TQ3 TRAVEL SOLUTIONS LAUNCHES GLOBAL TQ3 HOTEL eRATE SOLUTION

13 October 2004, London, UK – TQ3 Travel Solutions, one of the leading global travel management companies, is pleased to announce the worldwide launch of TQ3 Hotel eRATE at the ACTE Global Conference in Stockholm. A fully integrated, automated and transparent electronic request for proposal (RFP) solution, TQ3 Hotel eRATE will significantly reduce the time and expense associated with the hotel bidding process for TQ3’s national and multinational clients. A web-based bid management tool that allows corporate clients to negotiate the most competitive hotel rates from a pre-populated database of over 15,000 hotels worldwide – with the ability to add an unlimited number of further GDS and non-GDS properties –Hotel eRATE automates the generation and transmission of all necessary documentation associated with the hotel bidding process. From proposal to contract Hotel eRATE eliminates the labour, time and material costs associated with old-fashioned, paper-based RFP negotiations. By utilising the National Business Travel Association’s (NBTA) global standard for data formatting, Hotel eRATE also greatly improves the quality of responses that corporations receive from multiple prospective suppliers who are now able to shift their resources away from the reams of admin associated with traditional RFPs to concentrate on delivering more competitive pricing strategies. Commenting on the global launch of Hotel eRATE, Michel La Bianca, chief information officer of TQ3 EMEA said: “For most organisations, building and managing hotel RFPs has long been a labour-intensive, time-consuming process. Hotel eRATE meets the needs of today’s businesses striving for maximum process efficiency by delivering sophisticated automation, greater quality through data standardisation, increased speed, and lower costs to what has traditionally been a complex procurement process involving a large number of service providers.” -END- Notes to Editors About TQ3 Travel Solutions TQ3 Travel Solutions is the leading provider of quality, innovative travel expense management solutions to companies worldwide. With system-wide revenues in excess of $11 billion, TQ3 operates 1,200 locations in over 80 countries. www.tq3.com For further information, please contact: Melanie Garrett, Global Vice President of Marketing Tel: +44 (0) 207 153 3310 Mob: +44 (0) 7736 105257 [email protected] Rik Kumar, Communications Manager EMEA Tel +44 (0) 207 153 3315 Fax +44 (0) 207 153 3334 [email protected]