO Collection�s President Joseph Carino, Jr., today announced that the Saunders Hotel Group, based in Boston, has joined The CARINO Collection as a member for corporate travel sales support for The Lenox Hotel and the Copley Square Hotel. These are the first two hotels to be partner with The Carino Collection in the Boston market and bring to more than 70 the total number of properties worldwide served by The CARINO Collection.

The two hotels, both Boston landmarks, are located in the heart of the Back Bay and from walking distance to Boston�s Hynes Convention Center, and service a large number of corporate and group travelers. 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 quickly, easily and cost-effectively.

In addition to a proprietary database of client profile information that provides a revolutionary new resource for hotels, The Lenox Hotel and The Copley Square Hotel 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 Trump International Hotel & Tower; the Chambers Hotel, New York, NY; the hotels comprising The Heathman Collection, including the landmark luxury Heathman Hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon, and Kerry Hotels.

Jose Estrompa, Vice President of the Saunders Hotel Group and General Manager of The Lenox Hotel and The Copley Square Hotel 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 Saunders Hotel Group 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.