More than 50,000 hotel properties guarantee Best Available Rates to Amadeus travel agencies

• 2 out of every 3 hotel properties in Amadeus are covered by Best Available Rate agreements
• The number of hotel brands offering best available rate through Amadeus increased by 35% in 2008; 188 brands now included in the programme.

Madrid, Spain, 21 October 2008 – Amadeus, the leading provider of technology to the travel and tourism industry, today announces hotels offering their Best Available Rates through Amadeus now account for 75.3% of Amadeus’ hotel bookings.

Hotels which participate in Amadeus’ Best Available Rate programme guarantee to supply Amadeus with public rates that are the same or lower than those available through other distribution systems, branded websites or the hotel's own call centre. 22,000 hotel properties in North America, 17,200 in Europe and 5,500 in Asia Pacific all guarantee their best rates are available through Amadeus.

Marriott is the latest hotel chain to sign up to Amadeus’ Best Available Rate programme. Larraine Voll Morris, Vice President, eDistribution, Marriott said, “Rate integrity is a guiding principle in Marriott’s pricing and distribution strategy. As part of our philosophy to sell the way the customer wants to buy, we consider travel agencies as valuable sales and distribution partners. As part of this, access to Marriott’s public Best Available Rates in real time is imperative to build consumer confidence and brand loyalty. We are very pleased to further strengthen our relationship with Amadeus by participating in the Amadeus BAR Programme.”

Notes to the editors

Amadeus offers a full range of technology and distribution solutions to the hotel industry. 1,450 properties in 35 countries increase their revenue by 4 – 8% using Amadeus Revenue Management System. 6,700 hotel properties in 75 countries use Amadeus Property Management System and more than 77,000 hotels distribute their rooms to a global travel-buying market though Amadeus' distribution solutions.

Amadeus is the chosen technology partner for providers, sellers, and buyers of travel. The company provides distribution, IT and point-of-sale solutions to help its customers adapt, grow and succeed in the fast changing travel industry. Customer groups include travel providers (airlines, hotels, car rental companies, railway companies, ferry lines, cruise lines, insurance companies and tour operators), travel sellers (travel agencies) and travel buyers (corporations and travellers). Solutions are grouped in four solution categories – Distribution & Content, Sales & e-Commerce, Business Management and Services & Consulting.

Amadeus has central sites in Madrid (corporate headquarters & marketing), Nice (development) and Erding (Operations – data processing centre) and regional offices in Miami, Buenos Aires and Bangkok. At market level, Amadeus maintains customer operations in 76 countries covering more than 217 markets.

The company is majority owned by WAM Acquisition, whose shareholders are BC Partners, Cinven, Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa. Amadeus employs over 8,500 employees worldwide, representing 95 nationalities.

More information about Amadeus is available at: http://www.amadeus.com

Contact details

Amadeus

Media Relations / Corporate Marketing

tel : +34 91 582 0160

fax : +34 91 582 0188

e-mail : mediarelations@amadeus.com