�Adding online reservations to our web site at www.valleyforge.org has been one of our top priorities, in providing service and convenience in booking to benefit our member hotels and the public,� said Bureau President Paul R. Decker. �We launched the service on Saturday, and by Sunday reservations had already been made. The first of the guests checked in to the Sheraton Park Ridge Tuesday.� Reservations were also made at the Valley Forge Scanticon and the Sleep Inn at King of Prussia.

Research by the Travel Industry Association of America indicates that travelers are increasingly turning to the internet for travel information and to book services ranging from airline tickets to hotel accommodations. The May 6 issue of Hotel & Motel Management magazine corroborates this, stating that in the third quarter of 2001, e-bookings accounted for 58 percent of reservations booked through central reservations systems, outpacing voice bookings through 800 numbers.

�It used to be you would pick up the phone and dial reservations, but that�s changing,� said Steve Charamella, director of Sales and Marketing for the Sheraton Park Ridge. �Now, a lot of guests are booking through the internet. It�s great for us to be getting this kind of exposure and support from the Bureau�s website.�

Accommodations at fifty-six area hotels can now be booked online at www.valleyforge.org. The Bureau�s reservation system is provided through a contract with www.TravelHero.com, and was launched Saturday to coincide with National Tourism Week, May 5-11, 2002. 

�TravelHero was selected because of its excellent reputation and unique ability to provide reservations support for our lodging properties�, said Bureau President Paul Decker. �We believe this will help us serve the needs of our lodging properties and give visitors the most convenient way to make reservations from a broad selection of lodging accommodations via the Internet.�

�We worked with the Valley Forge Convention & Visitors Bureau to develop a booking engine that will represent Valley Forge properties and allow visitors to make intelligent, informed choices among those properties,� said Barry Nakano, Director of Business Development for TravelHero. �It�s a win-win relationship for TravelHero, the Bureau, lodging properties and the traveling public.�

TravelHero, founded in 1995, owns and operates the largest, most content-rich lodging database and online reservation system on the Internet - currently at over 110,000 properties worldwide. TravelHero�s private-label affiliate program provides destination marketing organizations with a simple, yet complete turnkey solution, which represents all lodging members. The company currently provides online reservations for over 50 convention and visitor bureaus worldwide. 

The Mission of the Valley Forge Convention & Visitors Bureau is to generate business for the community by aggressively promoting the Montgomery County/Valley Forge area as a destination.