Following on from Pegasus Solutions strategic partnership agreement with VFM Leonardo last June, this has now been extended to include Pegasus’ hotel representation service Utell® Hotels & Resorts, to offer their over 9,000 independent and small group member hotels an industry-leading online merchandising solution.

VFM Leonardo’s VBrochure Online Merchandising System will provide Utell member hotels with the opportunity to promote their hotels with powerful visual content (photos, virtual tours and videos), through both traditional and alternative distribution powered by Pegasus. Additionally, Utell hotels will have the added benefit of distributing visual content to VFM Leonardo’s VNetwork, which distributes to all four global distribution systems (GDS) as well as thousands of online travel agencies (OTA) and third-party travel websites.

VBrochure allows hotels to get their visual stories in front of travel shoppers when they are in-market to buy. Through VBrochure, Utell’s hotels will have access to a fully integrated version of VScape® - the industry standard Digital Asset Management System to manage and distribute visual content to all online sales channels in the VNetwork. The content is displayed on the channels in a highly compatible Flash-based multimedia viewer complete with large widescreen viewing area, built-in technology and bandwidth auto-detection tools.

Displaying a consistent visual story, specifically with richer media like video and virtual tours on thousands of online channels and websites, is proven to increase conversion and look to book ratios, according to Paolo Boni, President and CEO of VFM Leonardo.

“Hotel booking decisions are influenced by visual content. In fact, travel shoppers viewing hotel videos are 89 percent more likely to book than those who do not,” said Boni. We are proud to provide Utell’s hotels with VBrochure, the best tool to extract more value out of their online presence with visual content on thousands of websites travel shoppers use when shopping for hotels online.”

By using VFM Leonardo’s complete solution for distribution of visual content such as photos, virtual tours and video, Utell’s hotels have an easy, streamlined way to better merchandise their properties across the distribution channels powered by Pegasus and the VNetwork, according to Ric Leutwyler, president of Utell Hotels & Resorts.

“Utell offers over 9,000 member hotels comprehensive solutions that combine leading technology, marketing and sales support to help them compete globally. By enlisting VFM Leonardo for visual content creation and distribution, we further equip them to compete effectively for guests online,” said Leutwyler.

Utell member hotels can get their visual content in front of travel shoppers by contacting their Utell account manager or by logging in to www.utellportal.com.

About Utell® Hotels & Resorts | Utell® Hotels & Resorts, part of Pegasus Solutions Inc, is the world’s leading hotel representation service providing a specialized range of powerful sales, marketing and distribution solutions for hotels and travel distributors. Utell is chosen by more than 9,000 independent hotels and small groups in over 130 countries and comprises an extensive and diverse international portfolio that includes luxury, boutique, value, business and resort properties for both business and leisure travelers.

Utell offers an unrivalled combination of 80 years experience representing hotels by delivering first class business generating solutions. These include preferred travel agent and online partnership agreements, a range of worldwide marketing programs, leading edge Internet booking engine solutions, comprehensive business intelligence reporting capabilities and award-winning hotel Web site marketing. Utell’s products and services are used by thousands of travel agencies, travel providers and businesses worldwide, including major global TMC’s (travel management companies), corporations, online distributors and consortia groups. Visit .

Media contact: Ariel Herr, +1 (214) 890 7912, [email protected]

About VFM Leonardo | VFM Leonardo is a technology leader in online visual content management and distribution systems. VFM Leonardo’s VScape® and VBrochure™ products leverage the distribution capabilities of the VNetwork™, the most universally accepted and largest online visual content distribution network for the global travel industry including all four global distribution systems (GDSs), Pegasus and travel-related channels including online travel agencies, travel research and supplier web sites, search portals and major travel intermediaries. VFM Leonardo offers the hotel industry the most effective digital asset management and online merchandising systems available today and efficiently delivers over 1,000,000 visual images (photos, virtual tours and videos) to more than 30,000 travel channels and websites in the VNetwork including Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, Worldspan, Pegasus, Travelocity, Orbitz, Priceline, Tripadvisor, Yahoo! Travel, Kayak, Google and many more for 90,000 hotels worldwide. For more information about VFM Leonardo, visit . Follow us on Twitter at @VFMLeonardo.