Great Hotels Organisation Adds 35 New Hotels in 2009

London, United Kingdom, January 14, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Great Hotels Organisation (GHO: http://www.ghorg.com), the London-based luxury sales and marketing alliance representing some of the world’s finest independent hotels added 35 new properties in 2009 to its global sales and marketing alliances, Great Hotels of the World, Special Hotels of the World and Metro Hotels.

Since January 2009, Great Hotels Organisation received 263 membership applications to its niche alliances. 17 hotels were added to the Great Hotels of the World Portfolio – a collection of the world’s finest hotels and resorts - while 15 hotels were added to the Special Hotels of the World portfolio – a collection of the world’s most unique properties offering exceptional value and services - and three were added to the Metro Hotels portfolio – a collection of mid-range, city-centre, corporate hotels.

The growth of GHO’s membership portfolio has been steady during the global recession thanks to the company’s diverse product offerings and successful growth strategies. GHO’s products range from MICE sales and events to tradeshow representation, marketing activities and GDS connectivity. Growth strategies implemented in 2009 include the launch of a new three star corporate brand, Metro Hotels, upgrading its existing reservation systems to the newly branded ‘evolution’ reservation platform (http://www.evolutiondistribution.com), improvement to the structure and quality of meetings and incentive (MICE) offerings, a booking incentive scheme for MICE planners, a successful summer campaign, affinity marketing partnerships and investment in staff.

Carly Gotz, group director of sales and marketing comments “The global recession has had a big impact on the travel industry, however we’re pleased to report that growth has remained strong over the past year and we intend for it to continue throughout this year. The support of a globally recognised sales and marketing organisation such as GHO is vital for independent hotels especially in times of economic uncertainty and we are focused on driving new business to our member hotels. This year we will add properties in developing regions where travellers’ money goes further and will look at increasing membership of corporate city-centre hotels to our recently launched Metro Hotels brand.”

Membership of the alliances is by invitation only and hotels applying for membership must meet strict quality criteria before being accepted by GHO’s quality assessment committee. Membership is tailored to a hotel’s needs depending on which markets they are targeting.

Among the members added to the portfolio during 2009 are a number of new destinations: Les Suites Ching-Cheng Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan, Boscolo New York Palace in Budapest, Hungary, Seri Pacific Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Bintan Lagoon in Bintan Island, Indonesia and Corinthia Hotel St Petersburg in Russia.

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