World's Largest Hotel Loyalty Program Launched by Cendant
05 März 2004 - 5:42PM
PR Newswire (US)
World's Largest Hotel Loyalty Program Launched by Cendant
PARSIPPANY, N.J., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The travel rewards
playing field has been leveled by Cendant Corporation's new loyalty
program, TripRewards(R), which allows leisure travelers to earn
points or airline miles quickly, just like frequent business
travelers. Boasting nine chains, 6,000 hotels, 49 point-earning
partners and more than 140 point-redeeming options, TripRewards is
the world's largest loyalty program, based on the number of
participating hotels. The program's "open earn" structure allows
members faster access to point earning by staying in
Cendant-franchised hotels, renting Avis(R) and Budget(R) rental
cars, purchasing tax services from Jackson Hewitt(R) and purchasing
everyday products and services from earning partners. Likewise,
TripRewards members can redeem their points for either hotel stays
-- with no blackout dates -- or partner rewards including airline
tickets, resort vacations, electronics, home appliances, sporting
goods, movie and theme park tickets and gift certificates from 46
retailers and restaurants. TripRewards members may elect to earn
either TripRewards points, airline miles or rail points for their
hotel stays. A hassle-free online system allows members to check
points and redeem for rewards 24 hours a day. "Our valued guests
purchase 94 million room nights annually at Cendant- franchised
hotels," said Steven A. Rudnitsky, Cendant's Hotel Group chairman
and chief executive officer. "TripRewards offers a unique
opportunity to introduce our brands to new travelers and show
existing customers that we appreciate and value their business."
The program specifically targets leisure travelers, who typically
do not travel frequently and cannot gain enough points in other
programs to redeem rewards. "TripRewards gives leisure travelers
the same opportunity as frequent business travelers to earn points
or airline miles quickly and enjoy world- class benefits,"
Rudnitsky said. TripRewards features rewards not offered by
competitive programs, including stays in the Holiday Network(SM)
selection of vacation units throughout North America and in other
parts of the world. Cendant's Holiday Network boasts one of the
world's largest collections of rental accommodations including
studios, condominiums and private homes. Peter Strebel, Hotel Group
senior vice president of sales and marketing, said the program's
slogan, "It's fun to get more," emphasizes TripReward's "expansive
and competitive" awards matrix and the "broad range of
opportunities to earn and redeem TripRewards points by conveying
the rush of getting more." In addition to the 1.7 million original
TripRewards members who have been converted from existing Cendant
lodging loyalty programs, Cendant's two vacation ownership brands,
Fairfield(R) Resorts and Trendwest(R) Resorts, will begin
introducing time-share owners to the program later this year.
Cendant is the largest vacation ownership company in the world with
more than 700,000 owner families and more than 110 resorts among
its two brands. Consumers can enroll at triprewards.com or by
visiting their local Super 8(R), Days Inn(R), Ramada(R),
Travelodge(R), Howard Johnson(R), Knights Inn(R), Villager, Wingate
Inn(R) or AmeriHost Inn(R) hotel or by calling toll-free, (800)
FOR-TRIP -- (800) 367-8747. Cendant Corporation's Hotel Group,
based in Parsippany, N.J., is the world's largest lodging
franchisor with 6,397 open hotels representing 518,143 rooms on
five continents under the Super 8(R), Days Inn(R), Ramada(R),
Travelodge(R), Howard Johnson(R), Knights Inn(R), Villager, Wingate
Inn(R) and AmeriHost Inn(R) brands. Cendant franchises 11 percent
of the entire U.S. hotel room supply, according to independent
research and Cendant financial data. All hotels are individually
owned and operated under franchise agreements with Cendant
subsidiaries. EDITORS: For more information about Cendant
Corporation and trends associated with its businesses, go to
http://www.cendant.com/ and click on Media Center. The site
includes an archive of news releases, biographies of the company's
senior leaders, backgrounders and financial reports. DATASOURCE:
Cendant Corporation, Hotel Group CONTACT: Emanuel Naim, Manager,
Consumer Media Relations of Cendant Corporation, Hotel Group,
+1-973-496-0750, or Web site: http://www.cendant.com/
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