TRUST International Offers Free GDS Marketing Promotion To Boost Travel Bookings For Hotel Clients - Initiative to Increase Client Visibility in Travel Agent Community

Within the terms of the promotion, each client can receive up to two free sign-in messages. The first sign-in message needs to be completed by January 31, 2002 and the second sign-in message must be completed by the end of the first quarter 2002. When travel agents log onto the GDS, an advertising message will pop up directing the travel agent to the properties of TRUST's global hotel groups.

"As travel technology providers, we are looking to stimulate the market and increase bookings for our clients, especially in a market downturn," stated Connie Rheams, President of TRUST in the Americas. "The GDS distribution channel serves as a significant revenue stream for our clients. We expect a GDS marketing promotion to have a positive impact for our clients in that respect," added Rheams.

The free GDS promotion is part of TRUST's multi-faceted strategy for supporting its client base in a particularly difficult economic climate. The company is also offering a free revenue management tool in the latest version of its core central reservations system, TRUST Res, released in November.

The GDS is an extraordinarily powerful profit engine for the hospitality industry. With GDS bookings skyrocketing at a 10% growth rate every year, room revenues reached approximately $13 billion in 2001, making it the largest e-commerce marketplace in the world.

About TRUST International

TRUST International (www.trustinternational.com) is a member of the Bertelsmann Group, the most international media corporation. TRUST develops and implements a state-of-the-art central reservation system, providing tailor-made, real-time reservations and global distribution solutions for the hospitality industry. TRUST services provide real-time solutions that seamlessly connect hotels and bookers worldwide, including private label telephone lines, connectivity to all Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and various Web sites and Internet platforms, and three Global Call Centers serving 36 countries in 16 languages. TRUST maintains three offices worldwide including the Headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, the Americas office in Orlando, Florida, and an Asia Pacific communication center in Singapore. Among TRUST's clients are some 1,300 hotels at 685 destinations in 95 countries such as Astron Hotels & Resorts, Dorint Hotels & Resorts, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Hard Rock Hotels, Kempinski Hotels & Resorts, The Leading Hotels of the World, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, Pan Pacific Hotels & Resorts, Raffles International Hotels & Resorts, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, SRS-WORLDHOTELS, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, and Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts.