CNG Chooses Worldspan Technology for New Online Hotel Reservations System

LONDON, 28 August 2003 – Leading travel technology provider Worldspan today announced a unique technology service collaboration with Dublin-based hotel distributor CnG Hotels, under which it is providing reservations processing for CnG’s new online hotel booking service.

Pre-Paid Hotel Program gives travel agencies free access to more than 7,000 hotels worldwide, including leading brands such as Choice, Best Western, Utell and Golden Tulip, with rates significantly lower than through traditional channels.

Available as a Web product or integrated into the travel agent’s desktop tool, Pre-Paid Hotel Program features real time availability, rich content with hotel photos, and ultra-fast reservation processing. Once registered with CnG, travel agents simply download it to their PCs.

Under the agreement, Worldspan is providing the reservations processing for Pre-Paid Hotel Program bookings, automating the bookings process for hoteliers signed up to the system.

Tim Wright, Worldspan VP Business Development EMEA Worldspan, said: “This is a first for Worldspan, in which we have taken our e-commerce and reservations processing skills to create a new bespoke product for CnG. It means they can offer a fully automated service to their customers, saving time and money for hoteliers. This is about using our market leadership in travel e-commerce to create innovative new technologies – and you can expect to see from Worldspan more such innovative solutions that address our customers’ needs.”

CnG CEO and chairman Finbarr Power explains the new system: “It’s radically different because it’s the only online hotel reservations solution that can integrate seamlessly with hotel chains’ reservations systems, GDS networks’ Passenger Name Records (PNRs), and agencies’ back office systems and Web sites. We can provide this online service to any hotel and travel agency, regardless of which technology provider they use.”

Automation of the reservations process gives clear benefits to hoteliers. Most existing hotel merchant programmes still have some manual processes, such as faxing booking confirmations to the destination hotel. This takes unnecessary time and effort and can lead to processing errors. With Worldspan’s support, CnG’s Pre-Paid Hotel Program automates manual tasks in the process to improve productivity and efficiency – and the lower costs involved mean hotels can offer further discounts on their rates through the system.

Hoteliers and travel agents wanting to know more about CnG’s Pre-Paid Hotel Program should contact Zara Stassin, CEO Hoteleaders, on telephone +1 305 648 8411.

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About Worldspan:
Worldspan is a leader in travel technology resources for travel suppliers, travel agencies, e-commerce sites and corporations worldwide. Utilising fast, flexible and efficient networks and computing technologies, Worldspan provides comprehensive electronic data services linking approximately 800 travel suppliers around the world to a global customer base. The company offers industry-leading Fares and Pricing technology such as Worldspan e-PricingSM, hosting solutions, and customised travel products, including Worldspan Travel EnginuitySM. Worldspan enables travel suppliers, distributors and corporations to reduce costs and increase productivity with best-in-class technology like Worldspan Go!® and Worldspan Trip Manager®. Worldspan is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Additional information is available at http://www.worldspan.com.

About CnG Hotels Ltd:
Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, CnG Hotels is a privately-owned company and one of the largest distributors of online hotel rooms in Europe. It is the leading European company that provides pre-paid (“merchant model”) hotel bookings through its Web-based Web Services technology. CnG provides hotels and affiliates worldwide with the ability to provide real time Internet reservations capability for their Web sites with its state-of-the art, real-time booking engine technology. The company can distribute hotel rooms through over 4,000 electronic outlets, including travel agencies and airlines, such as KLM and Aer Lingus. CnG has been operating a white label hotel affiliate model for several years in Europe, servicing such clients as KLM. It entered the US market in November 2002 through joint venture company Hoteleaders and has secured contracts with leading travel agents and consortia such as Carlson, Uniglobe and Radius. This makes CnG the leading merchant hotel provider to the travel agency community. Through a combination of acquisition, equity investment and strategic partnerships, CnG has secured several hundred million dollars-worth of business from several hundred agencies in the USA.

For further information, contact:

Blair Drummond or Lis Griffiths Four Communications,
Tel:+44 (0)20 7763 5990 / 85
Email: [email protected], or [email protected]