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IHG Selects Newmarket International's Hospitality Solutions to Drive Revenue Growth, Customer Satisfaction at Properties Worldwide

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PORTSMOUTH, NH--(Marketwire - August 17, 2009) - Newmarket International, Inc., the leader in
sales and catering solutions for the hospitality industry, today announced
an enterprise wide agreement with IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) (LSE: IHG) (NYSE: IHG) (ADRs) to implement MeetingBroker® as their lead
distribution and management platform for every property worldwide along
with Delphi.NetT as its online sales and catering solution for IHG's
midscale properties. IHG selected Newmarket International's solutions
following an internal study on the optimal business processes to innovate
in order to grow revenues, market share and customer satisfaction during
this challenging economic period.

MeetingBroker enables passing and managing leads from multiple online
sources and has a proven return on investment in the hospitality
marketplace. Delphi.Net is a "cloud based" sales and catering application
built to optimize the management of corporate transient, groups and
meetings. By implementing MeetingBroker, IHG will provide associates with a
standardized platform in which all leads will be distributed and managed.
The result will be an increase in conversion rates, enhanced business data
and improved brand communication.

"We are in a challenging economy; however, with our great brands, we
believe we can gain a competitive advantage by deploying a technology
solution that will focus on the management of leads for the groups and
meetings market," said Stephen Powell, Senior Vice President, World Wide
Sales, IHG. "By centralizing our lead distribution and management on the
MeetingBroker platform we will be able to understand sources of business,
how leads are managed at the property level and have a holistic picture of
our customers across the global enterprise."

In addition to a faster response to customers and a consistent way to
respond to leads, MeetingBroker will have a positive impact on sales
effectiveness. For locations that have multiple IHG hotels located in one
city, for example, IHG can consolidate the response and a faster, more
complete response will be delivered. "MeetingBroker is a platform we will
leverage to make smarter business decisions to increase our market share,"
concluded Powell.

In addition, stated Powell, "Delphi.Net is a highly intuitive web
application, so the sales and catering teams will be fully functional
almost immediately."

During the past year, Newmarket International has implemented extensive
platform upgrades, including migrating to Microsoft's most advanced
operating system to date, Windows Server 2008 and utilizing the Microsoft
.NET Framework in its Delphi.Net and MeetingBroker applications. Newmarket
International, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, has also developed a
comprehensive reporting warehouse using Microsoft SQL Server 2008
Integration Services and SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services to provide IHG
with enterprise-wide reporting on RFP activity through the MeetingBroker
application.

"With online channels dramatically shifting the distribution and lead
generation process, hospitality providers must now rely on powerful tools
to quickly assign, respond to and analyze leads," said Sandra Andrews, U.S.
Hospitality Industry Solutions Director, Microsoft Corp. "Newmarket is
utilizing the latest Microsoft technologies to create solutions that enable
hoteliers to respond to leads faster than the competition by eliminating
bottlenecks, escalating preferred accounts and focusing on the most
profitable channels."

"IHG has a strong portfolio of brands known for delivering superior
customer service," said Sean O'Neill, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
Newmarket International, Inc. "We are excited to be working with IHG on
such a significant business initiative."

About IHG

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) (LSE: IHG) (NYSE: IHG) (ADRs) is the
world's largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHG owns, manages, leases
or franchises, through various subsidiaries, over 4,300 hotels and almost
630,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the
world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognized and respected hotel
brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®,
Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts,
Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®, and
also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club®
Rewards, with 44 million members worldwide.

IHG has nearly 1,600 hotels in its development pipeline, which will create
140,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is
incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at
www.ihg.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards program at
www.priorityclub.com. For the latest news from IHG, visit our online Press
Office at www.ihg.com/media.

About Newmarket International

Newmarket International, Inc. (www.newmarketinc.com) is the leader in
delivering sales, group catering and event software solutions to the global
hospitality and entertainment industries. Newmarket International's suite
of business solutions can be found in hotels, casinos, restaurants, visitor
bureaus, stadiums, meeting arenas and convention centers throughout the
world. Newmarket International has over 80,000 users worldwide, with over
18,000 installations in over 154 countries. Newmarket International is
headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with international offices in
London, Shanghai, and Singapore.

Newmarket and MeetingBroker are registered trademarks of Newmarket
International, Inc. Delphi.Net is a trademark of Newmarket International,
Inc.

 

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