Six Continents Hotels launches toll-free telephone booking service for travellers in China

Six Continents Hotels today officially opened a central reservations office in Guangzhou to provide toll-free telephone booking and related services to travelers in China, Hong Kong and Macau.

The toll-free numbers include; China 800 830 1123; Hong Kong 800 968 111; and Macau 0 800 698 for travel bookings. The reservations office also offers individual brand toll-free numbers as well as guest services and support to Six Continents Hotels' loyalty programme, Priority Club Rewards.

Designed to make the process of booking a room fast, simple and convenient, the China Central Reservations Office (CNCRO) soft-opened in early October and is now fully operational. The CNCRO offers access to Mandarin-, Cantonese- and English-speaking customer service staff and is open from 9am to 8pm, Monday through Saturday.

With a single free call to the CNCRO, business and leisure travelers as well as travel agents can make real-time hotel bookings at any hotel or resort owned, operated or franchised by Six Continents Hotels. Dedicated Six Continents Hotels reservations agents will also ensure that their every need is met.

The Company's portfolio includes over 512,000 guestrooms in more than 3,270 hotels and resorts in nearly 100 countries and territories. Its brands include InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Express by Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites by Holiday Inn.

"China is our No. 1 growth market and its potential is immense as an inbound destination, as a domestic travel market, and as a source of outbound travel. This is not surprising as current statistics in the market show that China is expected to be the fourth largest source of outbound travellers within two decades," said Richard Hartman, Six Continents Hotels' Managing Director, Asia Pacific. "Our commitment to this new Guangzhou reservation office is testimony to the value of greater China's travel volumes and a clear indication of the importance we place on this region."

"Our research indicates that China-based guests prefer making a local, rather than an international call when making a reservation. Many travelers also expressed a preference for customer service representatives who were native speakers of Mandarin and Cantonese," noted Casey McDermott, Six Continents Hotels' Regional Director, Asia Pacific Reservations. "These factors, combined with the city's excellent telecommunications infrastructure and its enthusiastic, talented workforce, made Guangzhou a natural location for our reservations office."

Located in the China Telecom Customer Service Center in central Guangzhou, the CNCRO has a dedicated staff of 13. Six Continents Hotels plans to double the facility's headcount by January 2003.

Six Continents Hotels opened its first hotel in China-the Holiday Inn Lido Beijing-in 1984. Today, the Company owns, manages or franchises four InterContinental, 12 Crowne Plaza and 23 Holiday Inn hotels and resorts in 25 locations in China.