Best Western Announces Partnership With Nickelodeon

Best Western Announces Partnership With Nickelodeon

World's Largest Hotel Chain and #1 Kids Network Team Up for Summer Promotion Featuring Collectible The Fairly OddParents Travel Card and Special Sweepstakes

PHOENIX, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Best Western International has teamed up with Nickelodeon, the number-one entertainment brand for kids, to create an interactive summer promotion including The Fairly OddParents limited edition Travel Card and a chance to win a family trip to Hollywood.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030627/BESTWESTERNLOGO)

To kick off the partnership, guests who stay a total of five nights at any Best Western hotel worldwide between June 6 and September 5, 2005, can earn a $50 collectible Travel Card featuring characters from Nickelodeon's top-rated animated television show, The Fairly OddParents. The Travel Card will be sent to qualified customers within six weeks of their fifth-night stay. Accepted at the more than 4,100 Best Western hotels around the globe, the card can be used to pay for accommodations and related incidentals, such as room service and phone charges.*

To be eligible, guests must be members of Best Western's loyalty program, Gold Crown Club International (GCCI), and register for the promotion prior to their first stay. Customers can sign up at www.bestwestern.com, or call 1-800-WESTERN and mention promotion code SUMMER. Individuals who currently are not enrolled in GCCI may join the free program when registering for the promotion.

The special Travel Card offer is in addition to the valuable points GCCI guests can earn throughout the year with stays at any Best Western hotel around the world.

"Nickelodeon's The Fairly OddParents provides the perfect platform for communicating our commitment to the family vacation market," said Dorothy Dowling, senior vice president of marketing for Best Western International. "We know how much kids -- and parents -- love Nickelodeon and the show. The Fairly OddParents is a true family experience that, through this promotion, takes summer vacation travel with Best Western to a whole new level."

"Vacations play an important role in kids' lives and we're thrilled that Best Western is adding value to that experience with a great promotion featuring one of Nickelodeon's top shows," said Pam Kaufman, executive VP, marketing, Nickelodeon.

Debuting on Nickelodeon in March 2001, The Fairly OddParents' popularity has soared among both kids and adults, making it the number-two-ranked kids' program on broadcast and cable television, second only to SpongeBob SquarePants. The series is also a solid hit among teens and adults, who make up more than 40% of its 30.3 million-viewer audience each week.

From creator Butch Hartman, The Fairly OddParents follows husband-and-wife sprites Cosmo and Wanda as they wreak mayhem and help Timmy conquer typical kid obstacles by granting him wishes. In so doing, they magically fix problems ranging from a tough homework assignment to a bothersome babysitter. Despite the wizardry, though, these overly eager oddballs manage to mess things up every time.

The joint summer promotion also includes a Nickelodeon and Best Western Sweepstakes, which runs from June 20 to July 4, 2005. One grand-prize winner will receive a family trip for four to Hollywood, including airfare, accommodations at a Best Western hotel, and the opportunity to meet the creator of The Fairly OddParents. Five hundred second-place winners will receive the $50 limited edition The Fairly OddParents collectible Best Western Travel Card and a Nick Arcade Game Card valued at $14.95, which can be used to purchase downloadable games on the Nickelodeon website. Contestants can enter to win by visiting www.Nick.com.

Nickelodeon will run a 30-second commercial spot for the sweepstakes during the length of this promotion.

Launched in 1988, Best Western's GCCI loyalty program is one of the industry's few truly international travel clubs. Members across the globe can earn points towards an extensive array of product and service awards at Best Western hotels throughout North, Central and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

About Best Western International

Best Western International is THE WORLD'S LARGEST HOTEL CHAIN(R) with more than 4,100 hotels in 80 countries and territories. It is a membership association of independently owned and operated hotels that provides marketing, reservations and operational support to its members.

About Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon, now in its 26th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in 88 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for more than nine consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International, Inc.

*Any eligible service managed or operated by a Best Western hotel.

CONTACT: Liana Goh Allison & Partners 415-277-4911 liana@allisonpr.com

Denise Seomin Best Western International 602-957-5668 denise.seomin@bestwestern.com

Sara Levin Nickelodeon 212-846-8670 sara.levin@nick.com

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030627/BESTWESTERNLOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Best Western International

CONTACT: Liana Goh of Allison & Partners, +1-415-277-4911, liana@allisonpr.com, for Best Western International; or Denise Seomin of Best Western International, +1-602-957-5668, denise.seomin@bestwestern.com; or Sara Levin of Nickelodeon, +1-212-846-8670, sara.levin@nick.com

Web site: http://www.nick.com/

Web site: http://www.bestwestern.com/

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