GHA members gather in Berlin at ITB to celebrate their 10th Anniversary

With 23 member brands and 425 hotels, the alliance has become a recognised platform for independent brands to compete head-on with the mega-chains

DUBAI, 2014-3-7 — /Travel PR News/ — Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) was founded in Berlin in 2004, with the goal of helping independent, upscale and luxury hotel brands to compete with the mega-chains, while enabling members to retain their individual identities.

Ten years later, GHA’s members are gathering in Berlin at ITB to celebrate their 10th Anniversary at a gala customer event at Hotel Adlon Kempinski, where the creation of the alliance was first announced exactly ten years ago.

Of the original four founding brands, Kempinski, Rydges & Pan Pacific are still members [Wyndham was replaced by Omni in 2006] and they have been joined by another 19 brands in the intervening years. GHA also has MICROS (NASDAQ: MCRS), the hotel industry’s leading technology company, as a partner and shareholder, and today boasts one of the most sophisticated multi-brand CRS and CRM platforms on the market.

Chris Hartley, who has been CEO of GHA from day one, is leading the celebrations in Berlin, and is still as enthusiastic as ever about what GHA is creating: “Few people thought we would survive more than a couple of years, which is typical of cross-brand partnerships in our industry. However, we had a clear financial objective in mind, which was offering affordable distribution and technology to independent brands. Only once we had the MICROS technology platform in place, did we move ahead with offering consumer-facing products and services, knowing we had the ability to recognise customers across all of our brands. We now have a loyalty programme, GHA Discovery, with 4 million members who drive over $1 billion in annual revenue, as well as preferred partner status with many of the travel industry’s biggest suppliers. So whereas ten years ago, it was more about cost efficiency through leveraged buying, we are now able to offer independent brands the ability to genuinely compete for market share with the mega-chains. That is good for the independent hotel sector and that is good for customers who often prefer a more local experience when they travel.”

GHA’s Chairman Mike Deitemeyer, is also President of Omni Hotels, and sees things from the member’s perspective as well: “Ten years ago, being a relatively small brand meant fighting at every street corner for recognition. We had limited international sales reach and our loyalty programme only offered hotels in North America,” explained Deitemeyer. “Today, Omni is part of a global network which means our share of international business is growing, our brand is gaining recognition in new markets, our customers are welcomed and rewarded in hotels around the world, and we are achieving all of that with a lower cost base.”

And Deitemeyer is optimistic about the future of the alliance as well. “There are more and more independent brands, and we are the only serious alliance operating in this space. We now have many independent hotel owners that are considering GHA membership as an alternative to full-scale management contracts, and that is a trend that we only see increasing.”

GHA is separately announcing two new members during ITB, Thon Hotels and GLO Hotels from Norway and Finland respectively, as well as the launch of Ultratravel Collection a new joint venture, aimed at attracting more “ultra-luxury” brands into the broader alliance family.

Editor’s Notes:

About Global Hotel Alliance
Based on the airline alliance model, Global Hotel Alliance is today the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands. GHA uses a shared technology platform to drive incremental revenues and create cost savings for its member brands, while offering a all the benefits of a multi-brand loyalty programme, GHA Discovery, which has over 4 million members. GHA’s member brands are currently: Anantara, Art Series, AVANI, Doyle Collection, First, Kempinski, The Leela, Lungarno Collection, Marco Polo, Mokara, Omni, Pan Pacific, PARKROYAL, Per AQUUM, QT, Rydges, Rixos, Shaza, Tangram, Thon, Tivoli and Ultratravel Collection encompassing more than 400 upscale and luxury hotels with over 100’000 rooms across 63 different countries. For more information visit www.gha.com

About the GHA Discovery programme
GHA Discovery is about making travel unforgettable. Using a common technology platform, members receive recognition across over 400 hotels, resorts, palaces and spas in all of the Global Hotel Alliance members’ hotels. Local Experiences, the exciting awards of the GHA Discovery programme, are unique, authentic activities which are designed by the hotels to give you a taste of local traditions and culture. Naturally, members also receive stay benefits, such as complimentary internet access, room upgrades and of course enhanced personal recognition as they move through the membership levels, each and every time they stay at a Global Hotel Alliance hotel. For more information visit www.gha.com

About MICROS Systems, Inc.
MICROS Systems, Inc. provides leading enterprise-wide applications, services and hardware for the hospitality and retail industries. Serving an extensive portfolio of clients worldwide, MICROS solutions are utilized in hotels, casinos, table and quick service restaurants, retail, leisure and entertainment, fuel and convenience, cruise, and travel operations in more than 180 countries, and on all seven continents. MICROS combines its industry knowledge and expertise to provide cloud-based, mobile and on premise solutions that allow its clients to streamline operations and successfully engage their customers.

MICROS applications include point of sale, property management, central systems, business intelligence, eCommerce, loyalty, CRM, loss prevention, distributed order management, labor management, inventory management, and merchandise planning solutions. MICROS services include hosting and SaaS, platform implementation and integration, strategic business consulting, interactive marketing, design services including creative and user experience, and managed services. MICROS stock is traded through NASDAQ under the symbol MCRS.

For more information on MICROS and its advanced information technology solutions for the hospitality and retail industries, please contact Louise Casamento, Vice President of Marketing at (443) 285-8144 or (866) 287-4736. You can also visit the MICROS website at www.micros.com or send an email to info@micros.com. Follow MICROS on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and the MICROS Blog.

Media Contacts:
Haitham Assem • Marketing Manager • GLOBAL HOTEL ALLIANCE
+971 4 421 4287 • haitham.assem@gha.com

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