The award was based on a vote by 1,900 attendees at this year�s UCLA Extension Hotel Industry Investment Conference in Los Angeles, who selected Ramada Franchise Systems over other nominations submitted by hotel companies, associations and companies allied to the hotel industry.

The annual Lodging Leadership Awards are the industry�s only honors decided by a vote of people involved in or allied to the lodging and travel industries.

The hotel chain was recognized for sponsoring the �Great Ramada Yard Sale� in September on behalf of Childreach, its principal charity. Ramada hotels nationwide were encouraged to hold yard sales, car washes, bake sales and donate a portion of their room revenue to rebuild the San Juan, Dominican Republic school destroyed by Hurricane Georges in 1998.

�Winning this award is particularly meaningful because it is the result of recognition from our peers, including many of our competitors,� said Steve Belmonte, Ramada president and chief executive officer. �Ramada® franchisees and employees at all Ramada properties can be particularly proud of this award. Making a solid contribution that helps others is best done as the result of a team effort and the Ramada chain has truly pulled together for this very important program.�

Belmonte traveled to the Dominican Republic last year to spearhead the school�s reconstruction and film new Childreach television commercials, which encourage donations for the organization�s charitable work and call on individuals to become sponsors.

The decision to feature Belmonte, a corporate figure, instead of a celebrity proved successful. Since the commercial�s launch, Childreach donations have increased by an unprecedented 10 percent over past television fund-raising efforts.

�Ramada would like to particularly congratulate the other companies that entered this competition for the important work they do on behalf of others,� Belmonte said. �It�s great to win the Leadership Award, but it�s also great to know that there are so many others in our industry who transfer concern for others into positive action.�

Childreach, one of the oldest and largest child sponsorship organizations in the world, was founded in 1937 as Foster Parents Plan.  Childreach supports long-term, self-help programs that help more than a million children, their families and their communities in 42 developing countries around the world lift themselves out of poverty and give their children a chance to grow up healthy, learn basic skills and live in safe and productive families. Ramada became Childreach�s Founding Corporate Sponsor in 1994.

In addition to helping the Dominican Republic school, the Ramada chain has also facilitated the construction of two medical facilities, a food and science laboratory and a library in Africa as well as a Youth Center in Cairo, Egypt.

Ramada Franchise Systems Inc., a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation, franchises nearly 1,000 mid- to upper-mid-market Ramada Limited, Inn and Plaza Hotels throughout the United States.