Cooperation with Sol Meliá will allow Cendant to add city and resort hotels run by the largest resort hotel company in the world to its distribution channels, and also become more active in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean

Sol Meliá, the largest resort hotel company in the world and market leader in Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Cendant Corporation, the worlds largest travel company and leader in hotels, car rental, timeshare and travel distribution, have announced the signing of a strategic alliance providing for close future co-operation.

The alliance was sealed today in New York by the Vice Chairman of Sol Meliá, Sebastián Escarrer, and the Vice Chairman of Cendant Corporation, Stephen P. Holmes. The alliance consists of a series of separate agreements between Cendant and Sol Meliá that will result in the following:

Cendants Travel Distribution Services Division and Sol Meliá will develop distribution and marketing programs to offer consumers access to Sol Meliá hotel inventory through a variety of online and offline channels including , Lodging.com, Thor and Galileo.

A cross-selling program to market Cendant hotel and travel products to Sol Meliá consumers, and to market Sol Meliá products to Cendant consumers.

Through a Marketing Alliance Agreement Cendants Timeshare Resort Group will provide direct marketing support for the Meliá Vacation Club to help grow its consumer base. In a separate agreement, Cendant subsidiary RCI will provide consultancy, exchange and other networking services for the Meliá Vacation Club, and will provide additional revenue and occupancy solutions to support Sol Meliás hotel business to drive growth in Europe and Latin America.

Sebastián Escarrer said: "Our relationship with Cendant Corporation is another grand alliance with a major market leader to open up new business opportunities and markets for us, including the extremely important US market".

He added: "Expanding our existing relationship with RCI, and leveraging the proven marketing capabilities of Cendant timeshare unit Fairfield Resorts will enable our association with the worlds largest timeshare company to help achieve our strategic objective to develop and internationalise our timeshare business and provide opportunities for greater growth and profitability. Working together with Cendant on hotel distribution, cross-selling and loyalty programs will also give us greater exposure and generate higher sales, particularly in the US".

Stephen Holmes said: "this alliance with Sol Meliá will allow our various travel distribution channels to offer our consumers more attractive hotel inventory in a large number of city and resort destinations, particularly in Spain, European cities, Latin America and the Caribbean where Sol Meliá is a market leader. We are also excited at the opportunity to bring one of the worlds great hospitality brands into timesharing, where we believe there exists the potential to create growth worldwide through a new global vacation club. This alliance builds a strong foundation from which our relationship with Sol Meliá can grow".

Cendant, the worldwide leader in travel services:

New York City-based Cendant Corporation is primarily a provider of travel and residential real estate services, with approximately 90,000 employees providing services to businesses and consumers in over 100 countries.

Cendant franchises the Ramada® and Travelodge® hotel brands in the United States and Canada; Days Inn®, Howard Johnson®, Wingate Inn® and Super 8® brands worldwide; and the AmeriHost Inn®, Knights Inn® and Villager brands in the United States. In aggregate, these brands represent the worlds largest portfolio of franchised hotels with 6,475 independently owned and operated properties representing approximately 528,749 rooms on five continents.

The Cendant Car Rental Group (CCRG) is also a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation operates Avis Rent A Car System, Inc. and Budget Rent A Car System, Inc. in the Americas, Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand.

RCI is a global provider of hospitality services, with market leadership positions in vacation property exchange and hotel occupancy and revenue solutions. RCI leverages core competencies in branding, networking and partnering to unlock the value of leisure assets in timeshare, real estate, hospitality, travel & tourism and with affinities. RCI is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation.

The Cendant Timeshare Resort Group is the worlds largest timeshare development business, with over $1 billion in combined annual vacation ownership interest revenues, and more than 600,000 owners, 10,000 units and 110 resorts. Business units include Fairfield Resorts, based in Orlando, Fla., and Trendwest Resorts, based in Redmond, Wash.

The Cendant Timeshare Resort Group is dedicated to the highest standards of ethics and practices in the marketing and sales of innovative, market-leading vacation ownership products and services.

Cendant's Travel Distribution Services Division is one of the worlds largest and most geographically diverse collections of travel distribution businesses. The division, employing some 5,000 people in more than 115 countries, includes: Galileo, a leading global distribution system (GDS) serving more than 47,000 travel agencies and 54,000 hotels; hotel distribution and services businesses (Trust, THOR, WizCom and Neat Group); leading travel agencies, including Cheap Tickets and Lodging.com; an airline market intelligence company; and Travelport, a global corporate travel booking company.

Sol Meliá, the largest hotel and resort company in the Spanish speaking world:

Spanish-based Sol Meliá, founded in Palma de Majorca in 1956 by the Chairman Gabriel Escarrer Juliá, is the largest resort hotel company in the world and also the leading hotel company in Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean, the third largest hotel company in Europe and number twelve in the world ranking. The company, which has 36,000 employees worldwide, provides more than 350 hotels and 80,000 rooms in 30 countries under its Meliá Hotels, TRYP Hotels, Sol Hotels and Paradisus Resorts brands.