SPOKANE, Wash., March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The 30-year-old Budget Host International hotel chain is growing fast, powered by a Complete Independent Hotel Operating System from Magnuson Hotels, built to help independent owner-operators increase revenue and decrease costs. Budget Host recently partnered with Magnuson Hotels to provide Internet reservation service to all of its properties.

"A strong reservation system is vital to a chain's growth," said Lisa Sawyer, vice president of Budget Host International. "Since we implemented the Magnuson Hotels system, we have experienced growth in new hotels to our chain, adding 10 new properties in the first six months."

What the Magnuson Hotels system offers to hotel owner-operators is the opportunity to increase occupancy and rates immediately through the largest hotel distribution currently available; more than 2,000 Internet channels, complete Global Distribution System penetration to over 650,000 global travel agents and worldwide search engine coverage in Google.com, Yahoo.com, MSN.com and AOL.com.

Budget Host owner-operators are increasing occupancy and reducing operational costs since Budget Host installed the Magnuson Hotels system.

"Our properties are already getting great results," said Sawyer. "Our members are selling more rooms and competing better in their local markets. Owners are reporting a substantial increase in business that can be directly attributed to Internet reservations through Magnuson Hotels."

Fees for the system are performance-based and tied to the number of reservations produced for each hotel. As a result, Budget Host owner-operators are able to affordably compete with much larger chains in their local markets.

"We like working with a company driven by experienced hotel owners dedicated to selling every room possible for us," said Sawyer. "Since the Magnuson Hotels Complete Operating System is performance-based, they are willing to roll with the same punches as every hotel in our chain."

Magnuson Hotels, headquartered in Spokane, Wash., is a privately held company owned and operated by Thomas and Melissa Magnuson. In the last 24 months, Magnuson Hotels has added more hotels to its affiliate list than eight of the top 10 worldwide hotel chains, including Best Western, Days Inn, Holiday Inn, Ramada, and Super 8. Magnuson Hotels already ranks top 40 among the 300 largest worldwide hotel companies.

Magnuson Hotels' affiliate base currently represents over 450 hotels with 30,000 rooms and 8,000 employees in 48 U.S. states and Canada. The combined affiliate base represents aggregate assets in excess of $2 billion. For more information about Magnuson Hotels, visit the corporate Web site at http://www.magnusonhotels.com/.

Budget Host International, headquartered in Arlington, Texas, was founded in 1976. The company has grown steadily, attracting owners of high-quality independent inns. Budget Host International has 160 affiliated inns in 37 states. The hotel chain places a high priority on quality assurance, with the majority of the inns rated by AAA. For more information about Budget Host International, visit the corporate Web site at http://www.budgethost.com/.

Contact: Thomas Magnuson, Magnuson Hotels, 509-747-8713, tom@magnusonhotels.com

Lisa Sawyer, Budget Host International, 817-861-6088, sawyerl@budgethost.com

CONTACT: Thomas Magnuson of Magnuson Hotels, +1-509-747-8713, or
tom@magnusonhotels.com; or Lisa Sawyer of Budget Host International,
+1-817-861-6088, or sawyerl@budgethost.com

Web site: http://www.budgethost.com/
http://www.magnusonhotels.com/