Franchise Services of North America Inc. Announces Auto Rental Distribution Deal with Orbitz Worldwide for the U-Save Brand
U-Save's inventory to be made available on Orbitz, CheapTickets sites in North America
CALGARY, Alberta and CHICAGO, Feb. 13 -- Franchise Services of North America Inc.(TSXV-FSN) announced today that it has entered into an auto rental distribution agreement for its U-Save brand with Orbitz Worldwide . The agreement enables U-Save's inventory of rental cars to be displayed on the company's Orbitz (www.orbitz.com) and CheapTickets (www.cheaptickets.com) websites in North America.
Beginning in February 2009, U-Save will display rates and take reservations for rentals at its airport locations across the United States and Canada.
"It is always exciting to welcome new auto rental suppliers who want to work with Orbitz Worldwide and help them build their business and presence in the markets they serve," said Steve Praven, Vice President, Air and Car Rental Supply, Orbitz Worldwide. "With an average of more than 14 million monthly unique users coming to our websites globally in 2008, we believe that we can create the connections with our customers that brands like U-Save desire."
"We are pleased that the U-Save brand will shortly begin displaying rates and receiving reservations from Orbitz and Cheaptickets," said Bob Barton, Chief Operating Officer, Franchise Services of North America Inc. "Orbitz Worldwide's brands in North America are recognized as some of the largest providers of online travel reservations and we believe our franchisees, which have traditionally been low-cost providers, will benefit from the addition of these distribution channels, in terms of reservation delivery and customer exposure."
About Orbitz Worldwide
Orbitz Worldwide is a leading global online travel company that uses innovative technology to enable leisure and business travelers to research, plan and book a broad range of travel products. Orbitz Worldwide owns a portfolio of consumer brands that includes Orbitz (http://www.orbitz.com/), CheapTickets (http://www.cheaptickets.com/), ebookers (http://www.ebookers.com/), HotelClub (http://www.hotelclub.com/), RatesToGo (http://www.ratestogo.com/), the Away Network (http://www.away.com/), and corporate travel brand Orbitz for Business (http://www.orbitzforbusiness.com/). For more information on how your company can partner with Orbitz Worldwide, visit http://corp.orbitz.com/.
Orbitz Worldwide uses its Investor Relations website to make information available to its investors and the public at http://www.orbitz-ir.com/. You can sign up to receive email alerts whenever the company posts new information to the website.
About FSNA
FSNA is a publicly traded company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company and its subsidiaries own the following brands: U-Save Car & Truck Rental, U-Save Car Sales, Rent-A-Wreck of Canada, Auto Rental Resource Center ("ARRC"), Xpress Rent A Car and Peakstone Financial Services.
U-Save, together with its subsidiary ARRC, has over 1,100 locations throughout the United States and is one of North America's largest franchise car rental companies. Having primarily serviced the local market for the past 25 years, the Company is expanding into the airport market with plans for the opening of airport locations in the top 30 markets in the United States and the major airports in Canada. U-Save currently services 30 airport markets in 15 different states. U-Save Car Sales is an expansion of the U Save brand into the car sales market, and provides goods and services to car sales operators looking to affiliate with a national brand.
Practicar Systems Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of FSNA) owns the rights to the Rent-A-Wreck(R) trademark for all of Canada. The Rent-A-Wreck(R) system operates a network of 53 franchises from coast-to-coast in Canada, providing a range of vehicle rental, leasing and sales options to its customers. The Rent-A-Wreck(R) system has been in continuous operation in Canada since 1976.
Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements made in this news release are forward looking including in the paragraph wherein the Company has provided an update on certain regulatory matters. The words "may," "could," "should," "would," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," or "outlook" and similar expressions often identify forward-looking information. By their nature, forward-looking statements require FSNA to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that predictions, forecasts, conclusions and projections will not prove to be accurate, that FSNA's assumptions may not be correct and that actual results may differ materially from such predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections. FSNA's forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. In addition, the forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this news release, and except as required by applicable law, FSNA undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.