InterContinental Hotels Group Introduces Yahoo! Toolbar with Priority Club(R) Rewards Functionality

InterContinental Hotels Group Introduces Yahoo! Toolbar with Priority Club(R) Rewards Functionality

Toolbar Provides Exclusive Priority Club Rewards Features, Bonus Points and Free Services from Yahoo! including Anti-Spy and Pop-up Blocker

ATLANTA, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) (NYSE:IHG) (ADRs), the world's largest and most global hotel company, today announced an agreement to team with Yahoo! to develop a co- branded Yahoo! Toolbar developed exclusively for Priority Club Rewards members.

Available now by visiting http://www.priorityclub.com/toolbar the Yahoo! Toolbar offers special Priority Club Rewards features to create an essential tool for members to manage their account online. Members who download the co- branded Yahoo! Toolbar between now and Jan. 31, 2005, will receive an additional 250 points.

"Priority Club Rewards is renowned as the industry's easiest and most valuable program to use, while Yahoo! is the number one Internet brand globally," said Steve Sickel, senior vice president, Loyalty Marketing, InterContinental Hotels Group. "This new Yahoo! Toolbar with Priority Club Rewards features combines the best of both services and extends the benefits to our loyal customers."

Once downloaded, the Yahoo! Toolbar provides Priority Club Rewards members with a host of Yahoo! resources. Users will enjoy shortcut access to hotels in the InterContinental Hotels Group system, making it even easier to find and book secure online reservations at any one of their hotels or resorts. In addition, the Yahoo! Toolbar includes a specialized link to Priority Club Rewards member information, such as account activity, current reservations, special offers and more. Members also can use the toolbar for hassle-free web surfing, as well as to access a series of other essential Yahoo! services, including Anti-Spy and Pop-Up Blocker.

"The Priority Club Rewards Toolbar, as with all of our online initiatives, is about delivering resources that ensure customer confidence in our brands," said Eric Pearson, senior vice president, E-commerce, InterContinental Hotels Group. "The Yahoo! Toolbar is another way for us to simplify, personalize and protect the online experience for our guests no matter where they are on the web."

"We are pleased to be working with IHG to create a toolbar designed specifically with IHG's Priority Club Rewards members in mind," said Eckart Walther, director of product management, Yahoo! Search. "The power of the Yahoo! Toolbar is that travelers on the go can easily access their account information from any computer with an Internet connection, making it easy to quickly check or book a reservation online."

Priority Club Rewards is the largest and fastest-growing loyalty program in the hotel industry. Membership has doubled over the last three years, to more than 23 million. The program is the easiest to use and features more sought-after benefits than any other hotel offering.

Enrollment in Priority Club Rewards is free. Guests enroll online at http://www.priorityclub.com/ , by calling 1-888-211-9874 or by enquiring at the front desk of any InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites or Candlewood Suites hotel worldwide.

About Priority Club(R) Rewards

Priority Club Rewards is the world's first and most global hotel loyalty program, spanning more than 3,500 hotels in nearly 100 countries. Priority Club Rewards is the largest and fastest-growing hotel loyalty program in the hotel industry. 20 percent of new members enrolled via the Internet in FY 2003.

About InterContinental Hotels Group

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC of the United Kingdom (NYSE:IHG) (ADRs) is the world's most global hotel company and the largest by number of rooms. InterContinental Hotels Group owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, more than 3,500 hotels and 536,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognized and respected hotel brands including InterContinental(R) Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza(R) Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn(R) Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express(R), Staybridge Suites(R), Candlewood Suites(R) and Hotel Indigo(TM), and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club(R) Rewards, with more than 23 million members worldwide. In addition to this, InterContinental Hotels Group has a controlling interest in Britvic, the second largest soft drinks manufacturer in the UK. InterContinental Hotels Group offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/ and information for the Priority Club Rewards program at http://www.priorityclub.com/ . For the latest news from InterContinental Hotels Group, visit our online Press Office at http://www.ihgplc.com/media .

Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo and SmartView are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Yahoo! Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.


Source: InterContinental Hotels Group

CONTACT: Carolyn Hergert of InterContinental Hotels Group,
+1-770-604-8248, or carolyn.hergert@ichotelsgroup.com ; or Will Davis,
+1-404-898-1607, or wdavis@gcigroup.com , or Lindsey Miller, +1-404-870-3779,
or lmiller@gcigroup.com , both of GCI Group

Web site: http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/
http://www.ihgplc.com/media
http://www.priorityclub.com/
http://www.priorityclub.com/toolbar


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