Hotel-Motel Giant Will Suggest Visa

Under an agreement with Visa U.S.A., the reservation centers of Hospitality Franchise Systems Inc.'s hotels and motels will prompt callers to use Visa cards to guarantee their bookings.

The company owns Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Ramada Inn, and three other hotel chains.

In addition, the chains - which received 30 million reservation calls last year - will use "Check in with Visa" point of sale signs.

The Parsippany, N.J.-based system said that it accepts all major credit cards.

Thomas C. Edwards, Visa's senior vice president of travel and entertainment marketing, said the yearlong marketing agreement is an example of Visa's commitment to helping the lodging industry build business.

Meanwhile, Best Western International Inc. has joined Visa to offer three promotions, ranging from automatic entry into the Visa Olympic Sweepstakes to free nights and bonus points in Best Western's frequent guest program.

Each of the promotions requires that a customer use a Visa card to pay for a stay in a Best Western hotel.

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