Choice Promotes Cynthia Lakas to VP
Database and Direct Marketing
SILVER SPRING, MD, August 24, 2006. Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) today announced the promotion of Cynthia Lakas to the newly created position of vice president, database and direct marketing. In this role, Lakas will focus on strengthening the company's database and direct marketing strategies to fully leverage the company's guest information and consumer marketing efforts to increase business delivery and reservations contributions to Choice properties.
Lakas joined Choice in 1997 and has played a key role in building the company's direct marketing programs. She currently serves as senior director, database/rewards marketing in the company's consumer marketing division. In that role, she helped develop and launch Choice Privileges, the company's rewards program, which has grown since 2001 from 1.2 million members to 4.9 million members. She has also designed and implemented successful targeted promotions to Choice Privileges members. In her new position, she will be tasked with expanding the quality and quantity of Choice's guest information, developing and implementing strategies to market more effectively to the company's most loyal customers, and expanding direct marketing efforts to customize offers based on guest preferences and itineraries.
"Cynthia has been instrumental in the success of Choice Privileges and in our database marketing efforts," said Bill Carlson, senior vice president for consumer revenue growth at Choice. "Thanks to Cynthia's contributions, we have utilized our database to gain greater insight into our guests' needs in order to better serve them through new product offerings and consumer promotions. In her new role, Cynthia will be able to more fully focus on improving our knowledge of individual guests as we continue to capture more information about our hotel customers with a goal of delivering more targeted content, messages and promotional offers.'
Prior to joining Choice, Lakas served as vice president, consumer loan marketing for Citizens Bank. She also spent seven years at Hilton Hotels Corporation in a number of positions of increasing responsibility, including overseeing leisure marketing and new product marketing, culminating in a two-year stint as vice president of quality management. Lakas holds a master's of business administration from Marymount University and a bachelor's degree from Indiana University.
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is a global leading lodging company based in Bethesda,Maryland, USA, with more than 4,200 properties in 80 countries and territories. Marriott International reported revenues of nearly $14 billion in fiscal year 2014. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 19 brands, including: The Ritz-Carlton®, BVlgari®, EDITION®, JW Marriott®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Renaissance® Hotels, Marriott Hotels®, Delta Hotels and Resorts®, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Gaylord Hotels®, AC Hotels by Marriott®, Courtyard®, Residence Inn®, SpringHill Suites®, Fairfield Inn & Suites®, TownePlace Suites®, Protea Hotels® and MoxyHotels®. Marriott has been consistently recognized as a top employer and for its superior business ethics. The company also manages the award-winning guest loyalty program, Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® program, which together surpass 50 million members. For more information or reservations, please visit our website at 
