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CORINTHIA HOTELS INTERNATIONAL ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING HOSPITALITY CHAINS IN EUROPE TARGETS AMERICAN MARKET FOR THE FIRST TIME
Gala Launch Event held at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City New York, NY June 28, 2005 : Corinthia Hotels International (CHI), a Malta-based company and one of the fastest growing hospitality chains in Europe, launched its brand for the first time in the US/North American market. CHI Chairman, Hon. Karmenu Vella, told guests at a Gala evening reception at New York's Mandarin Oriental Hotel, "the company is establishing CHI as an elegant new option for American travellers, representing luxury and world class service combined with the warm hospitality that is already known to Europeans as 'the Spirit of Corinthia'." Corinthia has 20 four- and five-star city and resort hotels located in 11 fascinating destinations, spanning Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. "Corinthia's timing for entering the American Market couldn't be better," said Vella. "Our Premier Collection, six of our 12 Five Star properties, are located in cities that have become the 'hot spots' for American business and leisure travellers -- Budapest, Prague, St, Petersburg and Tripoli." It is also a time when the Meeting, Incentive, Conference and Exhibitions/Events (MICE) planners in the US are looking for new, exciting, but affordable, destinations to attract greater attendance at their events. "We want Corinthia to become synonymous with the best hospitality experience these destinations have to offer," he stated. Corinthia's Success- Leader in Pioneering New Destinations Corinthia, greatly respected in the hospitality industry as a dynamic and pioneering company, with an extraordinary "sixth sense" for where the next "in" market will be, established the CHI Image and Brand way ahead of the more famous hotel chains. Vella said, "with more than 40 years of experience, we are proud of the fact that Corinthia is the market leader in upcoming tourism destinations. When Corinthia started looking at expanding outside of Malta, we didn't look at touristically mature destinations, but at countries that were ripe for development and this strategy paid off in the end -- Malta in the 70's and 80's; Turkey in the early 90's; and central Europe (Prague and Budapest) in the mid-90's; and now St. Petersburg and the Bab Africa Hotel in Tripoli. The new hotel in Libya is another example of the pioneering spirit of the Corinthia Group. We started looking at establishing ourselves in Tripoli when no one expected that the sanctions would be lifted and that the country would subsequently open up for business. Again, it was a very courageous move and once more it's paying off. In fact, Corinthia Bab Africa is the only five-star International Hotel operating in Tripoli. The Hotel itself is one of the best worldwide and sets new standards of excellence on the African continent, catering for both leisure and business travelers." Corinthia Hotels: MICE Market Leaders in their Destinations Last year, Corinthia Hotels International launched its new Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Exhibitions/Events (MICE) concept titled Events@Corinthia. This unique MICE dedicated program incorporates special facilities and services offering 'Stress Free' and 'Success Full' conferences and events in a select portfolio of 13 four and five-star CHI hotels in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Libya, Malta, Portugal, Russia and Tunisia. Geoff Andrew, CHI Group Director, Sales & Marketing, said "the conference and events market in Budapest, Lisbon and Tripoli recently received a major boost with the addition of Corinthia Hotels International's three latest and biggest hotel projects to hit the International conference scene - Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal in Budapest, Corinthia Alfa Hotel and Congress Center in Lisbon, and Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel in Tripoli." Together they add an impressive 1270 upscale hotel rooms, and extensive conference and events facilities. Indeed, the hotels in Budapest, Lisbon and Tripoli can individually handle bigger meetings than any other hotels in their respective cities. This affirms Corinthia as the undisputed market leader in these increasingly popular conference destinations. Corinthia Executives From Six Destinations Welcome Guests at Launch The CHI Executives from six different destinations were also present at the Launch in New York to welcome the guests. Joining Hon. Karmenu Vella and Geoff Andrew, were: Corinthia Antwerp Hotel, Antwerp - Frank DeNeef, General Manager and Anja Van Echelpoel, DOS; Corinthia Towers Hotel and Corinthia Panorama Hotel, Prague - Christian Grage, General Manager and Miroslav Forejtek, DOS; Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal, Budapest - Cornelia Kausch, General Manager and Tamas Fazekas, DOS; Corinthia San Gorg Hotel, Malta, Erika Farrugia Harding, DOS; Corinthia Alfa Hotel, Lisbon - Victor Copio, Hotel Resident Manager; Corinthia Nevskij Palace Hotel, St. Petersburg - Satu-Johanna Oksanen, DOS.
ABOUT CORINTHIA HOTELS INTERNATIONAL (CHI) Corinthia Hotels International's four decades of experience in the hospitality industry began in 1962 with the acquisition by the Pisani family of Villa Corinthia, an art nouveau villa in Malta which was to be operated as an upscale restaurant. The Corinthia Restaurant soon established itself as an essential part of Malta's glittering social scene. With its success firmly established, the next stage was to construct a hotel and, in 1968, the Corinthia Palace Hotel was opened on the Grounds of Villa Corinthia. CHI is today a fast growing hotel operation with 20 four- and five-star city and resort hotels, and a room inventory in excess of 6000, in Belgium, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Libya, Malta, Portugal, Russia, The Gambia, Togo, Tunisia and Turkey. CHI takes pride in keeping alive the local character and individuality of each of its hotels. Outstanding service is the Company's hallmark and it strives to ensure that guests enjoy each property's distinct style and tradition. Indeed, the stated aim is to exceed customer expectations in all Corinthia hotels at all times. A continued family commitment, coupled with a well-trained and motivated workforce of more than 5,000 employees, CHI is a dynamic institution that looks towards present and future growth with a confidence born out of long years of experience in the hospitality sector and an inherent desire of achieving excellence in all its activities. Among its five-star properties, Corinthia boasts two Award-winning hotels: Budapest's Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal received Europe's "Best Hotel Architecture Award" and was recently selected to join the privileged list of "The Most Famous Hotels in the World." Prague's Corinthia Towers Hotel was voted best MICE Hotel 2004 by WorldHotels out of the organization's 500 affiliated hotel properties worldwide. Most recently Corinthia Hotels International was named one of the Czech Republic's first 'Superbrands' by the Country's newly set up Superbrand Council. The Superbrand program, one of 30 worldwide, evaluates the best global and local brands in a selected destination and produces a high-caliber publication profiling each of the chosen brands. The five-star Corinthia Towers Hotel was the venue for the Gala Launch Ceremony in Prague, attended by the Czech Republic's Deputy Prime Minister, Ing. Martin Jahn. For additional information on CHI visit www.corinthiahotels.com; in New York, The Bradford Group (212) 447-0027, email bradfordmktg@aol.com. For reservations: WorldHotels (800) 223 -5652; Meeting & Incentive Groups (212) 586 3150.
Editorial Contact: Karen Hoffman, The Bradford Group Tel: (212) 447-0027 E-mail: bradfordmktg@aol.com
Corinthia Hotels International &endash; Experience the Warmth, Colour, and Vitality
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