Readers of Leading Business Travel Magazines Name Priority Club® Rewards #1 Hotel Loyalty Program

15 December 2008        

Readers of Leading Business Travel Magazines Name Priority Club® Rewards #1 Hotel Loyalty Program

Priority Club Rewards Recognized for Variety of Redemption Options, No Points Expiration

ATLANTA (Dec. 12, 2008) – Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Priority Club® Rewards, the hotel loyalty program from IHG [LON: IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)], continues to take top honors among the world’s hotel rewards programs. For the fourth year in a row, Global Traveler magazine has named Priority Club Rewards the “Best Hotel Rewards Program in the World” in the annual Tested Awards, just as readers of Business Traveler magazine, equally enthused by the program’s wide variety of redemption options, vote Priority Club Rewards the “Best Hotel Loyalty Program” for the second consecutive year. Nearly 31,500 Global Traveler readers and 1,900 Business Traveler readers, selected at random, recognized Priority Club Rewards for its flexibility, ease-of-use and varied exclusive offerings such as Personal Shopper and "Any Hotel, Anywhere Reward," a pre-paid lodging card that can be used to pay for accommodations at more than 500,000 hotels worldwide – even at competitor hotels.

In June of 2008, Business Traveler asked a randomly selected cross section of its subscribers, who on average spend 65 nights per year in hotels and take 28 roundtrip airline-flights, to participate in its Best in Business Travel Awards. Global Traveler magazine conducted a similar survey from February through August, asking a series of open-ended questions to determine which program best serves the need of business travelers. A record-breaking 31,457 GT readers chose Priority Club Rewards as their program of choice.

“We never relied on the fact that Priority Club Rewards was the first hotel loyalty program and have strived over the last 25 years to deliver an innovative program that rewards our members’ loyalty through a variety of channels, whether it be Rewards Nights, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, auctions and even charitable giving,” said Don Berg, vice president, Loyalty Programs, IHG. “We appreciate this recognition from the readers of Business Traveler and Global Traveler and will continue to provide leisure and seasoned business travelers with the flexible features and a customer-centric program we can all be proud of.”

Enrollment in Priority Club Rewards is free, and members benefit from flexible features such as no points expiration, no blackout dates on reward nights, and more redemption options than any other hotel loyalty program, including more than 500,000 lodging establishments worldwide – even our rivals’ - through the industry-leading Any Hotel, Anywhere reward.

About Business Traveler
Based in New York, Business Traveler is a leading authority on business and corporate travel. As part of the Business Traveler publishing brand with ten editions worldwide, Business Traveler services the North American market and offers unparalleled resources for the traveling executive. In addition to the magazines monthly features, visitor guides, lifestyle reports and weekend guides, each issue also includes special reports ranging from business etiquette tips to preventing identity theft and the growing trend of mixing business with vacations. Business Traveler is printed 10 times yearly and has a circulation of 150,000. Visit btusonline.com.

About Global Traveler
A business travel publication that takes into account the sophisticated lifestyle interests of today's executive travelers, Global Traveler is the publication of choice among seasoned business travelers. Global Traveler is the only ABC-audited American magazine for the international business traveler, with ABC paid circulation of 100,000+. The magazine is also the only ABC audited magazine and independently measured by MediaMark Research (MRI). No other monthly magazine in its category boasts a higher audited circulation or page count. Ninety percent of its readership has average household income in excess of $100,000; 96 percent attended or graduated from college; and 98 percent of its readers are either top management or professionals. Visit globaltravelerusa.com.

About Priority Club Rewards
With 40 million members globally, IHG’s Priority Club Rewards is the first, largest and fastest-growing guest loyalty program in the hotel industry.  Winner of the 19th Annual Freddie Awards hotel loyalty Program of the Year for the second consecutive year and named Best Hotel Rewards Program in the World four years running by Global Traveler magazine, Priority Club Rewards offers more sought-after benefits and the greatest ease of use of any hotel loyalty program.  In addition to flexible features like No Points Expiration and No Blackout Dates, Priority Club Rewards members have more options for point redemption than any other hotel loyalty program, including redemption at more than 500,000 lodging establishments worldwide – even at rivals’ hotels – through the industry-leading Any Hotel, Anywhere Reward.  Members can redeem points not only for hotel nights, but also for airline miles on more than 40 partner airlines, for auto rentals, for gift certificates and for hundreds of products available in the Rewards Catalog.  And Priority Club Rewards is the only hotel loyalty program to offer members a Personal Shopper program that allows members to exchange points for items not found in the Rewards Catalog.

Enrollment in Priority Club Rewards is free. Guests can enroll by logging onto priorityclub.com, by calling 1-888-211-9874 or by inquiring at the front desk of any of IHG’s more than 4,100 hotels worldwide.