The new Starbucks Reserve Roastery in New York is designed to be a sleek, inspiring coffee extravaganza in the heart of the city’s vibrant meatpacking district.

Locals and tourists alike pass through the historic, ultra-hip neighborhood in droves on their way to or from work, museums, shopping, the Chelsea Market and the High Line, and the Roastery offers them a place to stop in, to stay for hours or to visit after hours for a coffee or tea-infused craft cocktail. There’s a working coffee roaster, freshly made Princi baked goods, an expansive mezzanine bar with adventurous craft cocktails, a surprise terrarium, a Starbucks Siren emerging from sculpted metal water – the list goes on.

So where to start? We’ve got you. Here are 10 things to look for when visiting the New York Roastery, opening Friday.

1. A New York state of design
NYC Roastery

The New York Roastery is opening its doors on the street level of a new nine-story office building designed by architect Rafael Vinoly in the heart of Manhattan’s vibrant meatpacking district (more on the neighborhood later).

“The really striking quality of the building itself is that it’s made up of these beautiful, rigid squares and rectangles, pushed and pulled. Where they are pulled in it becomes a terrace and it makes these little gardens,” said Jill Enomoto, a design director at Starbucks. “We fell in love with the geometry of the building and riffed off that idea.”

Inside, the Roastery ceiling features an “undulating ocean” of squares and rectangles inspired by the building’s exterior and by the grid of New York City blocks outside. The ceiling also features a network of twisting, subway-like “symphony pipes” through the freshly roasted beans travel (making the tinkling sound of rain along the way) to their ultimate destination – silos at the main bar, or the take-home scoop bar.

The New York-inspired design isn’t just symbolic. It’s practical as well, down to the window ledges that can be used as seats or tables by city goers accustomed to crowds and using every available space to sit or hang. There’s also a fireplace.

“It gets cold in Manhattan, but people are not scared. Even if there’s a blizzard, they walk, they go out,” said Liz Muller, chief design officer and senior vice president of Starbucks. She and her team led the design of New York Roastery and the three other Starbucks Roasteries in Seattle, Shanghai and Milan. “New Yorkers are out more than they’re in. They are out eating and meeting and this can be their true Third Place. You can have a party here. You can meet your love here. You can come here on your own. You can come here when you’re visiting the neighborhood. You could come here as your daily ritual. I think this does a little bit of all of that, and it is very much New York.”

2. The Siren emerges
NYC Roastery

Each Roastery features a unique art piece to bring the centerpiece of the Starbucks logo to life, and in New York, a 10-foot, 2,000-pound copper Siren will keep watch over the new space. Designed to appear as if she is emerging from water, the New York Roastery’s Siren was created by Brooklyn artist Max Steiner, who collaborated on the metal forging with Polich Tallix foundry in Rock Tavern, N.Y.

“Every Roastery has to have her, and this Siren is very unique, and very New York,” Muller said. “She’s the overarching beacon of our brand.”

3. Built for bustle
NYC Roastery

It can be a challenge for designers to create a stylish and functional space that is also built to withstand heavy use over time. Starbucks worked with longtime collaborator BassamFellows on the design of an exclusive suite of walnut furniture for the New York Roastery. It’s beautiful furniture with a classic yet modern American style – and also sturdy, Muller said.

“The furniture has to look great but also perform like a truck,” Muller said. “It’s perfect for this location, which I know will be busy.”

4. A tiny corner of Costa Rica
NYC Roastery

The cellar level features a first for a Roastery, a terrarium inspired by Hacienda Alsacia, the Starbucks coffee farm in Costa Rica. The lush vegetation includes coffee plants, ferns and

philodendrons common to Costa Rica. A company called Furbish in Baltimore created the terrarium; the team there has been cultivating and curating the plants for about six months before installing them in the Roastery. “It’s a beautiful surprise down there,” Enomoto said. “You could be wandering around and end up in a pocket of Costa Rica.”

5. The journey of the green bean
NYC Roastery

The New York Roastery features the largest fully-operational coffee roasting plant on the island of Manhattan, which will roast more than 1.5 million pounds of coffee per year. Each Roastery features a custom cask, the large container used to hold freshly roasted beans as they rest before being used in beverages, and New York is no exception. New York’s cask is a 30-foot sleek, hammered copper cask fabricated and installed by A. Zahner, an internationally known engineering and fabrication company best known for the use of metal in the world of art and architecture.

The roasting process at the New York Roastery includes a few other nods to its home in the city’s historic meatpacking district. The bags of green coffee beans will make their way up from the cellar via hooks on a conveyer, where they will be cut open and the green beans will fall into a copper vessel and begin their journey to roasting.

6. A neighborhood buzzing with past and future
NYC Roastery

The New York Reserve Roastery is located in the heart of the meatpacking district, a vibrant neighborhood on the west side of Manhattan that was historically a hub of industry and manufacturing, including meatpacking. The district is now home to the Whitney Museum of American Art, a hopping restaurant scene, a number of high-end retailers and the popular High Line, a section of obsolete railroad tracks that were redeveloped as a park and walking trail in 2009.

“The meatpacking district has become this incredible place of food and taste,” Muller said. “We wanted an experience that meets and adds inspiration to this fantastic neighborhood. Something for people to do as they’re coming out of the subway or off the High Line or out of the Chelsea Market. Something to make people say, ‘Wow.’”

The new Roastery is across the street from Chelsea Market, a shopping and food mall in the factory where Oreo cookies were invented and once produced.

“The neighborhood has so much energy,” Enomoto said. “The thing that excites me the most is that we’re an operational coffee roasting plant in a neighborhood with a fantastic history of industry. So we’re using it as it’s historically been used but bringing this really incredible experience along with it. There’s tradition and history all around us and a fantastic mix of locals and tourists.

7. You have arrived
NYC Roastery

Arriviamo means “we have arrived” in Italian, and visitors to the Roastery will arrive to find a 60-foot mixology bar on the mezzanine. The Arriviamo Bar, which Muller said will be the longest mixology bar in any Roastery, is front and center on the space’s mezzanine and can be viewed from every corner of the Roastery. “We knew if we were opening a bar in this neighborhood, it had to be among the best, and this is truly a statement,” Muller said. “I want to have my party there.”

8. Fancy a drink?
NYC Roastery

Inspired by the Arriviamo Bar in the Milan Roastery and the tradition of the Italian aperitivo (early evening social cocktails paired with small bites), the Arriviamo Bar in New York City features an assortment of traditional and unique cocktails ranging from classics like Aperol Spritz to coffee- and tea-inspired creations. The bar menu was concepted by award-winning mixologist Julia Momose.

“Opening a bar with beautiful wine and drinks is one thing, but we’re taking what we know best, coffee and tea, and using that to elevate everything,” Muller said. “The unique drinks, the glassware – it will be an experience to open your palette and your mind to new tastes and combinations.”

Her current favorite: The Nocino Notte, an adventurous take on the classic Negroni with Starbucks Reserve Cold Brew, Pine Barrens Barrel Reserve Botanical Gin, Gran Classico Bitter, Don Ciccio & Figli Nocino and black truffle salt.

9. A beautiful bakery experience
NYC Roastery

As if the smell of freshly roasting coffee weren’t enough, at the New York Roastery it will mingle with freshly baked bread from Princi. Princi was founded by baker Rocco Princi in Milan, and is now the exclusive food purveyor in Starbucks Roasteries. Teams of bakers will spend each day pulling artisanal baked goods, both savory and sweet, from the cast-iron ovens.

“There’s a glorious display counter with bakery items, salads and desserts, and you can stand outside on the street and see bakers taking fresh bread from the ovens through the window,” Muller said. “It’s a really beautiful bakery experience.”

10. The inside scoop
NYC Roastery

Customers can visit the Roastery’s “scoop bar” to take home some bags of some of the 14 rotating, freshly roasted coffees from farms around the world.

“In true mercantile tradition, we wanted to make sure we showed the customer what we were trading,” Muller said. “The scoop bar features a vintage hanging scale to celebrate the tradition of the neighborhood and nine beautiful coffee bean silos in the window that will be manually filled each morning, so you’ll be able to walk by and say, ‘Wow, they’ve got Colombia and Brazil today.’”

AccorHotels, a leading global hotel operator, today announces the acquisition of onefinestay, a high-end hospitality pioneer specializing in luxury serviced Home rental in key worldwide gateways, for €148M (£117M) and makes a further commitment of €64m (£50m) to help the company scale internationally.

onefinestay is the leading brand in the luxury segment of the Serviced Homes market, combining the best homes and the finest service. Leisure and business guests stay in hand-picked distinctive private homes with made-to-measure, personal service from a personal welcome on arrival to a team on call 24/7. For homeowners, onefinestay provides peace of mind, convenience and flexibility, by taking care of everything from marketing, distribution and insurance to screening each guest, to professional cleaning, management and maintenance.

Launched in 2010 in London by Greg Marsh (CEO and co-founder), Demetrios Zoppos, Tim Davey and Evan Frank (co-founders), the company today operates a portfolio of 2,600 properties under exclusive management with strategic locations in London, New York, Paris, Los Angeles and Rome (representing an estimated asset value of more than £4bn).

With its global presence and strong expertise in both operations and digital services, AccorHotels will support a new development phase of onefinestay, accelerating its expansion across new key urban markets, providing it with its powerful distribution capacity, strong customer base, incremental synergies and its know-how as a world-leading hotelier. As a result, onefinestay has an ambitious strategy to expand to 40 new cities around the world over the next five years growing revenues tenfold.

onefinestay will remain an independent business unit within the AccorHotels Group and will continue to be led by Greg Marsh and the key management team.

Sébastien Bazin, Chairman & CEO of AccorHotels said: “onefinestay has successfully captured a sweet spot: a combination of needs that neither traditional hotels nor new actors of the sharing economy can meet. With the acquisition of this exceptional brand, unique operating model and outstanding management team, AccorHotels is developing as the worldwide leader of the Serviced Homes market. Today, together with our recent investments, we are accelerating the transformation of our business model to capture the value creation linked to the rise of private rentals and also strengthening our presence in the luxury market with a complementary offer”.

Greg Marsh, Co-Founder & CEO of onefinestay said: “AccorHotels’ investment in onefinestay is a tremendous invitation for us to write the next chapter in our story. We share their deeply held conviction about the scale of the home rental opportunity, and greatly value their expertise, their practical & financial support as we plan the launch of more than 40 new markets over the next five years. With AccorHotels’ help, onefinestay will become a globally recognized byword for exceptional experiences, extraordinary service, and handmade hospitality.”

ABOUT ACCORHOTELS
AccorHotels is a Group united by a shared passion for hospitality and driven by a shared promise to make everyone Feel Welcome.
Over 190,000 women and men in nearly 3,900 AccorHotels establishments look after thousands of guests every day in 92 countries.
AccorHotels is the world’s leading hotel operator and offers its customers, partners and employees:
– its dual expertise as a hotel operator and franchisor (HotelServices) and a hotel owner and investor (HotelInvest);
– a large portfolio of internationally renowned brands covering the full spectrum, with luxury (Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Grand Mercure, The Sebel), midscale (Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure, Adagio) and economy (ibis, ibis Styles, ibis budget, adagio access and hotelF1) establishments;
– the strength of its marketplace and its Le Club AccorHotels loyalty program;
almost half a century of commitment to corporate citizenship and solidarity with the PLANET 21 program.

– See more at: http://pressroom.accorhotels-group.com/accorhotels-becomes-a-world-leader-in-the-luxury-serviced-homes-market-by-acquiring-onefinestay/#sthash.g41vO8yn.dpuf

MIAMI, June 13, 2021 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — A milestone more than 15 months in the making: Royal Caribbean International and the communities of the Caribbean are celebrating the cruise line’s highly anticipated return to the region as Adventure of the Seas prepares to set sail from Nassau, The Bahamas yesterday. The first of Royal Caribbean’s ships to resume cruising in the Western Hemisphere, Adventure welcomed more than 1,000 vacationers on its opening cruise. The ship set sail with fully vaccinated crew and fully vaccinated guests 16 years of age or older, who make up 94% of all guests on board while the remaining 6% are children younger than 16. The ship now begins a summer lineup of 7-night sailings to Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s game-changing private island destination in The Bahamas; Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas; and Cozumel, Mexico.

Royal Caribbean International’s Adventure of the Seas set sail from Nassau, The Bahamas on Saturday, June 12, marking the cruise line’s highly anticipated return to the Caribbean. Adventure will sail a summer full of 7-night cruises from Nassau to Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s top-rated private island destination, Grand Bahama, The Bahamas and Cozumel, Mexico.
Royal Caribbean International’s Adventure of the Seas set sail from Nassau, The Bahamas on Saturday, June 12, marking the cruise line’s highly anticipated return to the Caribbean. Adventure will sail a summer full of 7-night cruises from Nassau to Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s top-rated private island destination, Grand Bahama, The Bahamas and Cozumel, Mexico.
“The return of Adventure of the Seas marks a start in the tremendous step forward our guests have been waiting for and we’ve been working toward for more than 15 months. This is all possible thanks to the government of The Bahamas, the support of our partners and the hard work of our teams across Royal Caribbean,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “We are excited to welcome back our guests and crew, and help our Caribbean family regain the benefits of tourism their communities depend on. This is just the beginning, as we get ready to set sail from the U.S. for the first time on July 2.”

Hot on the heels of the cruise line’s return to the Caribbean, 11 Royal Caribbean ships are set to cruise from the U.S. and Europe once again, beginning in July and August. The complete lineup of Royal Caribbean’s 2021 cruises is available here.

Healthy and Safety Measures for Adventure of the Seas Bahamas Cruises

Vacationers sailing on Adventure can cruise with peace of mind, knowing that all crew members and guests are tested and fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Travelers 16 years of age or older must be fully vaccinated, and as of Aug. 1, guests age 12 or older. Vacationers younger than the eligible age must undergo testing and follow other protocols. The vaccine requirement is one of the many layers of measures that safeguard the well-being of our guests and crew as well as the communities we visit. These additional health and safety protocols include our fully vaccinated crew, testing, the robust onboard ventilation system, enhanced cleaning and sanitization. A full list of the travel requirements for summer cruises from The Bahamas on Adventure are available here.

Royal Caribbean will continue to evaluate and update its measures as circumstances evolve and in compliance with various government and health authorities. With cruises sailing to and from different destinations that have different sets of laws and guidelines, protocols will vary accordingly.

About Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean International has been delivering innovation at sea for more than 50 years. Each successive class of ships is an architectural marvel featuring the latest technology and guest experiences for today’s adventurous traveler. The cruise line continues to revolutionize vacations with itineraries to more than 270 destinations in 72 countries on six continents, including Royal Caribbean’s private island destination in The Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay, the first in the Perfect Day Island Collection. Royal Caribbean has also been voted “Best Cruise Line Overall” for 18 consecutive years in the Travel Weekly Readers’ Choice Awards.

Media can stay up to date by following @RoyalCaribPR on Twitter and visiting RoyalCaribbeanPressCenter.com. For additional information or to make reservations, vacationers can call their travel advisor; visit RoyalCaribbean.com; or call (800) ROYAL-CARIBBEAN.

Royal Caribbean International is applying the recommendations of its Healthy Sail Panel of public health and scientific experts to provide a safer and healthier cruise vacation on all of its sailings. Health and safety protocols, regional travel restrictions and clearance to visit ports of call, are subject to change based on ongoing evaluation, public health standards, and government requirements. U.S. cruises and guests: For more information on the latest health and travel alerts, U.S. government travel advisories, please visit www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/itinerary-updates or consult travel advisories, warnings or recommendations relating to cruise travel on applicable government websites.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1532123/Royal_Caribbean_International_Nassau.jpg

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/405217/RCCL__Logo.jpg

SOURCE Royal Caribbean International

CONTACT: Lyan Sierra-Caro, lsierracaro@rccl.com; Celia de la Llama, cdelallama@rccl.com

Related Links
http://www.royalcaribbean.com

WASHINGTON – American hotels will benefit from an important update to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Following months of collaboration with the American Hotel & Lodging Association and hotel owners across the country, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued new PPP eligibility guidelines today.

The update clarifies that hotel owners who utilized third-party management companies and participated in PPP are eligible for PPP loan forgiveness for payroll expenses they paid via a management company.

The changes SBA announced today will ensure that hotels facing improper loan forgiveness denials will now have their cases properly adjudicated and protect those whose loans have already been forgiven.

“AHLA heard from numerous hoteliers who were being denied PPP loan forgiveness due to their use of the common owner/management company operational model,” said AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers. “This ran counter to the stated purpose of the program and put the bulk of hotel-related PPP loan forgiveness at risk. We are proud of the crucial work AHLA’s government affairs team did in advocating for SBA and Congress to correct this issue, and we applaud the Biden administration for making this important update to the program’s guidelines.”

Background Info
The Paycheck Protection Program was crucial to the hotel industry’s survival during the depths of the pandemic. AHLA successfully advocated during the program’s rollout for a number of provisions to ensure eligibility for the vast majority of the hotel industry. These included affiliation rule waivers and an evaluation of employee counts on a per-property basis for qualification purposes.

In early June, we announced that we would review every aspect of the Airbnb platform to help ensure we are doing everything we can to fight bias and discrimination. We asked Laura Murphy, the former head of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington D.C. Legislative Office, to lead the process.

During our review, we looked at every part of Airbnb and sought advice from experts such as former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the leaders of dozens of different organizations.

Today, Laura issued a comprehensive report outlining the review process and some of the steps Airbnb is taking to make our community fair for everyone. You can read the report, Airbnb’s Work To Fight Discrimination and Build Inclusion, here.

Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky is sending an email to Airbnb hosts and guests outlining these efforts. You can read his message below.

Dear Airbnb community,
At the heart of our mission is the idea that people are fundamentally good and every community is a place where you can belong. We don’t say this because it sounds nice. It’s the goal that everyone at Airbnb works towards every day – because we’ve all seen how when we live together, we better understand each other.

Discrimination is the opposite of belonging, and its existence on our platform jeopardizes this core mission. Bias and discrimination have no place on Airbnb, and we have zero tolerance for them. Unfortunately, we have been slow to address these problems, and for this I am sorry. I take responsibility for any pain or frustration this has caused members of our community. We will not only make this right; we will work to set an example that other companies can follow.

In June, we asked Laura Murphy, the former head of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington D.C. Legislative Office, to review every aspect of the Airbnb platform, and to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to fight bias and discrimination. Thanks to Laura’s leadership, today we’re releasing a report that outlines the results of that process. You can read the full report here, but I’d like to highlight four changes that will impact the way our platform works:

Airbnb Community Commitment
Beginning November 1, everyone who uses Airbnb must agree to a stronger, more detailed nondiscrimination policy. We aren’t just asking you to check a box associated with a long legal document. We’re asking everyone to agree to something we’re calling the Airbnb Community Commitment, which says:

We believe that no matter who you are, where you are from, or where you travel, you should be able to belong in the Airbnb community. By joining this community, you commit to treat all fellow members of this community, regardless of race, religion, national origin, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or age, with respect, and without judgment or bias.

Open Doors
We’ll be implementing a new policy called Open Doors. Starting October 1st, if a Guest anywhere in the world feels like they have been discriminated against in violation of our policy – in trying to book a listing, having a booking canceled, or in any other interaction with a host – we will find that Guest a similar place to stay if one is available on Airbnb, or if not, we will find them an alternative accommodation elsewhere. This program will also apply retroactively to any Guest who reported discrimination prior to today. All of these Guests will be offered booking assistance for their next trip.

Instant Book
We’ll increase the availability of Instant Book, which allows our hosts to offer their homes to be booked immediately without their prior approval of a specific guest. Instant Book makes booking easier for everyone, and our goal is to have 1 million listings bookable via Instant Book by January 1st, 2017.

Anti-bias training
We are working with experts on bias, including Dr. Robert Livingston of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Dr. Peter Glick of Lawrence University, to make anti-bias training available to our community, and will be publicly acknowledging those who complete it.

These steps are just the beginning, not the end, of our efforts to combat bias and discrimination.

While we as a company have been slow on this issue, I am now asking you the community to help us lead the way forward. Every time you make someone else feel like they belong, that person feels accepted and safe to be themselves. While this may sound like a small act of kindness, we are a community of millions of people strong. Imagine what we can do together.

Brian Chesky
CEO, Co-founder

Beijing, – Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA) today announced that its online travel business, Taobao Travel (trip.taobao.com) will become an independent business and brand named “Alitrip” (去啊). Like Taobao Marketplace, Tmall.com and Juhuasuan, “Alitrip” will be another marketplace platform under Alibaba Group with a new independent web domain www.alitrip.com.

“This initiative is part of our Group’s ‘Live @ Alibaba’ vision to diversify the company’s products and services and become central to the everyday lives of consumers. This independent online travel platform is a logical extension of Alibaba Group’s strategy and we are excited for the opportunity to build Alitrip into a leading platform for China’s online travel sector. Alitrip will enrich our ecosystem and create value for users by providing them with high-quality service and an array of new functions,” said Li Shaohua, general manager of Alitrip.

Alitrip currently has over 10,000 merchants on its platform providing airplane tickets, vacation packages, hotel booking services, visa application services and tour guide services. This, in combination with Alitrip’s online payment infrastructure and customer protection scheme, differentiates Alitrip from other online travel sites.

Mr. Li also commented, “Traditionally, online travel businesses have always focused on the sales of travel products, while a large unmet demand for travel services remains. We aim to elevate the online travel sector to a higher level through Alitrip’s service offerings.”

Going forward, Alitrip will focus on four strategic areas, among which mobile and service offerings are its top priorities.

Mobile services – The Alitrip mobile app will combine all service functionalities that can be useful while traveling. Apart from easy cancellation of previous bookings, Alitrip customers can also book taxis, as well as set up flight seat preferences, which will automatically choose their preferred seats once tickets are purchased. Additionally, in order to attract and capture more mobile traffic, Alitrip will offer mobile promotions after this year’s Singles Day (November 11), including certain flight tickets for just one RMB.

Product and service innovation – Alitrip will continually seek opportunities to enhance its service and product offerings through technology and innovation. For example, Alitrip customers can utilize a feature to pre-order and reserve travel products through their Yu’e Bao account, a money market product. The money they use for purchases will remain in their Yu’e Bao account and continue to generate interest until the confirmation of the transactions. Alitrip customers can also check into hotels without using credit cards for payment guarantee, by providing their Alipay account information for automatic fee deduction at the end of their stay.

Platform expansion – Hong Kong’s flagship air carrier Cathay Pacific Airlines and Asia’s leading hotel-booking site Agoda.com have signed agreements to join Alitrip ahead of the popular annual Singles Day shopping festival on November 11. Alitrip will work towards bringing additional leading airlines, travel agents and third-party service providers to join the thousands of merchants already operating on the platform.

Consumer protection – In order to provide customers with security and convenience, Alitrip will offer no-questions-asked refunds to consumers for tickets or hotel reservations within one hour. In order to protect consumers’ interests, Alitrip will also operate a RMB100 million consumer protection fund through which refunds can be allocated back to its customers right away.

Alitrip will be an integral part of Alibaba Group’s ecosystem, offering a wide range of vacation travel products and services from leading travel service providers.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company is the largest online and mobile commerce company in the world in terms of gross merchandise volume. Founded in 1999, the company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an online presence and conduct commerce with hundreds of millions of consumers and other businesses.

Alibaba Group’s major businesses include:
Taobao Marketplace (www.taobao.com), China’s largest online shopping destination
Tmall.com (www.tmall.com), China’s largest online third-party platform for brands and retailers
Juhuasuan (www.juhuasuan.com), China’s most popular online group buying marketplace
Alitrip (www.alitrip.com), a leading online travel booking platform
AliExpress (www.aliexpress.com), a global online marketplace for consumers to buy directly from China
Alibaba.com (www.alibaba.com), China’s largest global online wholesale platform for small businesses
1688.com (www.1688.com), a leading online wholesale marketplace in China
Alibaba Cloud Computing (www.aliyun.com), a leading provider of cloud computing services to businesses and entrepreneurs
Alibaba Group also provides payment and/or escrow services on its marketplaces through its contractual arrangements with Ant Financial Services Group, a related company of Alibaba Group which operates Alipay (www.alipay.com).

Through China Smart Logistics (or Zhejiang Cainiao Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd.), a 48%-owned affiliate, Alibaba Group operates a central logistics information system that connects a network of express delivery companies in China.

American Express and McDonald’s announce that starting today they will debut the capability for eligible U.S. Card Members enrolled in the Membership Rewards® program to seamlessly use points, in select locations, in real-time for food and beverages at the counter in McDonald’s restaurants. This capability is expected to roll out to all participating McDonald’s U.S. locations by December 2014.

“Card Members love using Membership Rewards points in everyday, relevant ways, and we’re leveraging our technology to make it easy and seamless to redeem points in real-time,” said Leslie Berland, executive vice president, Digital Partnerships & Development at American Express. “When Card Members pay with their American Express Cards at McDonald’s, this technology adds flexibility and choice to that payment experience.”

As part of the launch, each time a Card Member uses points for their McDonald’s order, American Express will make a $1 donation to the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC)[i], helping to support programs that directly improve the health and well being of children.

“We’re constantly looking for ways to make life easier for our customers, including multiple payment options,” said Kevin Newell, executive vice president, chief brand and strategy officer, McDonald’s USA. “American Express has been on the cutting edge of commerce innovation, complementing our mission to add more value to our customers’ overall restaurant experience. In addition, American Express’ commitment to donate to RMHC makes using Membership Rewards points at McDonald’s even more rewarding.”

Dining with Points at McDonald’s
As it rolls out to participating McDonald’s restaurants in the coming months, American Express’ unique technology will enable eligible Card Members to easily use Membership Rewards points for their McDonald’s orders – there are no codes and no registration needed.

To use points at the counter at participating McDonald’s restaurants:
Pay with an eligible American Express Card at the counter
On the payment screen, see the option to use points, and the number of points needed for the order
Press the green “Yes” button to use points for the order; receive an on-screen confirmation that points were used
To use points at the drive-thru, after paying with an eligible American Express Card, Card Members can use points for their order via the American Express Mobile app or online at americanexpress.com.

About the Membership Rewards Program
The Membership Rewards program from American Express offers more than a million rewards from more than 500 brands. The program allows Card Members to earn one point for virtually every dollar charged on eligible, enrolled American Express Cards, with many opportunities to earn points faster. Membership Rewards points are redeemable in a wide selection of reward categories. Points have no expiration date, and there is no limit on the number of points a Card Member can earn. For more information about the Membership Rewards program, visit: membershiprewards.com or call 1-800-AXP-EARN (297-3276).

About American Express
American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, twitter.com/americanexpress and youtube.com/americanexpress.

About McDonald’s USA
McDonald’s USA, LLC, serves a variety of menu options made with quality ingredients to approximately 27 million customers every day. Nearly 90 percent of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by businessmen and women. Customers can now log online for free at approximately 11,500 participating Wi-Fi enabled McDonald’s U.S. restaurants. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com, or follow us on Twitter @McDonalds and Facebook www.facebook.com/mcdonalds.

This afternoon Starbucks will close more than 8,000 stores and begin a new chapter in our history.

In 1983 I took my first trip to Italy. As I walked the streets of Milan, I saw cafés and espresso bars on every street. When I ventured inside I experienced something powerful: a sense of community and human connection.

I returned home determined to create a similar experience in America—a new “third place” between home and work—and build a different kind of company. I wanted our stores to be comfortable, safe spaces where everyone had the opportunity to enjoy a coffee, sit, read, write, host a meeting, date, debate, discuss or just relax.

Today 100 million customers enter Starbucks® stores each week. In an ever-changing society, we still aspire to be a place where everyone feels welcome.

Sometimes, however, we fall short, disappointing ourselves and all of you.

Recently, a Starbucks manager in Philadelphia called the police a few minutes after two black men arrived at a store and sat waiting for a friend. They had not yet purchased anything when the police were called. After police arrived they arrested the two men. The situation was reprehensible and does not represent our company’s mission and enduring values.

After investigating what happened, we determined that insufficient support and training, a company policy that defined customers as paying patrons—versus anyone who enters a store—and bias led to the decision to call the police. Our ceo, Kevin Johnson, met with the two men to express our deepest apologies, reconcile and commit to ongoing actions to reaffirm our guiding principles.

The incident has prompted us to reflect more deeply on all forms of bias, the role of our stores in communities and our responsibility to ensure that nothing like this happens again at Starbucks. The reflection has led to a long-term commitment to reform systemwide policies, while elevating inclusion and equity in all we do.

Today we take another step to ensure we live up to our mission:

FOR SEVERAL HOURS THIS AFTERNOON, STARBUCKS WILL CLOSE STORES AND OFFICES TO DISCUSS HOW TO MAKE STARBUCKS A PLACE WHERE ALL PEOPLE FEEL WELCOME.
What will we be doing? More than 175,000 Starbucks partners (that’s what we call our employees) will be sharing life experiences, hearing from others, listening to experts, reflecting on the realities of bias in our society and talking about how all of us create public spaces where everyone feels like they belong—because they do. This conversation will continue at our company and become part of how we train all of our partners.

Discussing racism and discrimination is not easy, and various people have helped us create a learning experience that we hope will be educational, participatory and make us a better company. We want this to be an open and honest conversation starting with our partners. We will also make the curriculum available to the public.

To our Starbucks partners: I want to thank you for your participation today and for the wonderful work you do every day to make Starbucks a third place for millions of customers.

To our customers: I want to thank you for your patience and support as we renew our promise to make Starbucks what I envisioned it could be nearly 40 years ago—an inclusive gathering place for all.

We’ll see you tomorrow.

With deep respect,

Howard

ANCHORAGE, AK – Aramark today unveiled plans for Denali Park Village, a new lodging experience, only minutes away from the entrance to Denali National Park and located along the Nenana River.

Aramark, which has managed hospitality and tourism operations in Alaska for nearly 30 years, is transforming and re-branding two adjacent properties it owns – McKinley Village Lodge and Denali River Cabins & Cedar Lodge – to create Denali Park Village, a unique lodging destination that will embody and reflect Alaska’s rich mining and natural history.

McKinley Village Lodge will be renamed The Lodge at Denali Park Village and Denali River Cabins will be known as The Cabins at Denali Park Village. The newly re-branded Denali Park Village is scheduled to open May 2014.

“Denali Park Village brings together the synergy of two ideally situated properties to create a unique and authentic Alaskan experience for guests,” said David Sloma, vice president of operations for Aramark Parks and Destinations. “We believe this transformation will provide guests with even greater accommodations, hospitality options and amenities to complement their visit to Denali National Park.”

Cabin Renovations and Marketplace Build-Out
The Cabins are undergoing comprehensive upgrades that will be completed in time for the summer tourist season. Updates to the décor include log cabin-inspired furniture with cozy fabrics and bedding and the bathrooms will be outfitted with new fixtures. New decking and railings will also be installed.

In addition to the Lodge and the Cabins, Denali Park Village will be home to a vast open market. Designed with the look of a historic mining town, the marketplace will include individually themed shops such as a s’mores shack, apparel shop, pet supply store and more. A full main street market will feature assorted grab-and-go and gourmet food and grocery options. Hand-dipped ice cream is also planned.

Rounding out the Denali Park Village experience will be the addition of numerous stations for photo opportunities as well as a wishing well, penny arcade and gold panning area.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.aramak.com

JAKARTA, Indonesia, April 15, 2021 — Archipelago International, Southeast Asia’s largest privately owned and independent hotel management group, today announced the signing of hotel management agreements with Jabal Omar Development Company (JODC), a leader in real estate development in Saudi Arabia, for two hotels in their prestigious Jabal Omar project, which is within a few steps of the Holy Mosque in Makkah.

Both parties signed Hotel Management Agreements (HMA’s) for the 5 Star Luxury ‘Jabal Omar The Royal Alana Makkah’ which has 581 rooms and the 5 Star ‘Jabal Omar The Alana Makkah’ which has 560 rooms. The hotels, which are located in Phase 4 of the Jabal Omar project, are currently under construction and are situated adjacent to each other in a prime location overlooking the Holy Mosque.

“The entire Archipelago team is delighted to sign these HMA’s and to continue to grow our portfolio of hotels in the Kingdom. We are fortunate to work with a partner like JODC who understands the value and importance of superior hospitality experiences that are specifically customized to the needs of guests from Southeast Asia and in particular Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. Southeast Asia is one of the fastest growing and strategically important source markets for the Kingdom and its Vision 2030 program. Our positioning, brand equity and infrastructure in these markets means we can deliver for our partners and add significant value to projects, not only in the holy cities, but throughout the Kingdom and the region,” commented Gerard Byrne, Managing Director, Archipelago Overseas.

Mr. Khaled Al-Amoudi, Chief Executive Officer of Jabal Omar Development Company confirmed that “the company is striving throughout its journey of accomplishments to keep up with the ambitious vision of Saudi Arabia 2030 in supporting the hospitality sector and enhancing the spiritual experience of pilgrims, by expanding our partnerships with a group of international hotel brands at the Jabal Omar destination. Therefore, Archipelago, a global company with a proven track record in Southeast Asia, has been attracted with the aim of joining the Jabal Omar Royal Alana Hotel and the Jabal Omar Alana Hotel within Jabal Omar’s distinguished hotel group.”

Al-Amoudi added, “through this partnership, Jabal Omar and Archipelago are keen to enrich the experience of our guests by providing the highest standards of quality and performance throughout their religious and cultural journey in Makkah and to help them perform their rituals and return home with the most beautiful and unforgettable spiritual memories.”

About Archipelago International
Southeast Asia’s largest privately owned and independent hotel operator, with 200+ hotels (32,000+ rooms) operating or under development across Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean. Trusted hotels with a long track record in more than 60 destinations with brands including ASTON, Collection by ASTON, The Alana, Huxley, Kamuela, Harper, Quest, NEO, favehotels and Nordic.

www.archipelagointernational.com

About Jabal Omar Development Company (JODC)
JODC is one of the largest real estate developers in the Middle East and one of the largest listed companies in the Saudi stock market (Tadawul). The Jabal Omar project is one of the most important integrated real estate developments located within walking distance of the Holy Mosque in Makkah.

As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continuously seeks to increase the capacity of Makkah for pilgrims, JODC is proud to contribute to this by developing the areas overlooking the Holy Mosque, to give visitors and residents of Makkah a unique living and spiritual experience.

The total area of the Jabal Omar project is 235,869 square meters. The project includes 40 hotel towers and is a mixed-use development with commercial markets, apartments, luxury residential units and Islamic exhibitions. The hotels are managed by major international hotel companies, with every room having a dedicated space for private prayer and contemplation and views to the Holy Mosque. Hotels currently operating include the Jabal Omar Conrad Hotel, Jabal Omar Hyatt Regency Hotel, Jabal Omar Marriott Hotel, Jabal Omar Hilton Suites Hotel, Jabal Omar Hilton Makkah Convention Hotel and Jabal Omar DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.

www.jabalomar.com.sa

Seattle — Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) announced that it is creating a more accessible store experience across its U.S. store portfolio through an Inclusive Spaces Framework. Building on the company’s commitment to inclusion, the new design framework defines how Starbucks will help expand independence, choice and ease for all people across physical and digital spaces. The first store to be built using the inclusive design framework opens today in Washington, D.C. and features items such as optimized acoustics and lighting for improved visual and audible communication for customers and accessible equipment designs for a better partner (employee) experience among other features.

The Inclusive Spaces Framework was created in partnership with a diverse community of customers, partners and accessibility experts to develop scalable solutions for retail spaces. Moving forward, all newly built and renovated Starbucks company-operated stores in the U.S. will begin to incorporate the framework, a key milestone in ensuring Starbucks continues to expand accessibility and inclusion. The framework will also be open sourced and further developed to help expand accessibility across the retail industry.

“At Starbucks, we have challenged ourselves to imagine what’s possible when we take a closer look at the many ways our partners and customers interact with us and experience our stores every day,” said Katie Young, senior vice president of store operations. “Building and scaling an Inclusive Store Framework is central to our mission of connection and will lead to greater access for all.”

An estimated one in four adults in the United States has a disability and Starbucks is working to better meet the needs of its partners, customers and communities. The Inclusive Spaces Framework is already intentionally embedded into the company’s rapid store growth plans in the U.S.

As Laxman Narasimhan, chief executive officer of Starbucks, shared during the recent Q1 FY24 earnings call, the company is bullish on new store openings and their strong unit economics. Starbucks plans to continue open more stores, growing by approximately 4% this year in the U.S. on a base of over 16,000, including licensed stores. Further, new company-operated stores in the U.S. are averaging unit volumes of approximately $2 million with ROIs of approximately 50%. With strong unit economics and abundant opportunity ahead, new store growth in the U.S. will continue to fuel the company’s Triple Shot strategy.

Starbucks Debuts Inclusive Spaces Framework in Washington, D.C. Store on Feb. 16

The first Starbucks store to be built using the Inclusive Spaces Framework guidelines opens on Friday, Feb. 16. in Washington, D.C., at Union Market (331 N Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20002). Learn more about the partners at the Starbucks store at Union Market and take a virtual tour of the new cafe.

Bringing the Inclusive Spaces Framework to Life

The Inclusive Spaces Framework aims to bring more inclusive innovation in physical and digital spaces, while enabling Starbucks to scale the accessibility across its store portfolio.

Some of the physical and digital features that Starbucks will begin to incorporate include:

Updated Point-of-Sale (POS): The updated point-of-sale (POS) system is customized to meet the needs of more partners and customers. It’s now portable for improved ease of use with customers, has an adjustable angle stand for better visibility, an intuitive and customizable layout, offers voice assist and screen magnification, shows images of menu items to support language diversity and provides visual order confirmation to help ensure order accuracy.
Customer Order Status Boards: Customer order status boards will offer customers visual update on where their order is in the process, and when it’s ready to be picked up – providing multiple ways of communicating.
Power-Operated Doors: Wherever possible, doors to store entrances will include a longer vertical push button that is easier to activate from more heights and angles, designed to reduce the effort required to open the door.
Optimized Acoustics and Lighting: Acoustics and lighting features help create a more inclusive auditory and visual experience for customers and partners. Stores will use materials to reduce unwanted background noise and reverberation that can interfere with assistive devices like hearing aids, and lighting that minimizes glare, shadow patterns and backlighting that can impede visual communication.
Inclusive Equipment Design: Starbucks Clover Vertica™ brewer was built to include a more accessible store experience for our partners including design features such as a larger dial and button that protrude for a more accessible reach and visual and haptic confirmation, including a light to notify when brewing is complete.
Paths of Travel: Store designs will create a continuous, unobstructed pedestrian path, allowing people to approach, enter, explore, enjoy and exit the store with ease where possible. This includes open sightlines, barrier free pathways with more accessible wayfinding to accommodate varying heights, distances and iconography.
Connection: To nurture a culture of connection between customers and partners, counters are lower with overhangs to accommodate wheelchair access and support better communication when picking up food and beverages.
“Starbucks opening of their new store built with inclusive design elements is a big moment as we try to make retail spaces more accessible and inclusive,” said Tony Coelho, a former U.S. congressman, primary author and sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). “We have to go beyond just what is required to put accessibility and inclusion first to ensure all people feel like they belong in community spaces.”

Upholding a culture of warmth and belonging
Since the earliest days of the company, Starbucks has worked to create a culture of warmth and belonging in its stores – a place where everyone is welcome. This includes Starbucks collection of artwork featured at stores that celebrate community, 23 Signing Stores across the globe, free access to free Aira services that help blind or low vision customers navigate the cafes and Disability Advocacy Partner Network (employee resource group) which has contributed to the success of Starbucks partners and the company since 2016.

About Starbucks
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today, with more than 38,000 stores worldwide, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at http://news.starbucks.com or www.starbucks.com.

Oakville, Ontario and Miami, Florida; August 26, 2014 – An agreement was reached today to create the world’s third largest quick service restaurant company. Tim Hortons Inc. (TSX, NYSE: THI) and Burger King Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: BKW) today announced a definitive agreement under which the two companies will create a new global powerhouse in the quick service restaurant sector. With approximately $23 billion in system sales, over 18,000 restaurants in 100 countries and two strong, thriving, independent brands, the new company will have an extensive international footprint and significant growth potential. The new global company will be based in Canada, the largest market of the combined company.

Tim Hortons and Burger King each have strong franchisee networks and iconic brands that are loved by their guests. Following the closing of the transaction, each brand will be managed independently, while benefitting from global scale and reach and sharing of best practices that will come with common ownership by the new company.

Under the terms of the transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of both companies, Tim Hortons shareholders will receive C$65.50 in cash and 0.8025 common shares of the new company per Tim Hortons share. Based on Burger King’s unaffected closing stock price as of August 22, 2014, this represents total value per Tim Hortons share of C$89.32 and based on Burger King’s closing stock price as of August 25, 2014, this represents total value per Tim Hortons share of C$94.05. As an alternative to the default mixed transaction consideration described above, each Tim Hortons shareholder will have the ability to elect to instead receive, for each Tim Hortons share held, either (i) C$88.50 in cash; or (ii) 3.0879 common shares of the new company, in each case subject to pro ration.

The C$89.32 unaffected offer value represents a premium of 39% based on the volume weighted average price of Tim Hortons stock over the past 30 days ending Friday August 22, 2014, and a 30% premium based on Tim Hortons closing stock price on August 22, 2014. By receiving shares in the new parent company, Tim Hortons shareholders will have the opportunity to participate in the new company’s long-term value creation potential.

Alex Behring, Executive Chairman of Burger King and Managing Partner of 3G Capital, said, “By bringing together our two iconic companies under common ownership, we are creating a global QSR powerhouse. Our combined size, international footprint and industry-leading growth trajectory will deliver superb value and opportunity for both Burger King and Tim Hortons shareholders, our dedicated employees, strong franchisees, and partners. We have great respect for the Tim Hortons team and look forward to working together to realize the full potential of these two extraordinary businesses.”

Marc Caira, President and CEO of Tim Hortons, said, “We are very proud of the great history of our organization and the progress we have achieved in creating value and delivering the ultimate experience for our guests. As an independent brand within the new company, this transaction will enable us to move more quickly and efficiently to bring Tim Hortons iconic Canadian brand to a new global customer base. At the same time, our customers, employees, franchisees and fellow Canadians can all rest assured that Tim Hortons will still be Tim Hortons following this transaction, including our core values, employee and franchisee relationships, community support and fresh coffee.”

“Over the past four years, we have transformed Burger King into one of the fastest-growing and most profitable QSR businesses in the world, through successful international growth, a consistent focus on brand revitalization and strong commitment to our franchisees,” said Daniel Schwartz, CEO of Burger King. “We are excited to build on this progress as we continue to expand Burger King around the world and look forward to working with and learning from Tim Hortons as we together create the world’s leading global restaurant business.”

Management and Governance

At the time of closing, Alex Behring, Executive Chairman of Burger King and Managing Partner at 3G Capital, will lead the new global company as Executive Chairman and Director. Marc Caira, President and CEO of Tim Hortons, will be appointed Vice-Chairman and a Director, focused on overall group strategy and global business development. Daniel Schwartz, CEO of Burger King, will become Group CEO of the new company, with overall day-to-day management and operational accountability. The new company’s board will include the current eight Burger King directors and three directors to be appointed by Tim Hortons, including Mr. Caira.

Mr. Caira and Mr. Schwartz will continue as Tim Hortons and Burger King CEOs, respectively, through the transition period, and additional executives in the new global company structure will be identified from Burger King and Tim Hortons during the transition period and announced at the time of closing. Both Burger King and Tim Hortons will continue to operate after the closing as standalone, independent brands which leverage global shared services and best practices.

The current Tim Hortons headquarters in Oakville, Ontario will continue to be the global home of the Tim Hortons business. Burger King’s current headquarters in Miami, Florida will continue to be the global home of the Burger King business. It is expected that the shares of the new parent company will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

COMMITMENT TO CANADA
As part of its commitment to Canada, the new company will endorse the following principles:

Tim Hortons will continue to manage its own operations, headquartered in Oakville, and continue its significant community involvement, including the Tim Horton Children‘s Foundation, TimBits Minor Sports Program, Tim Hortons Coffee Partnership and its community, sustainability and charitable programs.
This transaction will not change the way Tim Hortons works with its franchisees or its business model. There are no plans to change the rents, royalty structures, customer-facing programs, Franchise Advisory Board or the franchisee-facing operational resources Tim Hortons provides to support its franchisees in building their businesses.
Likewise, there will be no changes to restaurant-level employment and the new company will rely heavily on the Tim Hortons talent pool to staff the new organization at all levels of responsibility. As a result, the global company‘s management and shared services operations will consist of a meaningful number of Canada-based executives.
Similarly, Burger King will continue to support and preserve its long-standing commitment to local communities and charitable causes in the United States, including the Burger King Scholars Program.

Long-term Ownership and Investing in Brands

3G Capital and its principals have a proven track record of investing in and growing iconic brands. Over the years, it has partnered with other long-term investors in previous transactions to build shareholder value and drive innovation and growth in its companies.

3G Capital will retain all of its investment in Burger King by converting its roughly 70% equity stake in Burger King into equity of the new company. On a pro forma basis, 3G Capital is expected to own approximately 51% of the new company with the balance of the common shares to be held by current public shareholders of Burger King and Tim Hortons.

Financial Highlights
The combination generates substantial value for shareholders of both companies and provides the opportunity for shareholders to participate in the new company’s long-term value creation potential. In addition to meaningful revenue synergies created from accelerated international growth, the transaction is expected to achieve cost savings through leveraging the new company’s global scale and the sharing and implementation of best practices.

Structure and Terms
Upon completion of the transaction, each outstanding common share of Tim Hortons will be converted into the right to receive C$65.50 in cash and 0.8025 of a common share of the new parent company, which is subject to the right of the holders of Tim Hortons common stock to make elections as noted above. Upon completion of the transaction, each outstanding common share of Burger King will be converted into 0.99 of a share of the parent company and 0.01 of a unit of a newly formed Ontario limited partnership controlled by the new parent company, however, holders of shares of Burger King common stock will be given the right to elect to receive only partnership units in lieu of common shares of the new parent company, subject to a limit on the maximum number of partnership units that can be issued.

Shares of the new parent company will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange and units of the new partnership will be traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The partnership units will be convertible on a 1:1 basis into common shares of the new parent company, however, the units may not be exchanged for common shares for the first year following the closing of the transaction. Holders of partnership units will participate in the votes of shareholders of the new parent company on a pro-rata basis as though the units had been converted. 3G Capital has committed to elect to receive only partnership units.

The transaction is expected to be taxable, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, to the shareholders of Burger King, other than with respect to the partnership units received by them in the transaction. The transaction is expected to be taxable to shareholders of Tim Hortons in the U.S and Canada.

Burger King has obtained commitments for $12.5 billion of financing to fund the cash portion of the transaction, including commitments for a $9.5 billion debt financing package led by JP Morgan and Wells Fargo. The obligation of JP Morgan and Wells Fargo to provide this committed debt financing is subject to a number of customary conditions, including execution and delivery of certain definitive documentation. It is expected that the debt financing for the transaction will consist of a $6.75 billion senior secured term loan B facility, a $500 million senior secured revolving credit facility and senior secured second-lien notes in the amount of $2.25 billion.

Berkshire Hathaway has committed $3 billion of preferred equity financing. Berkshire is simply a financing source and will not have any participation in the management and operation of the business.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval of Tim Hortons shareholders and receipt of certain antitrust and regulatory approvals in Canada and the U.S. Since 3G Capital already owns approximately 70% of the shares of Burger King and has committed to vote in favor of the combination, no shareholder vote is required of Burger King shareholders.

Further information regarding the transaction will be included in a joint information circular/statement to be mailed to the shareholders of both Tim Hortons and Burger King. The Arrangement Agreement and Plan of Merger provides that Tim Hortons is subject to customary non-solicitation provisions.

Both companies’ boards of directors have unanimously determined that the proposed combination is in the best interests of their respective companies. Each of RBC Capital Markets and Citi has delivered a fairness opinion to the board of directors of Tim Hortons, and Lazard has delivered a fairness opinion to the board of directors of Burger King.

Advisors
Lazard, J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo served as financial advisors to Burger King. Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to Burger King.

Citi and RBC Capital Markets are serving as financial advisors to Tim Hortons. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP are serving as legal counsel to Tim Hortons.

Tim Hortons Inc. Overview
Tim Hortons is one of the largest publicly-traded restaurant chains in North America based on market capitalization, and the largest in Canada. Operating in the quick service segment of the restaurant industry, Tim Hortons appeals to a broad range of consumer tastes, with a menu that includes premium coffee, hot and cold specialty drinks (including lattes, cappuccinos and espresso shots), specialty teas and fruit smoothies, fresh baked goods, grilled Panini and classic sandwiches, wraps, soups, prepared foods and other food products. As of June 29, 2014, Tim Hortons had 4,546 systemwide restaurants, including 3,630 in Canada, 866 in the United States and 50 in the Gulf Cooperation Council. More information about the Company is available at www.timhortons.com.

About Burger King Worldwide
Founded in 1954, BURGER KING® (NYSE: BKW) is the second largest fast food hamburger chain in the world. The original HOME OF THE WHOPPER®, the BURGER KING® system operates in approximately 14,000 locations serving more than 11 million guests daily in 98 countries and territories worldwide. Approximately 100 percent of BURGER KING® restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, many of them family-owned operations that have been in business for decades. To learn more about Burger King Worldwide, please visit the company‘s website at www.bk.com

MIAMI – BURGER KING® restaurants are bringing the signature flame-grilling technique they’ve been perfecting for more than 60 years to hot dogs with the launch of Grilled Dogs. The new menu item will be available at participating restaurants nationwide, starting February 23rd. Grilled Dogs are made with 100% beef and flame-grilled to perfection on the same grill where the WHOPPER® sandwich is made. The WHOPPER® sandwich is known as AMERICA’S FAVORITE BURGER®.

With this launch, BURGER KING® restaurants will serve hot dogs in more restaurants than any other restaurant chain in the U.S.1 Grilled Dogs will be available in BURGER KING® restaurants and drive-thrus every day of the week throughout the year, dispelling the myth that hot dogs should be relegated to summer barbecues and baseball games.

It’s estimated that Americans eat over 20 billion hot dogs a year2 and the introduction of Grilled Dogs positions BURGER KING® restaurants to take a large bite out of that market with one of its’ biggest launches in recent history.

“The introduction of Grilled Dogs just made sense to our guests and for our brand,” said Alex Macedo, President, North America, for the BURGER KING® brand. “We’re applying over 60 years of flame-grilling expertise with the WHOPPER® sandwich to make Grilled Dogs the next great American icon.”

Grilled Dogs are available in both the Classic Grilled Dog and the Chili Cheese Grilled Dog. The Classic Grilled Dog is a flame-grilled hot dog made with 100% beef topped, with ketchup, mustard, chopped onions and relish, served on a fluffy baked bun. The Chili Cheese Grilled Dog is the same beef hot dog topped with warm chili, shredded cheddar cheese and served on a fluffy baked bun. Both are sold separately or as a combo meal.

The Classic Grilled Dog comes at the recommended price of $1.99 or as a combo meal for the recommended price of $4.49, served with a small fountain drink and fries. The Chili Cheese Dog is sold at the recommended price of $2.39 and for the recommended price of $4.89 as part of a combo meal with a small fountain drink and fries.

Grilled Dogs are a permanent menu item. Price and participation may vary.

BURGER KING, WHOPPER and AMERICA’S FAVORITE BURGER are registered trademarks of Burger King Corporation. All rights reserved.

1 Source: The NPD Group/Fall 2015 ReCount® (excludes quick service retail)
2 Source: National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC) http://www.hot-dog.org/culture/hot-dog-fast-facts

About the BURGER KING® Brand
Founded in 1954, the BURGER KING® brand is the second largest fast food hamburger chain in the world. The original HOME OF THE WHOPPER®, the BURGER KING® system operates more than14,000 locations in approximately 100 countries and U.S. territories. Almost 100 percent of BURGER KING® restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, many of them family-owned operations that have been in business for decades. The BURGER KING® brand is owned by Restaurant Brands International Inc. (TSX,NYSE:QSR), one of the world’s largest quick service restaurant companies with more than $23 billion in system sales and over 19,000 restaurants. To learn more about the BURGER KING® brand, please visit the BURGER KING® brand website at www.bk.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

LAS VEGAS, — Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) today announced that LOCZ Korea Corporation, a joint venture between Caesars, Lippo Group and OUE Limited, has received preliminary approval from the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism to include foreigner-only casino gaming in its planned integrated resort in Incheon, South Korea.

“We are grateful to the Korean government for their initial approval, paving the way for the opportunity to build and operate our first integrated resort in Korea,” said Gary Loveman, Caesars Entertainment Chairman, CEO and President. “We are excited about the opportunity to expand our network and brands to Asia. Foreign visitation to South Korea has grown significantly, and we look forward to creating a world-class destination to further support Korea’s economic growth and tourism goals.”

Highlights for the planned integrated resort include hotels and resort amenities, live entertainment venues, a standalone convention center and a foreigners-only casino. A preliminary master plan anticipates potential future expansion to accommodate growth in the number of resort visitors.

The consortium hopes to open the Incheon integrated resort in time to welcome visitors arriving in Korea for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Caesars may elect to include Caesars Growth Partners, LLC in the development of the project. Caesars Growth Partners, LLC is a joint venture between Caesars Entertainment and Caesars Acquisition Company (NASDAQ: CACQ). In such an event, Caesars anticipates that Caesars Growth Partners would make the capital investment associated with the project, with Caesars Entertainment acting as the operator and sharing in the management fee associated with the project.

About Caesars Entertainment

Caesars Entertainment Corporation is the world’s most geographically diversified casino-entertainment company. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, 75 years ago, Caesars has grown through development of new resorts, expansions and acquisitions and now operates casinos on four continents. The company’s resorts operate primarily under the Caesars®, Harrah’s® and Horseshoe® brand names. Caesars also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos. Caesars is focused on building loyalty and value with its guests through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. We are committed to environmental sustainability and energy conservation and recognize the importance of being a responsible steward of the environment. For more information, please visit www.caesars.com.

LAS VEGAS, Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Bally’s Las Vegas, The Cromwell (formerly Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon), The Quad and Harrah’s New Orleans to Caesars Growth Partners, LLC for a purchase price of $2.2 billion, including assumed debt of $185 million and committed project capital expenditures of $223 million, resulting in anticipated cash proceeds of $1.8 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014, subject to certain closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals. These actions are part of ongoing efforts to address Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc.’s (“CEOC”) overall capital structure and position that subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment to enhance equity value.

Caesars Entertainment and its affiliated companies will manage the purchased properties, allowing continued integration with the Total Rewards network and related synergies. The sale of Bally’s, The Cromwell, The Quad and Harrah’s New Orleans to Caesars Growth Partners preserves the network value of the four properties while enhancing liquidity at CEOC. The sale also includes a financial stake in the associated management fee stream. This asset sale will also facilitate new investment in these properties, some of which require considerable capital expenditures to realize their full potential as part of Caesars’ network at the center of the Las Vegas Strip.

The asset sale was negotiated and unanimously recommended by special committees comprised of independent members of the boards of directors of Caesars Entertainment Corporation and Caesars Acquisition Company (NASDAQ: CACQ), the managing member of Caesars Growth Partners. Centerview Partners and Duff & Phelps served as financial advisors to the special committee of Caesars Entertainment Corporation and Reed Smith LLP served as the committee’s legal counsel. With this transaction, Caesars Acquisition Company has announced a $223 million renovation of The Quad Resort & Casino.

“Since being taken private near the beginning of the global financial crisis, we have faced an incredibly challenging business environment and a highly leveraged capital structure. Despite these obstacles, we have invested significantly in the growth of our network and the enhancement of our assets while concurrently deploying a wide array of financial and operational tools to manage the company’s capital structure and create value,” said Gary Loveman, chairman and chief executive officer of Caesars Entertainment. “Entering 2014, I am very excited about our new customer offerings. Across our network, we have recently opened or will open promising new projects and amenities, such as The LINQ and High Roller and upgrades throughout Las Vegas. We also share in the economic benefits associated with Caesars Growth Partners, including considerable growth last year at Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc., through social and mobile games and the launch of real-money online gaming in Nevada and New Jersey.”

Caesars Entertainment today has a market capitalization of approximately $3.5 billion and is now comprised of three primary structures: Caesars Entertainment Resort Properties (CERP), its interest in Caesars Growth Partners, LLC (CGP), a joint venture in which Caesars Entertainment holds a 58% economic interest, and CEOC. CERP is made up of six casino properties, predominantly in Las Vegas, as well as The LINQ development and the Octavius Tower at Caesars Palace. Caesars Growth Partners owns Caesars Interactive Entertainment as well as the Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas, a 41% interest in Horseshoe Baltimore and the assets that will be acquired through this transaction. Caesars Growth Partners’ managing member is Caesars Acquisition Company, a nearly $2 billion market capitalization publicly traded company.

“Today’s asset sales mark an important step in our ongoing efforts to repair CEOC’s balance sheet,” Loveman said. “Caesars Entertainment and Caesars Acquisition Company have a combined equity market capitalization of more than $5 billion. To build equity value, we have employed a full complement of operating and financial tools. The toolbox, which includes cost management, working capital management, operational improvements, acquisitions, asset sales, credit agreement amendments, innovative operating strategies, exchange offers and equity raises, has helped to create two stable entities. The company expects to deploy a similar array of tools to improve CEOC’s financial position and build equity value.”

Pro forma for this transaction, CEOC will have in excess of $3.2 billion in cash as of December 31, 2013. CEOC will also be relieved of potential capital expenditure requirements for the purchased properties. CEOC intends to use a portion of the proceeds from the asset sales to reduce bank debt.

In addition to financial and capital structure initiatives, Caesars is focused on generating additional operational efficiency in 2014. In 2013, the company implemented a program to both improve its working capital and excess cash by $500 million and to generate $500 million of operating and EBITDA improvements. Through this plan, the company has made substantial progress towards that goal and expects the program to benefit CEOC this year. The company plans to provide updates on additional achievements during 2014. The recent ratification of a new long-term labor agreement in Nevada presents Caesars with a stable platform for growth opportunities, particularly in the hospitality and entertainment segments.

Preliminary Fourth Quarter 2013 Financial Results

Separately, Caesars Entertainment announced preliminary results for the fourth quarter of 2013 that include consolidated results for Caesars Growth Partners. The company expects to report its financial results for the quarter and full-year ended December 31, 2013 in March.

Commenting on the results, Loveman concluded: “2013 was a year of considerable progress and activity for Caesars. We significantly invested in growth projects and undertook a number of actions designed to enhance the company’s capital structure and create value. For the fourth quarter, performance in some of our regional areas, particularly Atlantic City, was disappointing. We are, however, encouraged by volume and visitation trends in Las Vegas. We are excited about our prospects there fueled by organic growth as well as our hospitality investments.”

While Caesars Entertainment has not yet completed its financial statements for the quarter ended December 31, 2013, the company currently expects consolidated net revenue to be in the range of approximately $2,050 million to $2,110 million and that its Adjusted EBITDA will be in the range of approximately $395 million to $415 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2013. Estimated net loss attributable to Caesars Entertainment for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 is expected to range between $1,700 million and $1,820 million, compared to net loss attributable to Caesars Entertainment of $480.3 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2012.

Consolidated net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2013 are expected to increase slightly as compared to the prior year primarily due to the combination of increases in pass-through reimbursable management costs, growth at Caesars Interactive Entertainment and declines in promotional allowance, offset by lower casino revenue. The decline in casino revenue is primarily attributable to continued weakness in certain domestic markets outside of Nevada and the impact on revenues resulting from the partial sale of our Conrad Punta del Este, Uruguay casino in the second quarter 2013. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be down slightly as compared to the prior year due to the decline in casino revenues. Net loss attributable to Caesars Entertainment for the fourth quarter of 2013 as compared to 2012 is expected to increase as a result of significantly larger impairments of tangible and intangible assets in 2013 as compared to the prior year quarter, as well as the income impact of lower casino revenues, and increased interest expense, partially offset by lower depreciation due to certain assets becoming fully depreciated early in 2013.

Conference Call Information
Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR) will host a joint conference call with Caesars Acquisition Company (NASDAQ: CACQ) at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time today, on Monday, March 3, 2014, to discuss the transaction and review preliminary fourth quarter results. The call will be accessible on the Investor Relations section of www.caesars.com.

If you would like to ask questions and be an active participant in the call, you may dial (877) 637-3676, or (832) 412-1752 for international callers, and enter Conference ID 3889366 approximately 10 minutes before the call start time. A recording of the live call will be available on the Company’s website for 90 days after the event.

About Caesars Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment Corporation is the world’s most geographically diversified casino-entertainment company. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, 75 years ago, Caesars has grown through development of new resorts, expansions and acquisitions and now operates casinos on four continents. The company’s resorts operate primarily under the Caesars®, Harrah’s® and Horseshoe® brand names. Caesars is focused on building loyalty and value with its guests through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. We are committed to environmental sustainability and energy conservation and recognize the importance of being a responsible steward of the environment.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.caesars.com

TORONTO (ON), APRIL 15, 2015 —Canadian consumers continue to spend more and more at chain and branded restaurants, according to GE Capital’s annual Canadian Chain Restaurant Industry Review, an extensive research report on the state of chain foodservice in the country.

The report’s findings will be premiered at the sixth annual Canadian Restaurant Investment Summit May 5-6 in Toronto. See below for details.

Foodservice industry sales are expected to increase 4 percent to $59.8 billion in 2015. Diners spent more than $57.5 billion at commercial foodservice establishments in 2014, an increase of 4.9 percent over 2013 and equal to approximately 4 percent of the national gross domestic product.

Ontario and Quebec have the largest commercial foodservice sales at $22.2 billion and $10.5 billion, respectively, driven primarily by their larger populations. Per capita, Alberta has the largest commercial foodservice sales ($2,137), followed by British Columbia ($1,920). Quebec has the lowest commercial foodservice sales per capita ($1,278).

Nearly two-thirds (63.2 percent) of restaurant expenditures take place at chains, which include local, regional, national or international businesses. Those in Atlantic Canada spend the most at chain restaurants – 70 percent. Quebec has the greatest percentage of independent restaurant expenditures – 44.6 percent in 2014, down from 48.4 percent in 2013.

Highlights of Canadian Chain Restaurant Industry Review
The fourth annual Canadian Chain Restaurant Industry Review, a comprehensive analysis of the state of foodservice companies, will be premiered at the Canadian Restaurant Investment Summit. It includes the annual C-Suite Survey, conducted by fsSTRATEGY and NPD Group Canada.

The greatest opportunity in the foodservice industry today, according to C-Suite Survey participants, is menu innovation and refinement, followed by concept refinement.

“Foodservice industry leaders recognize the need to be dynamic in response to the ever more sophisticated consumer, with more choices, more customization, more segmented or targeted positioning, healthier options and better-quality ingredients and flavors,” said Edward Khediguian, senior vice president of GE Capital’s Franchise Finance business in Canada. “In addition, there’s an awareness of the reduction in the span of concept and segment life cycles. They see the value of trying new concepts, such as fast casual or premium options, to take advantage of the ongoing trend toward eating meals away from home.”

Similar to 2014, operating costs continue to be the single greatest challenge for survey participants. However, in 2015, cost of goods sold was mentioned as a challenge by more respondents. The rising cost of proteins was cited frequently, as well. Labour costs and productivity were mentioned at the same frequency as in 2014.

Sixth Annual Canadian Restaurant Investment Summit
Registration is open for the Canadian Restaurant Investment Summit, which brings together chain executives, franchise operators, investors, lenders and key suppliers from across the country for meaningful insights and a tight focus that’s uniquely Canadian.

The roster of well-known speakers includes:
Curt Steinhorst of The Center for Generational Kinetics, who’ll teach business leaders to handle the generational divide — ranging from Millennials to Baby Boomers — with both employees and customers.
Robert Carter, executive director of NPD Group, and Todd S. Jones, senior managing director of brand management for GE Capital’s U.S. Franchise Finance business, who’ll discuss actionable ideas to execute over the next 12 months to drive business.
JP Soltesz, a senior GE economist, who’ll talk about the impact of oil prices on the restaurant industry and provide a regional economic overview.

For more information, go to http://www.restaurantinvest.ca/. To keep up with conference news, follow along on Twitter (http://twitter.com/CRIS_Toronto).

About GE Capital, Canada
With 17 offices throughout Canada, GE Capital (www.gecapital.ca) offers a wide variety of financial products and services to address commercial financing across many phases of a business’ lifecycle. From equipment finance to working capital and growth financing to large asset-based and restructuring loans, we apply our 30 years of experience in the Canadian market and our wealth of industry expertise to develop custom solutions for businesses. Some of the industries in which we specialize include transportation, construction, manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, mining, energy, wholesale, retail, and restaurant and hotel franchise financing.

GE Capital’s Franchise Finance business is a leading lender to the Canadian restaurant and hospitality industries. We specialize in financing regional and national restaurant businesses of all sizes across the country. In the past 12 years, we’ve financed more than 750 restaurant customers with upwards of 1,525 property locations. That’s in excess of $1.35 billion invested in the Canadian restaurant space. In the Canadian hotel market, we provide financing for nationally known brands in the limited-service and select-service segments of the industry. GE Capital offers customers around the globe an array of financial products, services and insights to help them grow their businesses.

GE (NYSE: GE) imagines things others don’t, builds things others can’t and delivers outcomes that make the world work better. GE brings together the physical and digital worlds in ways no other company can. In its labs and factories and on the ground with customers, GE is inventing the next industrial era to move, power, build and cure the world. www.ge.com

The obstacles of your past can become the gateways to new beginnings.” – Unknown

We have acquired Uber Eats India and with this development, we are the undisputed market leaders in the food delivery category in India.

This is a key moment in our journey as it validates our collective achievement – we have worked very hard to get to this point. With our expansion to 550+ cities over the last year, our continued focus on user experience and our commitment to operating excellence, we have demonstrated our ability to execute on a variety of parameters.

The competition in this space is going to continue to be intense, and the food delivery category is still very small compared to the overall food service market in India. This category will continue to grow and get built over the next couple of decades, as we work hand-in-hand with restaurants and food service providers to provide better food for more people.

Our strength in the food delivery category brings with it its added responsibilities and we are keen on continuing to do what we have done this past year, as well as pay even closer attention to our brand, all our stakeholders and most importantly, our users. We must also not forget that with more orders comes greater environmental impact – you will be reading more on this from us in the near future.

Through this deal, Uber Eats India users now become Zomato users. I want to assure Uber Eats India users that their user experience won’t be compromised in any way – if at all, the scale gives us higher density to make our deliveries faster. With Zomato, you’ll realise that we share a common love for great food.

Our restaurant partners have innovated and delighted us in meeting the dizzying pace of consumer demand. And we will continue to work with them with utmost diligence and sincerity.

Similarly, the delivery partners who were earlier associated with Uber Eats India will be on-boarded on our fleet. We welcome them and want to assure them we have their best interest in mind.

Zomato’s mission is better food for more people. We started in 2010 and democratised restaurant discovery to help users find high quality food at restaurants, faster and cheaper. To say the least, this acquisition is a start of a new cycle in our ongoing journey and we could not have been any more excited about the future.

In addition to food delivery, we continue to focus on building our dining out business – and Zomato Gold is now stronger than ever. Hyperpure, our fresh and clean ingredient supply business for restaurants is growing by leaps and bounds and we couldn’t be prouder of the impact that we are making on our users, delivery partners, restaurants, farmers, and our employees.

To better food for more people, and new beginnings.

Zomato Acquires Uber’s Food Delivery Business in India

21 January 2020 , Gurgaon, India: Zomato, one of the largest food apps in India, announced today that it has acquired Uber’s food delivery business in India in an all-stock transaction, which gives Uber 9.99% ownership in Zomato.

Deepinder Goyal, Founder and CEO, Zomato, commented: “We are proud to have pioneered restaurant discovery and to have created a leading food delivery business across more than 500 cities in India. This acquisition significantly strengthens our position in the category. ”

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, said: “Our Uber Eats team in India has achieved an incredible amount over the last two years, and I couldn’t be prouder of their ingenuity and dedication. India remains an exceptionally important market to Uber and we will continue to invest in growing our local Rides business, which is already the clear category leader. We have been very impressed by Zomato’s ability to grow rapidly in a capital-efficient manner and we wish them continued success. ”

Uber Eats in India will discontinue operations and direct restaurants, delivery partners, and users of the Uber Eats apps to the Zomato platform, effective today.

About Zomato: Zomato is a restaurant review, restaurant discovery, food delivery and dining out transactions platform providing in-depth information for over 1.5 million restaurants across 24 countries and serves more than 70 million users every month.

About Uber: Uber’s mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 15 billion trips later, we’re building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.

DENVER- Apr. 27, 2015– Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) has achieved its goal of moving to only non-GMO ingredients to make all of the food in its U.S. restaurants – including all of the food at its Asian restaurant concept, ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen. The company is now actively developing new recipes for its tortillas, which are the only food items on its menu that include any artificial additives. Both initiatives underscore Chipotle’s commitment to serving food made from the very best ingredients.

GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are crops that have had specific changes introduced to their DNA that don’t occur naturally, using the science of genetic engineering. GMOs are common in the American food system. According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 94% of corn and 93% of soybeans grown in this country came from GMO strains in 2014. As a result, more than 80% of foods consumed in the U.S. contain genetically modified ingredients, by some estimates, making it very difficult for consumers to avoid GMO ingredients in restaurants or in food purchased in grocery stores.

“There is a lot of debate about genetically modified foods,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. “Though many countries have already restricted or banned the use of GMO crops, it’s clear that a lot of research is still needed before we can truly understand all of the implications of widespread GMO cultivation and consumption. While that debate continues, we decided to move to non-GMO ingredients.”

Chipotle became the first national restaurant company to voluntarily disclose GMO ingredients in its food in March 2013, and pledged at that time to move to non-GMO ingredients for all of its food. Most of the company’s use of genetically modified ingredients was tied to soybean oil, which it used to cook chips and taco shells, and in a number of recipes (such as the adobo rub it uses for grilled chicken and steak) and for cooking (both on its grills and for use in sauté pans). Corn and flour tortillas also included some GMO ingredients.

Chipotle suppliers planted non-GMO corn varieties to meet Chipotle’s needs for corn tortillas, and the company replaced soybean oil with sunflower oil to cook its chips and taco shells, and with rice bran oil for other recipes and uses. Both oils are extracted from crops for which there are no commercially available genetically modified varieties. Other GMO ingredients in tortillas were replaced with non-GMO alternatives.

While GMO advocates point to higher costs associated with producing non-GMO foods, Chipotle’s move to non-GMO ingredients did not result in significantly higher ingredient costs for the company, and it did not raise prices resulting from its move to non-GMO ingredients.

With the transition to non-GMO ingredients for its food completed, Chipotle has set its sights on eliminating the few remaining artificial ingredients from its tortillas. Excluding tortillas, the food on Chipotle’s entire menu consists of just 46 ingredients – nearly all of which are simple, whole ingredients that could be purchased at any local supermarket. By contrast, a typical Mexican fast food restaurant may use well over 200 different ingredients.

Tortillas are the only food item on Chipotle’s menu that contains any additives, which include a minimal number of preservatives and dough conditioners. While the company has made significant strides in reducing the number of additives in its tortillas, it is now embarking on a quest to eliminate all of the remaining additives. The goal is to achieve a simple recipe with only a few ingredients, much like tortillas made in more traditional ways that include only wheat flour, oil, water, salt and a starter for flour tortillas, for example.

Achieving this goal will be difficult and take time. Tortillas today are made very quickly and require the use of dough conditioners to give the tortilla the consistency that was once achieved by allowing the dough to rise slowly. Chipotle is working in close partnership with its tortilla suppliers and the Bread Lab at Washington State University to develop a new system of making tortillas that will allow the dough to rise slowly and eliminate the need for the dough conditioners. Eliminating the few preservatives will be slightly easier, but still a challenge simply because tortillas are difficult to keep fresh for long.

The company has developed new tortilla recipes and initial taste tests have been very encouraging, but it’s too early to say how long it will take before these new tortillas will be served at any Chipotle locations.

“We are changing the way people think about and eat fast food, and that means cooking with the very best ingredients – ingredients that are free of additives – but still serving food that is affordable, convenient, and most importantly delicious,” said Ells. “That’s really unusual in fast food, but that’s the quest we are on, and we continue to make progress.”

For more information about Chipotle’s ingredients and its move to non-GMO foods, visit www.chipotle.com/gmo. To learn more about its quest to make tortillas even better, visit www.chipotle.com/tortilla-journey.

ABOUT CHIPOTLE
Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO, started Chipotle with the idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast food experience. Today, Chipotle continues to offer a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla) and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking methods and served in a distinctive atmosphere. Through our vision of Food With Integrity, Chipotle is seeking better food from using ingredients that are not only fresh, but that—where possible—are sustainably grown and naturally raised with respect for the animals, the land, and the farmers who produce the food. A similarly focused people culture, with an emphasis on identifying and empowering top performing employees, enables us to develop future leaders from within. Chipotle opened with a single restaurant in 1993 and currently operates more than 1,800 restaurants. For more information, visit Chipotle.com.

DENVER– As college students make their way back to school for another year, Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) is making it easier for students to find the food they love, allowing more time for study and less to search for burritos. Through a new partnership with Tapingo, a leading mobile commerce app that saves college students time by providing food pickup and delivery, Chipotle will be available for delivery through Tapingo at 40 college campuses nationwide this fall, and at more than 100 campuses by spring 2016.

The partnership with Tapingo expands Chipotle’s existing delivery program. The company also has nationwide delivery partnerships with Postmates, a delivery service that operates in several key Chipotle markets, and with OrderUp, which provides delivery service in several smaller Chipotle markets.

“Chipotle has been popular with students going back to our very first restaurant near the University of Denver, and we are always looking for ways to better engage with them,” said Mark Crumpacker, chief creative and development officer at Chipotle. “Tapingo, which has been well received by students where its services are available, knows how to connect with these younger customers. That shared acceptance among younger customers made them a great choice for us to expand delivery aimed specifically at students.”

Tapingo has a rapidly growing user base, the large majority of whom are Millennials and Gen Zs. Chipotle resonates well with a similar audience. A recent survey by investment firm William Blair called Chipotle the “most favored restaurant” by younger consumers. Morgan Stanley notes that Millennials are more likely to dine out on a weekly basis than older consumers and states that “taste, value, and quality” drive their restaurant decision-making. “On those metrics, Chipotle wins,” the firm says.

“Tapingo has become the buy button for students and we are excited to expand into surrounding areas,” said Daniel Almog, chief executive officer at Tapingo. “Our network of students is hungry for Chipotle, and we’re excited to deliver it quickly and at a very reasonable delivery cost.”

Since its founding in 2012, Tapingo has leveraged mobile technology to create a more convenient and enjoyable experience for students to purchase a variety of products or services. With the average student transacting daily, using Tapingo has become habitual for college students. Users can order with a tap and then have their order delivered in a timely and efficient manner. Using the Club Tapingo feature, the average user pays $2.99, with no additional service fee. Tapingo also provides timely delivery, with an average of only 25 minutes between order placement and receipt.

Chipotle delivery is currently available through Tapingo at the following campuses:

Arizona State University
California State University Chico
Louisiana State University
University of Arizona
University of Southern California
Northern Arizona University
Delivery will expand to include the following campuses later this fall.

California State University – Fullerton
California State University Northridge
Carnegie Melon University
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland State University
College of the Holy Cross
Columbia University
Eastern Michigan University
Emory University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia State University
Johns Hopkins University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola University Maryland
Michigan State University
New York University
North Carolina State University
Ohio State University
Pennsylvania State University
Rutgers University
San Jose State University
Santa Clara University
Towson University
Trinity College
University of Arkansas
University of California Los Angeles
University of Georgia
University of Louisville
University of Maryland
University of Miami
University of Michigan
University of Oklahoma
University of Oregon Eugene
University of Pittsburgh
University of the Pacific
University of Utah
Plans for additional rollouts or availability can be found on Tapingo.com/Chipotle.

ABOUT CHIPOTLE
Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO, started Chipotle with the idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast-food experience. Today, Chipotle continues to offer a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla) and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking methods and served in a distinctive atmosphere. Through our vision of Food With Integrity, Chipotle is seeking better food from using ingredients that are not only fresh, but that — where possible — are sustainably grown and raised responsibly with respect for the animals, the land and the farmers who produce the food. In order to achieve this vision, we focus on building a special people culture that is centered on creating teams of top performers empowered to achieve high standards. This people culture not only leads to a better dining experience for our customers, it also allows us to develop future leaders from within. Chipotle opened with a single restaurant in 1993 and operates more than 1,850 restaurants, including 17 Chipotle restaurants outside the U.S. and 11 ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen restaurants, and is an investor in an entity that owns and operates three Pizzeria Locale restaurants. For more information, visit Chipotle.com.

ABOUT TAPINGO
Since its founding in 2012, Tapingo has leveraged mobile technology to solve a key problem for students: lack of time. Whether confronted with long lines while racing between classes, needing a midnight boost during late-night study sessions, or faced with a lack of options when living off campus, students are increasingly in need of a new solution to meet their needs. With just a few taps, users can browse menus, order and pay, then schedule pickup or have their order delivered. Tapingo provides a streamlined buying process that benefits both the students and the campuses, while driving habitual purchase and eliminating operational inefficiencies. Today, Tapingo processes tens of thousands of transactions per day, and the average user utilizes the service more than five times per week. Serving 46 markets from Alaska to Miami, Tapingo is the ideal commerce solution for the on-the-go on-demand generation. Stop waiting at www.Tapingo.com.

DENVER – Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) today announced its first-ever National Career Day, taking place on Wednesday, September 9, with the goal of hiring 4,000 new employees. Management teams at each U.S. restaurant location will hold open interviews for up to 60 applicants between 8-11 a.m. Interested candidates are invited to register for an interview at the Chipotle location of their choice by visiting NationalCareerDay.com.

Chipotle currently employs more than 60,000 people, and entry-level crew positions can put employees on the path to developing rewarding careers. Over the last year, the company has promoted more than 10,000 people into management roles who started as hourly crew. Through National Career Day, interested applicants will have the opportunity to interview onsite with a manager and jumpstart their career with one of the nation’s fastest growing restaurant companies.

“We believe that our success is the direct result of our incredibly strong people culture, which is rooted in having teams of all top performers, and developing them to be the leaders we will need to accommodate our growth,” said Monty Moran, co-chief executive officer at Chipotle. “We are constantly looking for great people to join our team. Regardless of your background or experience, you can succeed at Chipotle if you have a passion for making the people around you better. Working here isn’t just a job, but a career where employees learn how to make others better, run a successful business, master culinary skills, and most importantly, lead teams of top performers. For people who embrace that culture, the opportunities are tremendous, and we hope job-seekers looking to further their career and join a dynamic team will come join us on National Career Day.”

With a company culture that values attitude over experience (no experience is required to apply or be hired), Chipotle bases its hiring on a specific set of 13 Characteristics that indicate an applicant’s potential for success within the company. These traits include being conscientious, respectful, hospitable, high energy, infectiously enthusiastic, happy, presentable, smart, polite, motivated, ambitious, curious and honest.

Unlike most companies in the traditional fast food and fast casual industries, Chipotle offers all employees significant career advancement opportunities, as well as compensation and benefits above industry standard. By developing career skills internally, more than 95 percent of the company’s restaurant managers are promoted from within. The highest performing managers have the additional opportunity to be promoted to Restaurateur, which offers benefits such as a company car and a six-figure salary. Chipotle also offers a highly competitive benefits package to all employees, including paid sick leave and vacation time for full and part time employees, along with tuition reimbursement and merit-based increases. A full look at the career path can be found on Chipotle’s Career site: http://careers.chipotle.com/career-path.

What’s more, employees at Chipotle feel a tremendous sense of pride and satisfaction in their work. A recent employee survey indicated that Chipotle employees feel supported by the company and express satisfaction and pride in their roles. According to the survey, employees consider company culture, food and other benefits, like paid time off and tuition reimbursement, to be among the biggest pros of their jobs. Furthermore, a resounding 90% said they were proud to work at the company, while a near-unanimous 97% said they believe they work in and enjoy an empowered culture where top performers are rewarded and provided with advancement opportunities.

For more information and to register for an interview, please visit www.NationalCareerDay.com.

ABOUT CHIPOTLE
Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO, started Chipotle with the idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast-food experience. Today, Chipotle continues to offer a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla) and salads made from fresh, high-quality, raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking methods and served in a distinctive atmosphere. Through our vision of Food With Integrity, Chipotle is seeking better food from using ingredients that are not only fresh, but that — where possible — are sustainably grown and raised responsibly with respect for the animals, the land and the farmers who produce the food. In order to achieve this vision, we focus on building a special people culture that is centered on creating teams of top performers empowered to achieve high standards. This people culture not only leads to a better dining experience for our customers, it also allows us to develop future leaders from within. Chipotle opened with a single restaurant in 1993 and operates more than 1,850 restaurants, including 17 Chipotle restaurants outside the U.S. and 11 ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen restaurants, and is an investor in an entity that owns and operates three Pizzeria Locale restaurants. For more information, visit Chipotle.com.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., April 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) today announced it will offer debt-free degrees in Agriculture, Culinary, and Hospitality to all eligible employees in partnership with Guild Education, the leading education and upskilling company in the country. After only 120 days of employment, employees are eligible to pursue degrees from leading nonprofit, accredited universities, including The University of Arizona, Bellevue University, Brandman University, Paul Quinn College, Southern New Hampshire University, Wilmington University, the University of Denver and soon Johnson & Wales University, and Oregon State University. The new degree offerings build upon Chipotle’s best-in-class benefits and closely align with the company’s mission to Cultivate a Better World through its real, responsibly-sourced food.

In partnership with Guild Education, the leading education and upskilling company in the country, Chipotle will offer debt-free degrees in Agriculture, Culinary, and Hospitality to all eligible employees. The new degree offerings build upon Chipotle’s best-in-class benefits and closely align with the company’s mission to Cultivate a Better World through its real, responsibly-sourced food.
In partnership with Guild Education, the leading education and upskilling company in the country, Chipotle will offer debt-free degrees in Agriculture, Culinary, and Hospitality to all eligible employees. The new degree offerings build upon Chipotle’s best-in-class benefits and closely align with the company’s mission to Cultivate a Better World through its real, responsibly-sourced food.
Agriculture
Starting April 13, eligible Chipotle employees will be able to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Sciences or Rangeland Sciences online from Oregon State University, one of the top ranked U.S. colleges for agriculture.

According to the latest Census of Agriculture from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are more than six times as many farmers age 65 and older as farmers age 34 and younger*, challenging future of small and mid-sized farms throughout the country. Chipotle recognizes that the future of real food depends on cultivating the next generation of agriculture leaders and farmers, and now the brand is giving employees an opportunity to further contribute to its revitalization efforts.

Chipotle has committed $5 million over five years to help remove barriers and enable the next generation of farmers and ranchers to succeed. Last year, the brand spent more than $300 million in food premiums to purchase supplies that are responsibly sourced, humanely raised and often locally grown.

Culinary and Hospitality
Chipotle will be the first of Guild’s employer partners to offer debt-free culinary education through renowned culinary institution, Johnson & Wales University (JWU), later this year. The brand will work collaboratively with JWU and Guild to bring associate and bachelors’ culinary arts degrees online, as well as an additional Bachelor of Science degree in Food Industry Compliance Management. The associate degree in Culinary Arts will include an experiential education component to give students hands-on opportunities to build their culinary skills. In addition, Chipotle employees will have the opportunity to pursue a selection of bachelor’s degree programs in hospitality from Bellevue University, JWU or Oregon State University.

Supply Chain
Later this year, Chipotle will also offer an expanded selection of Supply Chain programs from Oregon State University and the University of Denver. The company currently offers Supply Chain degrees from Bellevue University, Brandman University, and Southern New Hampshire University.

“Diversifying our debt-free degree program with new majors and partner universities makes our educational benefits even more inclusive,” said Marissa Andrada, Chief Diversity, Inclusion and People Officer at Chipotle. “Through our partnership with Guild, we are committed to accelerating our employees’ professional growth and helping them achieve personal success by offering opportunities to pursue career paths in their particular area of interest.”

Chipotle’s Continued Commitment to Education
In 2019, Chipotle announced it will cover 100% of tuition costs up front for 75 different business and technology degrees through its partnership with Guild. Chipotle added this employee benefit to give employees the chance to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the evolving 21st century job market.

The debt-free degree program is a key component of Chipotle’s Cultivate Education program, which includes an Existing Tuition Reimbursement Program, allowing eligible employees to be reimbursed for tuition up to $5,250 per year in qualifying programs.

Program Impact

To date, Chipotle has seen a retention rate of 3.5x higher among students who are enrolled in Cultivate Education.
Crew members using the benefit are 7.5x more likely to move into a management role within the organization.
Of those using the benefit, 85% of students are crew members, and the benefit has the biggest impact on their growth and tenure.
“Chipotle’s debt-free degree program expansion highlights its deep commitment to employees’ economic opportunity and professional advancement,” said Natalie McCullough, President and Chief Commercial Officer at Guild Education. “By expanding Cultivate Education to include a variety of programs aligned to the company’s mission, Chipotle is continuing to lead as an innovator in employee development and wellness.”

Along with access to higher education, Chipotle offers an industry-first Crew Bonus program, which allows its restaurant employees the opportunity to earn an extra month’s worth of pay each year for meeting certain criteria. Qualifying crew members can also take advantage of a full suite of benefits including access to healthcare; fitness discounts; and free English as a second language and GED classes for employees and family members.

*Source: American Farmland Trust
ABOUT CHIPOTLE
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is cultivating a better world by serving responsibly sourced, classically-cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Chipotle had over 2,750 restaurants as of December 31, 2020, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany and is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants. With nearly 88,000 employees passionate about providing a great guest experience, Chipotle is a longtime leader and innovator in the food industry. Chipotle is committed to making its food more accessible to everyone while continuing to be a brand with a demonstrated purpose as it leads the way in digital, technology and sustainable business practices. Steve Ells, founder, first opened Chipotle with a single restaurant in Denver, Colorado in 1993. For more information or to place an order online, visit WWW.CHIPOTLE.COM.

ABOUT GUILD EDUCATION
Denver-based Guild Education is on a mission to unlock opportunity for America’s workforce through education and upskilling. Guild is a certified B-Corp, founded to bridge the gap between education and employment for the 88M working adults in the US in need of upskilling for the future of work. Guild’s industry-leading technology platform allows the nation’s largest employers — including Walmart, The Walt Disney Company and Chipotle — to offer strategic education and upskilling to their employees, connecting them to a learning ecosystem of the nation’s best universities and learning providers, with tuition paid by the company. Guild serves working learners from all 50 states, including 54% who are students of color and 56% female. Guild’s platform pairs technology and hands-on coaching to address common barriers to college completion and successful upskilling for working learners. Guild partners with employers to manage payment flows, data transfer, and benefits administration, while helping working adult learners go to school debt-free, with support services all the way through graduation. For more information, visit www.guildeducation.com.

SOURCE Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

CONTACT: Erin Wolford, (949) 524-4035, MediaRelations@chipotle.com

Related Links
https://www.chipotle.com/

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Dec. 16, 2021 — Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) today announced its first Chipotlane Digital Kitchen restaurant in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The new prototype offers a Chipotlane and walk-up window for efficient digital order pickup. Located at 994 Graham Road in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, the restaurant is scheduled to open later this month.

Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8834951-chipotle-mexican-grill-chipotlane-digital-kitchen/

Chipotlane Digital Kitchens offers no inside guest access. The first Chipotlane Digital Kitchen in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio includes patio seating for guests to enjoy their meals outside.
Chipotlane Digital Kitchens offers no inside guest access. The first Chipotlane Digital Kitchen in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio includes patio seating for guests to enjoy their meals outside.
Chipotle’s latest digital-only restaurant prototype offers a Chipotlane and walk-up window for efficient digital order pickup.
Chipotle’s latest digital-only restaurant prototype offers a Chipotlane and walk-up window for efficient digital order pickup.
Chipotle’s second digital-only restaurant prototype serves guests who order ahead on the Chipotle app and Chipotle.com, and marketplace partners.
Chipotle’s second digital-only restaurant prototype serves guests who order ahead on the Chipotle app and Chipotle.com, and marketplace partners.
Chipotlane Digital Kitchen Design

The Chipotlane Digital Kitchen footprint is smaller than a traditional Chipotlane, with no dining room access for guests or a front line. The kitchen is equipped with a make line dedicated to digital orders placed through the Chipotle app and Chipotle.com, as well as marketplace partners. Guests and delivery drivers can collect their digital orders through the Chipotlane drive-thru or walk-up window. The new restaurant will also offer patio seating for guests to enjoy their meals.

“Chipotlanes are a key growth strategy for the brand,” said Tabassum Zalotrawala, Chief Development Officer, Chipotle. “Our portfolio of approximately 300 Chipotlanes perform with the highest margins across the board, so we continue to evolve our restaurant design with formats such as the Chipotlane Digital Kitchen to best suit our growing digital business.”

Chipotlane Performance and Growth

Since launching in early 2018, the Chipotlane format continues to enhance access, ease and satisfaction for guests while demonstrating strong performance. New restaurants featuring a Chipotlane open with approximately 15% higher sales compared to non-Chipotlanes opened during the same period.

With nearly 3,000 restaurants today and a long-term goal of having 6,000 locations in North America, Chipotle is continuing to learn and refine its approach to accelerate its Chipotlane portfolio judiciously. To date, Chipotle has reconfigured 12 of its existing restaurants to feature the digital order pickup lane, with these locations seeing an increase in sales as more customers choose this convenient access channel.

ABOUT CHIPOTLE
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is Cultivating A Better World by serving responsibly sourced, classically-cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Chipotle had nearly 2,900 restaurants as of September 30, 2021, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany and is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants. Chipotle is ranked on the Fortune 500 and is recognized on the 2021 lists for Forbes’ America’s Best Employers and Fortune’s Most Admired Companies. With nearly 95,000 employees passionate about providing a great guest experience, Chipotle is a longtime leader and innovator in the food industry. Chipotle is committed to making its food more accessible to everyone while continuing to be a brand with a demonstrated purpose as it leads the way in digital, technology and sustainable business practices. For more information or to place an order online, WWW.CHIPOTLE.COM.

SOURCE Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

CONTACT: Erin Wolford, (949) 524-4035, MediaRelations@chipotle.com

CHICAGO, CNA today announced the appointment of Michael Nardiello as Senior Vice President, Underwriting for Large/Complex Property. In this role, Nardiello will be based in New York City and responsible for implementing underwriting strategies and operational objectives for Large/Complex Property business. He reports to Kevin Leidwinger, President and Chief Operating Officer, CNA Commercial.

“Michael’s deep underwriting acumen and extensive broker relationships will increase CNA’s ability to capitalize on profitable growth opportunities in the large/complex property insurance marketplace,” said Drew Feldman, Senior Vice President and leader of CNA Property. “His proven leadership and insurance expertise make him well suited to further strengthen CNA’s property capabilities.”

Nardiello joins CNA from Sompo International, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President, Global Property Product Leader. Over the course of Nardiello’s 23-year insurance career, he has held a variety of underwriting and management positions of increasing responsibility at AIG and Marsh.

Nardiello has a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Maryland.

About CNA
CNA is the eighth largest commercial insurer in the United States. CNA provides a broad range of standard and specialized property and casualty insurance products and services for businesses and professionals in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia, backed by 120 years of experience and more than $45 billion of assets. For more information about CNA, visit our website at www.cna.com.

Further to the announcement made on 20 September 2019, Thomas Cook Group plc (“the Company”) continued to engage with a range of key stakeholders over the weekend in order to secure final terms on the recapitalisation and reorganisation of the Company.

Despite considerable efforts, those discussions have not resulted in agreement between the Company’s stakeholders and proposed new money providers. The Company’s board has therefore concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect.

An application was made to the High Court for a compulsory liquidation of the Company before opening of business today and an order has been granted to appoint the Official Receiver as the liquidator of the Company. We anticipate that the Official Receiver will make an application to the High Court for members of AlixPartners UK LLP to be appointed as Special Managers in respect of the Company, to act on behalf of the Official Receiver, and we further anticipate that an order will be granted to that effect. As part of this process, a number of other Thomas Cook Group companies have also entered into compulsory liquidation, with members of either AlixPartners UK LLP or KPMG LLP (depending on the company) being appointed as Special Managers in respect of the relevant Group companies.

We expect that AlixPartners UK LLP will now work very closely with the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK, to effect the repatriation of all UK customers impacted by this announcement.

Peter Fankhauser, Chief Executive of Thomas Cook commented:

“We have worked exhaustively in the past few days to resolve the outstanding issues on an agreement to secure Thomas Cook’s future for its employees, customers and suppliers. Although a deal had been largely agreed, an additional facility requested in the last few days of negotiations presented a challenge that ultimately proved insurmountable.

“It is a matter of profound regret to me and the rest of the board that we were not successful. I would like to apologise to our millions of customers, and thousands of employees, suppliers and partners who have supported us for many years. Despite huge uncertainty over recent weeks, our teams continued to put customers first, showing why Thomas Cook is one of the best-loved brands in travel.

“Generations of customers entrusted their family holiday to Thomas Cook because our people kept our customers at the heart of the business and maintained our founder’s spirit of innovation.

“This marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world.”

The Company has requested that its ordinary shares be suspended from listing on the premium segment of the Official List of the FCA and from trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange with immediate effect.

For press queries relating to the repatriation and future travel of Thomas Cook customers please contact the CAA on press.office@caa.co.uk.

For press queries relating to the affairs of The Thomas Cook Group please contact The Insolvency Service on press.office@insolvency.gov.uk.

For shareholder queries please contact TCUKshareholders@alixpartners.com

For any creditor queries please contact TCUKcreditors@alixpartners.com

The recent negative circumstances that have plagued cruise operators is having an overall toll on the tourism industry. People have lost confidence in the cruise lines as a result of reports of negligence in safety measures.

Bethesda, Md., – For the eighth time, Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as a 2015 World’s Most Ethical Company. The World’s Most Ethical Companies designation recognizes organizations that have had a material impact on the way business is conducted by fostering a culture of ethics and transparency at every level of the company.

Marriott was selected for showing leadership in promoting ethical business standards. This recognition is a testament to Marriott’s leadership and commitment to governance, ethics and compliance policies that not only meet legal minimums and industry standards, but exceed them.

“We are very pleased to again be recognized by Ethisphere, and we are fortunate to have a compliance and ethics program that allows us a place on this distinguished list of companies,” says Ed Ryan, Executive Vice President & Chief Counsel. “It’s an honor to be on this list, and our congratulations go to the other companies so recognized.”

Marriott’s reputation and continued success as a global hospitality leader are grounded in its commitment to service and business integrity and in its application of consistently high standards to everything they do. Marriott associates can be observed demonstrating these values in more than its words; it is evident in the associates’ deeds and in the actions of the company leadership.

The company’s business relies upon integrity and good judgment, its Business Conduct Guide and related company standards are available to all members of the Marriott community with guidance on not only what is legal but also what is right. The Guide was written by its associates for its associates. This Guide supports the company’s pledge to uncompromising business standards and a fair and ethical workplace. The guide is published in 15 languages and available on Marriott’s publicly accessible website.

“The World’s Most Ethical Companies embrace the correlation between ethical business practice and improved company performance. These companies use ethics as a means to further define their industry leadership and understand that creating an ethical culture and earning the World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition involves more than just an outward facing message or a handful of senior executives saying the right thing,” said Ethisphere’s Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Erblich. “Earning this recognition involves the collective action of a global workforce from the top down. We congratulate everyone at Marriott for this extraordinary achievement.”

Methodology
The World’s Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient™ (EQ) framework developed over years of research to provide a means to assess an organization’s performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way. The information collected provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies, rather than all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics. The EQ framework and methodology is determined, vetted and refined by the expert advice and insights gleaned from Ethisphere’s network of thought leaders and from the World’s Most Ethical Company Methodology Advisory Panel.

Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (35%), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20%), culture of ethics (20%), governance (15%) and leadership, innovation and reputation (10%).

The full list of the 2015 World’s Most Ethical Companies can be found at http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical/wme-honorees/.

About Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is a leading global lodging company based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, with more than 4,100 properties in 79 countries and territories and reported revenues of nearly $14 billion in fiscal year 2014. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 18 brands. For more information or reservations, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com.

About the Ethisphere Institute
The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with the publication of Ethisphere Magazine and The World’s Most Ethical Companies Executive Briefing. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs. More information about Ethisphere can be found at: http://ethisphere.com.

ORLANDO, Fla., Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) today filed an investor presentation detailing its priorities for creating sustainable value for all Darden shareholders and for driving growth and performance across its brands.

“Darden’s Board of Directors and management team are focused on creating value for all Darden shareholders, and we are confident in the actions the Company is taking to deliver on this responsibility,” said Chuck Ledsinger, Lead Director of Darden’s Board of Directors. “Darden’s Board and management have undertaken a thorough evaluation of various operational, strategic and financial alternatives available to the Company. This extensive review included analyses and advice from the Company’s financial advisors, Goldman, Sachs & Co., and legal counsel, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, as well as discussion with and feedback from Darden shareholders. It also included analyses and advice from Morgan Stanley, as financial advisors working exclusively at the direction of the Board. Based on this review and the deep understanding of the Company and its industry that the members of the Board have developed collectively over many years, the Board believes strongly that the plan announced in December, together with the additional details presented today, provide the best path forward for capitalizing on Darden’s position as the nation’s premier full-service restaurant company and driving sustainable shareholder value.”

Clarence Otis, Darden’s Chairman and CEO, said, “The Olive Garden brand renaissance is underway, and we are driving profitable growth at LongHorn Steakhouse and the Specialty Restaurant Group. At Red Lobster, we are on track with the separation plan. That plan includes a process in which we are exploring the potential sale of the business, as well as a parallel process to spin the business off. Red Lobster is implementing initiatives that will improve results for the balance of the year and support the brand’s success on a standalone basis. Our actions to drive efficiencies across the organization are resulting in meaningful savings, with more to come. And Darden’s strong cash flows are continuing to support significant return of capital to shareholders. Notwithstanding the changing dynamics and challenges in our industry, we have a strong foundation in place. We look forward to talking directly with Darden shareholders and the investment community to provide further insight about our plans and initiatives to drive shareholder value.”

Highlights of Darden’s presentation include:

Execute Olive Garden Brand Renaissance

A holistic core menu and promotion plan aimed at broadening the choice, variety and value that Olive Garden offers guests.
A robust operations improvement plan focused on reducing culinary complexity to enable menu innovation, strengthen in-restaurant employee engagement and reduce food preparation-related labor costs and waste.
A robust service strengthening path with training that is even more grounded in the guest point of view and that encourages more personalized service delivery.
A new approach to advertising and promotion that includes a richer mix of targeted food and other news that is relevant for a wide range of guest occasions, and the use of a variety of media, including online and social.
A new remodel and logo direction which currently contemplates that 75 restaurants will be remodeled in fiscal 2015 and 125 to 150 in fiscal 2016 through 2017.
Cementing Olive Garden’s hard earned position in the marketplace, where it has long delighted guests as “a nicer place than the price suggests.”
Separate Red Lobster Through a Spin-Off or Sale to Enhance Focus and Improve Performance

Darden remains on track to execute its previously announced plan to separate the Red Lobster business through either a tax-free spin-off to Darden shareholders or a sale of the Red Lobster business. The sale process is well underway. The Company has also begun the process of establishing separate financials and associated infrastructure for the Red Lobster business should the Board determine that the spin-off alternative creates more value for shareholders.

As consumer demand dynamics have changed, Red Lobster’s priorities and operating support requirements have come to differ meaningfully from those of Darden’s other brands, which are having greater success increasing appeal among consumers outside their core guest profiles. By establishing two independent companies, a separation will better enable the management teams of each company to focus their exclusive attention on their distinct value creation opportunities. To elevate focus on consumers who have its core guest profile, Red Lobster has developed a clearly defined vision and plan that includes:

Greater focus on seafood quality, craveability and variety which its guests have long looked to Red Lobster for.
Streamlining restaurant operations to drive efficiency that will support the affordability many of Red Lobster’s core guests need and want.
More tailored marketing and promotional strategy that leverages brand equity with core guests.
Further Optimize Operating Support and Direct Operating Costs

Through an aggressive approach to managing operating support costs, the Company expects savings of at least $60 million annually beginning in fiscal year 2015, as previously announced. The Company is focused on identifying additional opportunities for support cost savings and is also exploring the potential for direct operating cost optimization, while being mindful of the need to preserve the guest experience at its restaurants. The Company has retained Alvarez & Marsal North America to assist with these efforts and with identifying potential revenue enhancement opportunities.

Maintain Balanced Approach to Capital Allocation

Darden’s strong cash flows have supported a level of return of capital to shareholders that has outpaced the industry, while also enabling key growth initiatives.

Darden will have returned $4 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends from the beginning of fiscal year 2004 through fiscal year 2014.
In the past five years, Darden returned $1.95 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends.
Darden has doubled its dividend over the past four years and, most recently, in June 2013, the Company raised its quarterly dividend by 10% to $0.55 per share, or $2.20 annually.
Going forward, Darden will maintain a balanced approach to capital allocation that includes:

Continuing to target an approximately 70% to 75% dividend payout ratio that would be reduced over time to approximately 50% to 60%.
Maintaining an active share buyback program, the details of which will be announced as the Red Lobster separation plans are finalized.
Focusing capital expenditures on organic growth initiatives.
Improving key credit metrics.
Real Estate

Optimizing Darden’s real estate assets is a focus for the Company. As part of the process of setting these priorities, the Board, in consultation with its financial and legal advisors, carefully considered several real estate monetization alternatives. These included using the Company’s real estate to establish and spin-off on a tax-free basis an independent, standalone triple-net lease real estate investment trust (REIT), as well as the possibility of engaging in a series of sale-leaseback transactions to separate the real estate. It determined, among other things, that:

Full real estate separation via the formation of a REIT would introduce significant operational complexity, remove from Darden an important strategic asset and likely not create meaningful shareholder value.
Formation of a REIT would reduce the remaining Darden operating company’s operating cash flow, weaken its credit profile, increase its borrowing costs and limit its ability to support a dividend, repurchase shares and meet its ongoing brand development needs – factors that would have important adverse consequences for its valuation.
A Darden property REIT would lack the characteristics of highly-valued REITs – in particular, it would have exposure to a single, non-investment grade tenant with one property type that has very specific use limitations as well as a high concentration of ground leases – and this would likely result in a valuation that would be at a meaningful discount to the triple-net lease REIT comparable universe.
Formation of a REIT would involve meaningful friction costs, the most significant being the debt breakage expense associated with the expected refinancing of Darden’s approximately $2.5 billion in current debt, which would be necessitated by such a transaction.
A REIT spin-off is a transaction that entails significant tax complexity and uncertainty that could result in meaningful additional fixed costs and contingent liabilities.
Separation of the Company’s real estate via a series of sale-leaseback transactions would, in effect, be an expensive form of secured debt financing relative to other options available to Darden. Such transactions would also result in potentially meaningful tax leakage and would raise many of the same issues related to the formation of a REIT, including the necessity of refinancing all of Darden’s outstanding debt.
Conference Call and Webcast

About Darden

Darden Restaurants, Inc., (NYSE: DRI), the world’s largest full-service restaurant company, owns and operates more than 2,100 restaurants that generate over $8.5 billion in annual sales. Headquartered in Orlando, Fla., and employing more than 200,000 people, Darden is recognized for a culture that rewards caring for and responding to people. In 2014, Darden was named to the FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the fourth year in a row. Our restaurant brands – Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s and Yard House – reflect the rich diversity of those who dine with us. Our brands are built on deep insights into what our guests want.

This news is courtesy of www.darden.com

ORLANDO, Fla. and SAN FRANCISCO — Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) and Golden Gate Capital today announced that Golden Gate has completed the acquisition of the Red Lobster business and certain other related assets and assumed liabilities for approximately $2.1 billion in cash.

The sale of Red Lobster is the culmination of a robust competitive process that enabled Darden to maximize the value of Red Lobster, eliminate the risks and volatility associated with continuing to own the business, and provide a realistic market-validated valuation of Darden’s real estate assets. The sale is also consistent with Darden’s strategy of increasing its focus on its Olive Garden brand renaissance program and preserving its dividend.

As previously announced, approximately $1.0 billion of the net cash proceeds are expected to be used to retire outstanding debt. The remaining net proceeds of approximately $500 million to $600 million are expected to be deployed for a new share repurchase program of up to $700 million in fiscal 2015. In addition to strengthening Darden’s credit profile, with the lower debt levels and reduced outstanding share count, Darden expects to maintain its current quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, or $2.20 annually.

Clarence Otis, Darden’s Chairman and CEO, said, “We are pleased to have completed the sale of Red Lobster as planned. The completion of this transaction marks an important milestone in the actions we are taking to improve our operations, reduce costs, and focus on opportunities with the highest value-creating potential. While we still have work to do, we are making progress in our efforts to enhance performance and shareholder value.”

“We are excited to have successfully completed the acquisition of Red Lobster, officially beginning our partnership with this iconic brand as it enters into this exciting new chapter of growth,” said Josh Olshansky, Managing Director at Golden Gate Capital. “We strongly support CEO Kim Lopdrup’s vision to deliver Great Seafood, Great People and Great Results. We look forward to leveraging the Company’s unparalleled brand awareness to expand its leadership position in casual dining, and driving long-term success by delighting millions of loyal customers.”

Advisors
Goldman, Sachs & Co. served as Darden’s exclusive financial advisor on the sale of Red Lobster and also as financial advisor to Darden’s Board of Directors. Latham & Watkins served as legal counsel to Darden on the transaction. Morgan Stanley is serving as financial advisor working exclusively at the direction of Darden’s Board of Directors, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is serving as legal advisor to Darden’s Board of Directors.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Jefferies LLC served as financial advisors to Golden Gate Capital in connection with the transaction. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., GE Capital, and Jefferies Finance LLC provided debt commitments for the acquisition. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Golden Gate Capital on the transaction.

About Golden Gate Capital
Golden Gate Capital is a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with over $12 billion of capital under management. The principals of Golden Gate have a long and successful history of investing across a wide range of industries and transaction types, including going-privates, corporate divestitures, and recapitalizations, as well as debt and public equity investments. Golden Gate is one of the most active investors in multi-unit consumer companies with leading brands. Representative investments include Ann Taylor, California Pizza Kitchen, Payless ShoeSource, Eddie Bauer, Express, Zales, J.Jill and Pacific Sunwear. For additional information, visit www.goldengatecap.com.

About Darden
Darden Restaurants, Inc., (NYSE: DRI), the world’s largest full-service restaurant company, owns and operates more than 1,500 restaurants that generate approximately $6.3 billion in annual sales. Headquartered in Orlando, Fla., and employing more than 150,000 people, Darden is recognized for a culture that rewards caring for and responding to people. In 2014, Darden was named to the FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the fourth year in a row. Our restaurant brands – Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s and Yard House – reflect the rich diversity of those who dine with us. Our brands are built on deep insights into what our guests want. For more information, please visit www.darden.com.

ORLANDO, Fla., — Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) today commented on the operational plan proposed by Starboard Value L.P. and its affiliates (“Starboard”).

“We remain open minded toward all ideas that support long-term value creation for our shareholders and improve the dining experience for our guests,” said Gene Lee, President and Chief Operating Officer of Darden. “While we will carefully and thoughtfully review Starboard’s plan, which has been promised by Starboard for some time, upon initial review, we believe many of the brand and cost optimization strategies are already being implemented across our company and are showing results.”

Mr. Lee continued, “The Olive Garden Brand Renaissance is well underway, and the improvements we are seeing in guest satisfaction and traffic trends reinforce our confidence in Olive Garden’s potential. In addition, our efforts to grow and develop LongHorn Steakhouse and our Specialty Restaurants are on track. As we evaluate the Starboard plan, we will work to continue making strong progress across our brands for the benefit of all Darden stakeholders, including our employees.”

Olive Garden® Brand Renaissance First Quarter Fiscal 2015 Highlights
Over the past year, Darden has been implementing far-reaching improvements for all elements of the Olive Garden business to reignite traffic growth and support margin expansion. Key initiatives have included enhancing culinary operations and service, introducing a core menu innovation, pursuing a new approach to advertising and promotions, and launching a re-imaging program. The Olive Garden Brand Renaissance is beginning to deliver positive results and reinforces the Company’s confidence in the brand’s ongoing development.

Guest experience and satisfaction scores are improving across the system, including Overall, Attentiveness, Pace of Meal and Food Taste, as a result of an intensified focus on service and food quality. Darden expects these to translate into higher traffic trends over time.
Online ordering, including a redesigned web experience and the national launch of an online To-Go platform, is underway and strengthening the take-out business. In the first quarter of fiscal 2015, Darden achieved a 13% increase in Olive Garden’s take-out business compared to the first quarter last year. Notably, check averages from online orders are significantly higher than those placed on the phone, which represents a margin growth driver should these trends continue.

Testing of tablet technology in several restaurants is underway and has generated encouraging results, including check growth due to an increase in add-on sales, increased table turns, a 60% pay-at-the-table rate and increased guest survey response rates, as well as an increase in tip percentage for servers.
Initial sales results from a pilot remodel program are encouraging. The Company has completed three remodels that reflect significant interior and exterior changes. This has resulted in a more than 10% increase in traffic on average in the remodeled restaurants as guests respond enthusiastically to the changes.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. has filed an investor presentation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in connection with the Company’s 2014 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on October 10, 2014. Darden’s presentation and other materials regarding the Board’s recommendation for the 2014 Annual Meeting can be found on the Company’s website and at www.DardenAnnualMeeting.com, which the Company will use for Annual Meeting-related communications going forward.

“We have had numerous conversations over the past months with our shareholders, including Starboard, regarding Darden’s operating plan and the Olive Garden Brand Renaissance,” said Gene Lee, President and Chief Operating Officer of Darden. “After reviewing Starboard’s proposed operating plan, we believe Darden’s current initiatives, which are already delivering encouraging results, address the majority of Starboard’s suggestions. We are pleased that Starboard agrees with the actions we are taking to reinvigorate restaurant performance, reduce costs, and drive growth.”

Mr. Lee continued, “We are also troubled by certain Starboard suggestions for Olive Garden that we believe would undermine progress that is improving both food quality and guest experience, and we believe that implementing these suggestions would derail the brand’s turnaround. While we agree that maintaining a close eye on costs is important, we do not agree with actions that may boost margins in the short-term, but sacrifice brand reputation over the long-term. At Darden, we are executing a plan that is delivering meaningful cost savings, with selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales in fiscal 2015 expected to be the lowest since Darden became a public company. These are sustainable savings that contribute to bottom line growth for our shareholders, while also preserving the superior quality and service for which Darden’s brands are known.”

Mr. Lee concluded, “People are our most important ingredient, and Darden’s people have expressed their affection for, confidence in and commitment to the Company in the clearest ways possible. For four consecutive years, Darden has been one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, rankings that heavily reflect a comprehensive and independently administered survey of our frontline employees; Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and The Capital Grille are recognized by People Report, a leading industry Human Resources organization; and Darden’s annual turnover in each front line employee segment is well below the casual dining industry average. These awards and achievements reflect our unified focus on driving sustainable success and value creation for all of Darden’s stakeholders, and we remain open to all ideas that support our ability to deliver on this objective.”

Darden’s Board of Directors stated, “Given the significant risks that we believe could result from allowing Starboard to take control of Darden, we do not believe it is necessary for shareholders to elect an entirely new Board to implement operating initiatives that are largely already underway and delivering encouraging results. In our view, Darden’s new slate of director nominees provides the optimal balance of fresh perspectives from four new, highly qualified independent nominees and continuity of experience and insight from four continuing independent nominees, together with four seats to be filled by Starboard – resulting in eight of 12 directors who are new this year. All of Darden’s director nominees share the common goal of enhancing shareholder value, and are prepared to work collaboratively with all of the new directors, including the Starboard nominees, to consider the alternatives available to achieve this objective.”

Highlights of the investor presentation, titled “Operating Darden with the Right Talent, Plan and Priorities,” are below.

Darden’s Board and management have built Darden into the premier full-service restaurant company in the industry.
Darden is convinced it has the right leaders with proven records in restaurant operations to continue the positive momentum.
Since being appointed as President and Chief Operating Officer in September 2013, Gene Lee has sharpened the Company’s focus on restaurant-level operations and guest experience through a proven, back-to-basics approach.
Darden’s employees continue to express their affection for, confidence in and commitment to the Company.
Olive Garden® holds an enviable position with leading average unit volumes (AUVs), restaurant level profitability and guest satisfaction scores.
The Olive Garden Brand Renaissance turnaround is underway, and Darden expects it to continue to deliver results.
Darden’s efforts to develop LongHorn Steakhouse® into America’s favorite steakhouse are on track. LongHorn’s same-restaurant sales exceeded the industry by 3.8 percentage points in fiscal 2014 and guest counts are exceeding the industry for the 19th consecutive quarter in the first quarter of fiscal 2015.
Darden is continuing to build on the solid performance at Specialty Restaurants, which benefits from strong brands with unique differentiation. The Company’s Specialty Restaurants continue to provide strong unit growth and competitively superior same-restaurant sales growth.
Many industry analysts are recognizing that Darden’s turnaround is gaining momentum.[1]
Having reviewed Starboard’s operating plan, it appears that Starboard’s suggestions replicate initiatives that are already underway and delivering encouraging results.
Many industry analysts also recognize the risks of implementing Starboard’s plan.[1]
Olive Garden Brand Renaissance First Quarter Fiscal 2015 Highlights

Over the past year, Darden has been implementing far-reaching improvements for all elements of the Olive Garden business to reignite traffic growth, enhance the guest experience and support margin expansion. Key initiatives have included introducing a core menu innovation to reinforce value, improve quality, expand choice and variety, and capitalize on the convenience trend; simplifying restaurant operations and intensifying the emphasis on service; implementing a more integrated communications platform to enhance brand relevance with a new approach to marketing, advertising and promotions to drive continued industry-leading AUVs; and launching a re-imaging program that brings the brand to life with every guest touch point, including plate ware, server uniforms, new logo, exterior signage and new table top merchandising.

The Olive Garden Brand Renaissance is beginning to deliver positive results and reinforces the Company’s confidence in the brand’s ongoing development. For example, and as further detailed in the investor presentation:

Guest experience and satisfaction scores continue to improve across the system, including Overall, Attentiveness, Pace of Meal and Food Taste, as a result of an intensified focus on service and food quality. Darden expects these to translate into higher traffic trends over time.
New menu items have reinforced value, expanded variety and supported increased demand from key customer segments, including Millennials. Through Pronto Lunch, Darden has reduced dine times for guests seeking a quicker lunch experience. In addition, by leveraging metrics made available in Darden’s new technology platform, the Company has significantly reduced false waits.

The national launch of Darden’s Online To-Go Platform is in place, and strengthening the take-out business. In the first quarter of fiscal 2015, Olive Garden achieved a 13% increase in its take-out business compared to the first quarter last year. In recent weeks, To-Go sales have grown at approximately 20% on a year-over-year basis. Notably, the Company continues to see a 30% increase in check average when guests order online, which will drive margin growth should these trends continue.

Testing of tablet technology in restaurants is underway and has generated encouraging results. At locations where the new technology is available, 80% of guests interact with the device, and 60% of them pay the check on the tablet. Tablet use has increased add-on sales, table turnover, guest survey response rates, and tip percentage for servers. The Company expects tablet technology to be installed system-wide by the end of fiscal 2015.

Initial sales results from a pilot remodel program are encouraging. The Company has completed three remodels, which introduce significant interior and exterior improvements. This has resulted in a more than 10% increase in traffic as well as an increase in alcohol and beverage sales.

About Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants, Inc., (NYSE: DRI), owns and operates more than 1,500 restaurants that generate approximately $6.3 billion in annual sales. Headquartered in Orlando, Fla., and employing 150,000 people, Darden is recognized for a culture that rewards caring for and responding to people. In 2014, Darden was named to the FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the fourth year in a row. Our restaurant brands – Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s and Yard House – reflect the rich diversity of those who dine with us. Our brands are built on deep insights into what our guests want. For more information, please visit www.darden.com.

CHICAGO, Dec. 5, 2017 — CNA and Aon Affinity are now offering enhanced professional insurance solutions for dentists and dental practices nationally. Earlier this year, CNA and Aon Affinity announced this new partnership, which is available through the Aon Affinity Dentist’s Advantage program.

The program’s professional liability coverage solution now includes:

Media Expenses coverage, which adds a $25,000 limit for media expenses relating to an adverse event, to help ensure that a policyholder’s professional reputation remains intact.
Coverage for personal and advertising injury.
License protection coverage in addition to the limits of liability.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) coverage limit increased to $30,000 aggregate.
Coverage for property damage caused by a dental incident up to the Professional Liability Limits of Liability.
“The Dentist’s Advantage program continues to deliver a broad range of coverages and services designed to address the unique exposures dentists face in today’s business environment,” said Michael Loughran, President, Aon Affinity Healthcare. “Customers can feel confident that the professional liability insurance coverage, services and benefits they receive through Dentist’s Advantage will continue with our new program insurer, CNA.”

“For more than a half century, Aon has provided dentists with an industry leading Professional Liability insurance program,” said John Brand, Senior Vice President, CNA. “Our partnership will bring additional benefits to our Dentist’s Advantage members, because it leverages CNA’s extensive experience, products, services and industry knowledge to deliver insurance solutions designed to address our customers’ needs.”

The Dentist’s Advantage program includes:

Flexible coverage limits
Claim settlement only with policyholder consent
Legal defense fees and costs in addition to the limits of liability
Availability for all dental specialties in all 50 states
License protection
Coverage for employees and independent contractor dental hygienists
24/7 hotline staffed by experts specializing in dental risk management
By bringing together two industry leaders, Dentist’s Advantage and CNA, customers have a best-in-class program — from coverage to risk education to service. This powerful partnership, with almost 100 years of combined experience in the dental professional liability insurance market, capitalizes on the marketing, distribution, underwriting, risk control and claim experience of both organizations, to provide insurance solutions that meet the evolving needs of dental practices.

Dentist’s Advantage is a division of Affinity Insurance Services, Inc. (TX 13695); (AR 100106022); in CA & MN, AIS Affinity Insurance Agency, Inc. (CA 0795465); in OK, AIS Affinity Insurance Services Inc.; in CA, Aon Affinity Insurance Services, Inc. (CA 0G94493); Aon Direct Insurance Administrators and Berkely Insurance Agency; and in NY, AIS Affinity Insurance Agency.

All descriptions, summaries or highlights of coverage are for general informational purposes only and do not amend, alter or modify the actual terms or conditions of any insurance policy. Coverage is governed only by the terms and conditions of the relevant policy.

About Aon Affinity
Aon Affinity is a trade name for Affinity Insurance Services, Inc. Aon Affinity combines the specialized knowledge of affinity program management with the extensive resources of a global company to help clients achieve their goals. With an innovative approach to program strategy, from the design of products and services to the delivery of the marketing message, Affinity offers full-service capabilities; technical expertise and industry knowledge to deliver value to clients. Visit http://www.aon.com/affinity for more information.

About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions. Our 50,000 colleagues in 120 countries empower results for clients by using proprietary data and analytics to deliver insights that reduce volatility and improve performance.

For further information on our capabilities and to learn how we empower results for clients, please visit: http://aon.mediaroom.com.

About CNA
CNA is the eighth largest commercial insurer in the United States. CNA provides a broad range of standard and specialized property and casualty insurance products and services for businesses and professionals in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia, backed by 120 years of experience and more than $45 billion of assets. For more information about CNA, visit our website at www.cna.com.

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Diageo plc today announces it has sold Gleneagles Hotel Limited to a private investment group led by Ennismore for an undisclosed amount. Ennismore is a real estate hospitality firm which owns The Hoxton brand, and develops and operates a series of unique hotels in Europe and the United States. The group has its origins in Shoreditch, East London.

Gleneagles Hotel was opened in 1924 and has been wholly owned by Diageo since 1984. In the year ended 30 June 2014 the business generated revenues of £43.5 million and an operating profit of £2.6 million with a return on invested capital of 4% based on book value for the year ended 30 June 2014.

Ivan Menezes, Chief Executive, commented: “Diageo is proud to have been the owner of Gleneagles but the hotel is not a core business for us and therefore following the success of the Ryder Cup we feel this is an appropriate time to realise value through this transaction. I am pleased that Diageo’s brands, especially our scotch brands, will continue to be an important feature at this iconic Scottish hotel. We wish Ennismore and all the staff at the hotel a successful future.”

About Diageo
Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands across spirits, beer and wine categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, JεB, Buchanan’s, Windsor and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness.
Diageo is a global company, and our products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEO). For more information about Diageo, our people, our brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo’s global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice.
Celebrating life, every day, everywhere

LAS VEGAS-Jun. 29, 2016– Diamond Resorts International, Inc. (“Diamond Resorts” or the “Company”) (NYSE: DRII) today announced that it has entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with affiliates of certain funds (the “Apollo Funds”) managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “Apollo”) (NYSE: APO), pursuant to which the Apollo Funds will acquire Diamond Resorts for $30.25 per share or approximately $2.2 billion.

The all-cash offer represents a premium of approximately 26% over Diamond Resorts’ closing share price on June 28, 2016, and a premium of approximately 58% over the closing share price on February 24, 2016, the day of Diamond Resorts’ announcement that it was exploring strategic alternatives.

Mr. David Palmer, Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Resorts, said, “We have built a solid business focused on operational excellence, hospitality, and customer satisfaction, the result of which has been stellar financial results and strong cash generation. This transaction is an excellent outcome for our shareholders. Apollo values the culture of hospitality and customer service that is the legacy of our Founder and Chairman Stephen J. Cloobeck and instilled in our organization. We are confident that Diamond Resorts will continue to be a vibrant company for our employees, partners and customers, and I am excited about the future of Diamond Resorts.”

The transaction will be completed through an all-cash tender offer. The Company’s Board of Directors, acting upon the recommendation of its Strategic Review Committee (the “Strategic Review Committee”), approved and adopted the Merger Agreement and recommends that the Company’s shareholders tender their shares in the offer pursuant to the Merger Agreement.

“We are tremendously excited about the opportunity for our funds to acquire Diamond Resorts,” said David Sambur, Partner at Apollo. “Stephen, David, the management team, and Diamond’s more than 8,000 team members have built an amazing customer-centric business with a great reputation that delivers award winning hospitality experiences at great value. We look forward to bringing Apollo’s resources to bear and working with the Diamond Resorts team to continue to grow and enhance their business.”

The transaction is conditioned upon satisfaction of the minimum tender condition which requires that shares representing more than 50 percent of the Company’s common shares be tendered and the receipt of certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

There is no financing condition to completion of the tender offer and the merger. Financing is being provided by Barclays, Royal Bank of Canada, and Jefferies. PSP Investments Credit USA LLC is also providing debt financing commitments.

The transaction is currently expected to close over the next few months. If completed, the transaction will result in the Company becoming a privately held company, and Diamond Resorts’ common shares will no longer be listed on any public market.

Centerview Partners is serving as exclusive financial advisor to the Strategic Review Committee. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is serving as legal advisor to the Strategic Review Committee. DLA Piper LLP served as special counsel and Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP served as antitrust counsel to the Company. Barclays and RBC Capital Markets, LLC are acting as M&A advisors to Apollo and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is acting as legal advisor to Apollo.

About Apollo
Apollo is a leading global alternative investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Bethesda, Toronto, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Apollo had assets under management of approximately $173 billion as of March 31, 2016 in private equity, credit and real estate funds invested across a core group of nine industries where Apollo has considerable knowledge and resources. For more information about Apollo, visit www.agm.com.

About Diamond Resorts International
Diamond Resorts International (NYSE: DRII), with its network of more than 420 vacation destinations located in 35 countries throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, Central America, Europe, Asia, Australasia and Africa, provides guests with choice and flexibility to let them create their dream vacation, whether they are traveling an hour away or around the world. Our relaxing vacations have the power to give guests an increased sense of happiness and satisfaction in their lives, while feeling healthier and more fulfilled in their relationships, by enjoying memorable and meaningful experiences that let them Stay Vacationed.

Starbucks announces an enhanced mobile app for Apple’s iOS which will allow customers to tip their baristas directly from the Starbucks for iPhone® app.

Beginning March 19, customers using Starbucks App for iPhone in the U.S., U.K. and Canada will experience a streamlined design and easy access to their account and My Starbucks Rewards information. In addition, customers using the app will have the option to leave a tip at more than 7,000 company-operated Starbucks® stores in the U.S.

“With more than 11 percent of transactions a week now happening with a mobile device in our stores, and nearly 10 million customers currently using our mobile app, we’re thrilled to make the digital experience even easier and more rewarding for our customers and partners,” said Adam Brotman, chief digital officer for Starbucks. “This update to the Starbucks App for iPhone is an important next step in digital innovation at Starbucks and one of the many ways we’ll expand and improve our digital experience in the months to come.”

Digital tipping has been a top suggestion on MyStarbucksIdea.com, an online community for people to share, vote, discuss and put into action ideas on how to enhance the Starbucks Experience. Starbucks expects to introduce a complete update to the Starbucks for Android™ app, including a digital tipping feature, later this year.

“As more and more customers are using their phone to pay, they have also asked for a convenient and meaningful way to show their appreciation to store partners,” said Cliff Burrows, group president, U.S., Americas and Teavana. “We’re proud to offer digital tipping as an option through the updated Starbucks for iPhone® app for customers in the U.S.”

Through the Starbucks for iPhone® app, customers can enjoy the following features:

Mobile Payment – For customers looking for the fastest way to pay, the Starbucks App for iPhone offers customers the convenience of paying for their favorite Starbucks® beverages with their mobile devices.

Digital Tipping (NEW!) – Customers can show their appreciation to store partners by tipping through the Starbucks App for iPhone. Customers are given the option to provide a tip in the following denominations: $0.50, $1.00, $2.00.

Shake to Pay (NEW!) – To simplify mobile payments, customers can now bring the barcode of their Starbucks Card front and center at any time, simply by shaking their mobile device.

My Starbucks Rewards™ status – The My Starbucks Rewards™ screen has been redesigned to streamline viewing of Rewards history. The display also features new transaction types, such as multiple transactions in a single day and promotional offers, in one integrated view.

Reload – Customers can reload their Starbucks Card balance directly from their mobile device with a major credit card. Customers can even set up automatic reloads.

Store Locator – Customers can search for the closest Starbucks® stores, view the amenities available at each store, and save favorite stores.

Starbucks Card eGift- Allows customers to treat friends and family to their favorite Starbucks® beverage, food or merchandise through a fast and easy virtual gift from their iPhone®. Starbucks Card eGifts can be customized with a personal message and sent directly using contacts or Facebook friend list, for any amount between $5- $100. (U.S. only)

The Starbucks for iPhone app is available for download through iTunes® at http://sbux.co/StarbucksforiPhone.

Additionally, customers can access their Starbucks account using Passbook, allowing customers’ mobile Starbucks Cards to appear on their iPhone® screen automatically after they enter a favorite Starbucks® store.

About Starbucks

Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup.

This news is courtesy of www.starbucks.com

NN ARBOR, Mich., April 12, 2021 — Domino’s (NYSE: DPZ), the largest pizza company in the world based on global retail sales, and Nuro, the leading self-driving delivery company, are launching autonomous pizza delivery in Houston. Beginning this week, select customers who place a prepaid order on dominos.com on certain days and times from Domino’s in Woodland Heights, located at 3209 Houston Ave., can choose to have their pizza delivered by Nuro’s R2 robot. Nuro’s R2 is the first completely autonomous, occupantless on-road delivery vehicle with a regulatory approval by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

This collaboration between Domino’s and Nuro will introduce an entirely new delivery experience to pizza lovers. Here’s how it works: select customers who place a prepaid website order from the participating Domino’s store can opt to have their order delivered by R2. Customers who are selected will receive text alerts, which will update them on R2’s location and provide them with a unique PIN to retrieve their order. Customers may also track the vehicle via GPS on their order confirmation page. Once R2 arrives, customers will be prompted to enter their PIN on the bot’s touchscreen. R2’s doors will then gently open upward, revealing the customer’s hot Domino’s order.

“We’re excited to continue innovating the delivery experience for Domino’s customers by testing autonomous delivery with Nuro in Houston,” said Dennis Maloney, Domino’s senior vice president and chief innovation officer. “There is still so much for our brand to learn about the autonomous delivery space. This program will allow us to better understand how customers respond to the deliveries, how they interact with the robot and how it affects store operations. The growing demand for great-tasting pizza creates the need for more deliveries, and we look forward to seeing how autonomous delivery can work along with Domino’s existing delivery experts to better support the customers’ needs.”

“Nuro’s mission is to better everyday life through robotics. Now, for the first time, we’re launching real world, autonomous deliveries with R2 and Domino’s,” said Dave Ferguson, Nuro co-founder and president. “We’re excited to introduce our autonomous delivery bots to a select set of Domino’s customers in Houston. We can’t wait to see what they think.”

To view Domino’s full menu or place an order, visit dominos.com.

About Domino’s Pizza®
Founded in 1960, Domino’s Pizza is the largest pizza company in the world based on retail sales. It ranks among the world’s top public restaurant brands with a global enterprise of more than 17,600 stores in over 90 markets. Domino’s had global retail sales of more than $16.1 billion in 2020, with nearly $8.3 billion in the U.S. and more than $7.8 billion internationally. In the fourth quarter of 2020, Domino’s had global retail sales of more than $5.5 billion, with over $2.7 billion in the U.S. and more than $2.8 billion internationally. Its system is comprised of independent franchise owners who accounted for 98% of Domino’s stores as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2020. Emphasis on technology innovation helped Domino’s achieve more than half of all global retail sales in 2020 from digital channels. In the U.S., Domino’s generated more than 70% of sales in 2020 via digital channels and has developed several innovative ordering platforms, including those for Google Home, Facebook Messenger, Apple Watch, Amazon Echo, Twitter and more. In 2019, Domino’s announced a partnership with Nuro to further its exploration and testing of autonomous pizza delivery. In mid-2020, Domino’s launched a new way to order contactless carryout nationwide – via Domino’s Carside Delivery™, which customers can choose when placing a prepaid online order.

About Nuro
Nuro exists to better everyday life through robotics. The company’s custom autonomous vehicles are designed to bring the things you need, from produce to prescriptions, right to your home. Nuro’s autonomous delivery can give you valuable time back and more freedom to do what you love. This convenient, eco-friendly, safe alternative to driving can make streets safer and cities more livable. Nuro has brought autonomous delivery to local communities in Texas, Arizona, and California—for less driving and more thriving.

Company Info – nuro.ai
Media Assets – nuro.ai/media-kit

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Earth Day, and every day, the American Beverage Association (ABA) and its member companies demonstrate their longstanding commitment to our environment through ongoing efforts to further reduce their environmental impact.

“The beverage industry’s leadership in environmental sustainability has never been stronger than it is today,” said Susan Neely, ABA president and CEO. “We are leading a race to the top in the consumer products industry through the design of lightweight, more environmentally-friendly packaging. Through our support, we are seeing comprehensive, efficient and effective community recycling programs get off the ground, including one launched this past year through a successful partnership with Florida’s Palm Beach County. Our work is helping in communities throughout America, and as an industry, we have only just begun.”

This past year, the ABA supported a pilot project called “Recycle on the Go” in Palm Beach County, Fla. Parks, beaches and boardwalks were the target locations for placement of 125 recycling bins, which were paired together with waste bins. Promotional activities were carried out by the local jurisdictions, including North Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Lake Park, Wellington and West Palm Beach.

The goals of the project were to:
Measure and improve public space recycling performance;
Create an effective, attractive and sustainable recycling system for beverage containers generated in the public space for each participating jurisdiction;
Provide opportunities for the public to recycle beverage containers and reduce litter; and
Increase public awareness of opportunities to recycle while away from home.
Data compilation is currently underway, but it is expected to show that the project is working to capture a significant amount of recyclable beverage containers and reduce the amount of litter in the locations that bins were placed.

“We care deeply about our industry’s impact on the environment; our operations reflect the priority and longstanding commitment we have to a clean environment,” said Kate Krebs, ABA senior environmental policy advisor. “Most importantly, we are beginning to see some real, positive change. Our companies are engaging with citizens and communities to partner on projects that encourage everyone to do better, do more and do the right thing when it comes to the health of our planet. On Earth Day, it is important to acknowledge these efforts are working.”
COURTESY OF AMERICAN BEVERAGE ASSOCIATION

The House of Commons Select Exiting the European Union Committee has published a report into the consequences of “no deal” for UK business. FDF’s Tim Rycroft gave evidence to the committee on the disastrous consequences of a no-deal exit for food and drink manufacturing.

Tim Rycroft, Chief Operating Officer for the Food and Drink Federation said:

“FDF welcomes the findings in the Committee’s report. A no-deal exit from the EU would be disastrous for the UK’s food and drink industry, as we said in our evidence to the Committee.

“Within weeks it is likely that shoppers would notice significant and adverse changes to the products available and random, selective shortages. Limited shelf life products would face the most immediate risk.

“The run up to 31 October 2019 is particularly stark. Food and drink manufacturers will not be able to secure additional frozen and chilled warehousing space or logistics capacity for stockpiling, as the required space is already booked for the peak Christmas production period. Manufacturers will therefore have no spare production capacity or ability to store ingredients and finished products. UK food imports will climb from autumn onwards as fresh food stocks decline, so any ‘no deal’ disruption will have a major impact on availability.”

“Our industry employs 450,000 people and has a turnover of £104bn. Analysis released earlier this week by the UK Trade Policy Observatory found that no-deal would destroy £18.5bn of UK food and drink manufacturing, with grave consequences for UK consumers.”

NEW YORK, June 15, 2022 — Consumers who purchase food for in-home consumption have generally experienced higher price increases relative to what they pay for menu items at quick-service and fast-casual restaurants—a trend that makes restaurants more comparatively appealing, according to Nick Cole, Head of Restaurant Finance at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG).

This is one of several key viewpoints in Cole’s mid-year outlook on the restaurant industry, which also includes the abatement of labor shortages, disruptions in the beef supply, high real-estate utilization, and a potential acceleration in mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Lower food inflation seen at restaurants
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicated that the food-away-from-home CPI (restaurant purchases) rose 7.4 percent for the year ended April 2022.i In contrast, the food-at-home CPI (grocery and supermarket food purchases) was 11.9 percent higher for the year ended May 2022.

“Restaurant chains have been able to achieve lower food-price increases and delay the effect of inflation thanks to a number of advantages they enjoy,” Cole says. Restaurants’ advantages include:

access to ingredients at wholesale prices and economies of scale;
the ability to lock in lower prices through forward contracts and other hedging strategies; and
the flexibility to reallocate ingredients among menu items.
As Cole explains, many restaurants have also been able to sustain profitability by raising their menu prices at agreeable levels to offset the higher input costs of labor, utilities, construction, and food commodities.

Labor shortages less acute
Restaurant labor shortages have stabilized this year, though they still linger and continue to trigger disruptions, according to Cole. Food-delivery drivers are in particularly short supply, impacting delivery-intensive restaurants such as pizza chains.

“Large online retailers attracted a significant amount of labor at restaurants’ expense during the pandemic, yet many of the jobs they filled require little training and are designed for high turnover,” Cole adds. “Therefore, we believe the restaurant industry will be able to pull back many workers with the right mix of incentives.”

Beef supply, real estate utilization, and M&A
Additionally, Cole notes the following top industry trends:

Disruptions in the beef supply are putting related restaurant businesses at risk because of the longer cycle of beef gestation, cultivation and ultimate provision, as opposed to such commodities as poultry and fish, which are characterized by a shorter supply cycle.
Restaurant dining venues have returned to full capacity, yet chains continue to benefit from having retooled their real estate and technological infrastructure to accommodate drive-through traffic and online orders.
M&A activity slowed in the first quarter because of margin pressures due to rising commodity prices, workforce shortages, and the need for higher expenditures to attract labor, as Cole and his team had anticipated in November 2021—yet they expect M&A activity to pick up as the year progresses.
Press contact:
Assaf Kedem
(212) 782-4926
akedem@us.mufg.jp

About Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.’s U.S. Operations including MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation
The U.S. operations of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG), one of the world’s leading financial groups, has total assets of $332.4 billion at March 31, 2022. As part of that total, MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation (MUAH), a financial holding company, bank holding company, and intermediate holding company, has total assets of $159.2 billion at March 31, 2022. MUAH’s main subsidiaries are MUFG Union Bank, N.A. and MUFG Securities Americas Inc. MUFG Union Bank, N.A. provides a wide range of financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, and major corporations. As of March 31, 2022, MUFG Union Bank, N.A. operated 297 branches, consisting primarily of retail banking branches in the West Coast states. MUFG Securities Americas Inc. is a registered securities broker-dealer which engages in capital markets origination transactions, domestic and foreign debt and equities securities transactions, private placements, collateralized financings, and securities borrowing and lending transactions. MUAH is owned by MUFG Bank, Ltd. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. MUFG Bank, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, and Canada. Visit www.unionbank.com or www.mufgamericas.com for more information.

About MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.)
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) is one of the world’s leading financial groups. Headquartered in Tokyo and with over 360 years of history, MUFG has a global network with approximately 2,400 locations in more than 50 countries. The Group has about 170,000 employees and offers services including commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management, and leasing. The Group aims to “be the world’s most trusted financial group” through close collaboration among our operating companies and flexibly respond to all of the financial needs of our customers, serving society, and fostering shared and sustainable growth for a better world. MUFG’s shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York stock exchanges. For more information, visit https://www.mufg.jp/english.

i Latest data available at the time of release. Source: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm

PARIS – 27 January – Chosen repeatedly for more than 10 years by Fincantieri shipyard to equip in-board propulsion for Carnival and Costa vessels, GE’s Power Conversion business has helped the shipyard successfully deliver the Costa Diadema cruise ship to the Carnival Corporation on the 28th of October 2014.
Constructed at the Marghera Shipyards near Venice, Italy, the cruise ship, 306-meters in length and 132,500 gross tonnage in weight, has the capacity to carry up to 5,000 passengers. The Costa Diadema cruise ship benefits from GE’s latest technology and vast experience from the cruise industry. GE’s capability to meet customers’ demanding requirements has supported this valuable relationship with the Carnival Corporation for more than 10 years.
GE has led the consortium providing the electric power and propulsion system including six generators and six aft/bow thruster electrical motors, HV main switchboard and distribution transformers, propulsion transformers, synchro-drives and motors for the Diadema.
The electric power and propulsion system on the ship optimizes the fuel consumption and enhances the overall safety and reliability of the vessels operation.
“Over the past 10 years, GE has been a reliable partner to help us build this ship and resolve various issues. We have a strong reliance on GE and its capability to ensure our passengers a very pleasant and smooth journey.” said Richard-Haslam Jones, Carnival Corporate Shipbuilding, “The successful commissioning and on-time delivery once again demonstrates GE’s capability and expertise in the cruise sector. We have confidence that our partnership will continue for a long time.”
“GE is continuously looking to improve technology provided in cruise ships.” said Paul English, Marine Business Leader, GE Power Conversion, “By using GE’s electric power and propulsion system, ship owners will benefit from a reliable power supply, higher operating efficiency and lower emissions. Our long-lasting relationship with Carnival is irrefutable proof that our solution stands the test of time.”
To continuously support the growing demands of the industry, GE Power Conversion focuses on connecting dots with customer needs and coming up with electric solutions optimized to their challenges.

About GE Power Conversion
GE’s Power Conversion business applies the science and systems of power conversion to help drive the electrification of the world’s energy infrastructure by designing and delivering advanced motor, drive and control technologies that evolve today’s industrial processes for a cleaner, more productive future. Serving specialized sectors such as energy, marine, oil and gas, renewables and industry, through customized solutions and advanced technologies, GE Power Conversion partners with customers to maximize efficiency. To learn more, please visit: www.gepowerconversion.com.
Follow GE’s Power Conversion business on Twitter @GE_PowerConvers and on Linkedin.
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ge.com.

LONDON, — The Global Travel & Tourism Partnership (www.gttp.org) has been named one of three finalists in the People Award category of the World Travel & Tourism Council’s 2015 Tourism For Tomorrow Awards. The People Award honors initiatives dedicated to capacity building, training and education to develop a skilled tourism workforce for the future.

The GTTP’s mission is to expand travel and tourism-related educational and career opportunities for secondary school students. The program operates in Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Russia, South Africa, Tanzania, and the UK.

“To be a finalist recognizes the dedication of the Global Travel & Tourism Partnership’s 12 country leaders and the hard work of teachers in more than 5,000 secondary schools to introduce students to the travel and tourism industry,” said Michel Taride, Group President of Hertz International and Chair of the GTTP’s Advisory Board.

“Our sector needs the enthusiasm, intelligence and hard work of the students when they enter the workforce to ensure sustainable tourism development. They will be the ones shaping and re-shaping the industry in the years ahead. The GTTP program opens a window on our industry for many thousands of students who are deciding on careers,” he continued.

“GTTP in the 12 countries we serve is led by Directors who have other jobs, typically in academia, government, or non-profits,” said Dr. Nancy Needham, executive director of GTTP. “Although each country has different needs and very different conditions, all teachers of the GTTP Passport to the World curriculum play a key role in fostering student appreciation and respect for their own and other’s cultures, their heritage, and their environment. Being named a People Award finalist honors all the efforts of our directors and teachers.”

The WTTC’s 2015 Tourism For Tomorrow Awards are focused upon educating and inspiring travel and tourism businesses and destinations about how to improve the sustainability of the sector. These Awards provide the highest accolade for sustainability in the global travel and tourism industry. Winners will be announced during the 15th WTTC Global Summit, Madrid, Spain on 15/16th April 2015. The Winner Selection Committee is chaired by Fiona Jeffery OBE, Chair of the WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards.

Fiona Jeffery OBE said: “This year’s finalists are maximizing social and economic benefits for local people, reducing negative impacts to the environment and supporting the protection of cultural and natural heritage in destinations, wherever they operate, and selecting the winners among them will be a tough job.”

David Scowsill, President & CEO of WTTC, said: “It is vital that we learn best practice from each other and raise the sector’s ethics to the highest order. The Awards, now in their 11th year, showcase the companies and organizations who are breaking new ground in sustainable tourism development. This year’s finalists demonstrate that, when carefully managed, tourism can be a powerful force for improving livelihoods and protecting our planet for future generations. We want their stories to inspire others in the sector to follow their example. This year, for the first time, the ceremony will be live-streamed so that not only our delegates but the world at large will be able to hear the winners’ stories first hand.”

About The Global Travel & Tourism Partnership
The Global Travel & Tourism Partnership is an industry philanthropic initiative to foster future talent and tackle the global skills shortage. The GTTP educates secondary school students about careers in Travel and Tourism at a time when they are making career and education choices. Demand for the GTTP program is high. GTTP served 36,000 students in 1996, growing to more than 440,000 in 2014, with over one and a half million students trained in total. The program operates in Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Russia, South Africa, Tanzania, and the UK. The GTTP’s Global Partner Advisory Board is comprised of senior executives from Amadeus, American Express, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Delta Airlines, Enterprise Holdings, The Hertz Corporation, HRG, KDS, Lufthansa, Starwood and Travelport.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-travel–tourism-partnership-named-a-finalist-in-world-travel–tourism-councils-2015-tourism-for-tomorrow-awards-300022872.html

McDonald’s and Glovo have agreed to a new, long-term global strategic partnership that will evolve their existing agreement to provide consumers and McDonald’s franchisees with the convenience and value of McDelivery through the Glovo platform across the world.

The partnership will strengthen the companies’ relationship in Glovo’s core markets, increasing choice and selection on the platform for consumers, and enhancing the consumer experience when using the Glovo platform to order McDelivery. ​ Additionally, this partnership showcases Glovo and McDonald’s commitment to providing and continuing to evolve what a seamless customer experience means for customers.

Delivery is a significant component of McDonald’s Accelerating the Arches growth strategy to drive the business forward while providing a fast, easy experience for customers. Since the launch of McDelivery, McDonald’s delivery footprint has grown from 3,000 restaurants to more than 35,000 restaurants across nearly 100 markets through partnerships with both local and global platforms.​ ​​

Rodrigo Alier, Executive Director Partners & Brands at Glovo:

“This new global partnership is the next big step with our long-time partner, McDonald’s, in Glovo’s core markets. Glovo’s strategy is to become the best digital ally for restaurants, enabling new opportunities to keep growing the market together, and we look forward to providing a seamless experience for customers when they choose us for their McDonald’s favorites.”

​​Glovo operates in 25 countries around the globe and +1,500 cities. With technology at the core of Glovo’s business, the company is committed to creating innovative solutions by connecting customers, businesses and couriers.

As the world’s largest restaurant company, McDonald’s offers partners unique advantages, including an iconic brand, unmatched proximity to customers around the world, demand throughout the day, operational excellence​ ​and world-class marketing expertise.

About McDonald’s    
McDonald’s is the world’s leading global foodservice retailer with over 40,000 locations in over 100 countries. Approximately 95% of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business owners.    

​​About Glovo​​​
Glovo is a pioneering multi-category app connecting customers, businesses and couriers, offering on-demand services from local restaurants, grocers and supermarkets, and high street retail stores. Glovo’s vision is to give everyone easy access to everything within their city, so that our users can enjoy what they want, when they want, where they want. Founded in 2015 in Barcelona, it operates across 25 countries in Europe, Central Asia and Africa.

For more information about Glovo, please visit: https://about.glovoapp.com/en/.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, which reflect expectations regarding future events and operating performance. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations are detailed in McDonald’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and neither McDonald’s nor Glovo undertakes any obligation to update such forward-looking statements except as may otherwise be required by law.

SEATTLE – For the first time since it was introduced in 2010, Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) is extending Happy Hour beyond Frappuccino to include deals and offers on select beverages including espresso, iced tea, Frappuccino and more. But that’s not all – these invitation-only offers are also being extended all the way through the year to give customers more ways, and days, to get what they love from Starbucks.

Happy Hour kicks off this Thursday at participating Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada, with 50% off any espresso beverage from 3 p.m. to close*, local time for customers who receive an invitation.

Happy Hour events and offers will vary so customers will be notified of upcoming activities through the Starbucks mobile app or directly to the email address provided, if they have opted to engage with Starbucks digitally.

This evolution in Starbucks Happy Hour promotion is part of the company’s ongoing strategy to strengthen digitally enabled customer relationships beyond its Starbucks Rewards™ loyalty program – which currently has nearly 15 million active users – creating a more seamless and relevant experience for all customers both in and outside of Starbucks stores.

“With nearly 100 million customers in our stores every week, we’re looking for more opportunities to engage directly and personally, providing them with special benefits and offers that are meaningful,” said Matt Ryan, executive vice president and chief strategy officer for Starbucks. “This shift in Happy Hour is just one example of how we can further establish, strengthen and develop digital relationships with our customers.”

Earlier this week, the company expanded the ability to Mobile Order & Pay to all mobile app users, a feature previously available only to Starbucks Rewards™ members. This feature will continue to roll out in the coming weeks for new users of the Starbucks mobile apps.

And, beginning next Monday, customers who log on to Starbucks in-store WiFi will be asked to provide an email address once, and will be connected for all future sessions for that device, creating a more seamless customer experience. In return, they will be among the first to know about the latest news, deals and offers from Starbucks – including future Happy Hour offers.

KFC had a vision to condense an 80-page instruction manual into an interactive video that would play on a screen the size of a fingerprint. And they did just that, by developing a Google Glass platform to explore how team members train and respond to the fast-changing restaurant environment.

Resembling an elaborate Bluetooth earpiece, Google Glass is one of the more prominent technologies driving the recent electronics trend known as “wearables” – small, inobtrusive computing devices that track, monitor, and provide dynamic information about and to its wearer.

To test Google Glass as a training tool, KFC partnered with Interapt, a mobile development and strategy firm located in Louisville, Ky. Following several months of development earlier this year, designers arrived at a platform that condensed an 80-page training guide into a Glass-based program fittingly named Vision 2020.

Co-sponsored by Yum! Brand’s Chief Learning Officer Rob Lauber, the platform was intended to be a standards library with audio and video support for every function performed in the restaurant. “Our goal with the Vision 2020 project was to build a prototype that demonstrated what might be possible on the horizon,” said Lauber. “It isn’t so much about being a training platform as it is about the ability to provide learning at the time and place someone needs it in an easily accessible way. We have all been through training classes, online and in classrooms, where most of what we experience is not remembered only a week later. This prototype explored our ability to skip those methods and make procedures accessible on demand and hands-free.”

The platform prototype consists of a series of videos that play on Google Glass, guiding a trainee through the product preparation process. As steps are completed, the trainee can simply say ‘next’ to advance the video. “The experience was really amazing,” said Malissia Pendleton, Senior Manager for Readiness and Centralized Training for KFC. “You could actually see visually what you need to do while you were doing it.”

Since testing of the device concluded in March, Lauber and Pendleton have been enthusiastic about the learnings derived from the prototype’s trial run. “We were able to identify what we could do now to change the way we offer training to be more of a performance support,” Pendleton remarked. “We would have never connected the dots that fast on things that we could do now had we not been involved with the prototype project.”

Lauber said it’s still too early to tell how adoption of Google Glass might be integrated within KFC restaurants, noting development of the platform is exploratory and meant as a learning exercise for now.

This courtesy of www.yum.com

SAN ANTONIO – Hilton Palacio del Rio today announced a partnership with the San Antonio Zoo. In 2014, the Zoo celebrates its 100th birthday. To commemorate this auspicious occasion, the Zoo will open Zootennial Plaza in March, featuring a one-of-a-kind carousel with animals from Texas and the San Antonio Zoo. Hilton Palacio del Rio will display the Zoo’s Whooping Crane carousel figurine in the hotel lobby through March 31, 2014. Additionally, Hilton Palacio del Rio is participating in the celebration by displaying “ZOO 100” on its exterior balcony lights throughout March.
“For 100 years, the Zoo has been one of San Antonio’s most visited attractions,” said Robert Thrailkill, general manager, Hilton Palacio del Rio. “We are pleased to partner in celebrating the San Antonio ‘Zootennial’.”

Hilton Palacio del Rio and the San Antonio Zoo will announce a Zootennial visitor’s package at a press conference on Friday, February 28 at 10 a.m. in the hotel lobby. Attendees will be able to view the Whooping Crane carousel figurine and visit a live zoo animal while learning more about this ‘Zootennial’ partnership. Light refreshments will be served. RSVP to caroline.floyd@hilton.com.

Hilton Palacio del Rio
Located on the famous River Walk in beautiful downtown San Antonio, Hilton Palacio del Rio is only two blocks from the world-famous Alamo, and not far from two PGA Tour courses, theSan Antonio Zoo, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Sea World, the San Antonio Convention Center and the Alamodome. Recent renovations have transformed this iconic River Walk hotel to convey a contemporary flavor within a hacienda setting. Hilton Palacio del Rio offers several dining options, flexible meeting space, a pool and fitness center and is the only hotel in downtown San Antonio that features a private balcony in every room. www.palaciodelrio.hilton.com

San Antonio Zoo
The San Antonio Zoo is celebrating its centennial “Zootennial” in 2014! For one hundred years, the Zoo has provided remarkable animal care and continues to nurture a diverse and thriving plant collection, while consistently offering a recreational and educational experience to over one million guests annually. The Zoo is a non-profit organization and is one of only 223 zoos in the nation, which is accredited by the prestigious Association of Zoos and Aquariums.The Zoo is open 365 days a year.

This Press Release is courtesy of www.hiltonglobalmediacenter.com

The national unemployment rate for people with disabilities is 11.2 percent – double the jobless rate for the general population, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Recognizing that disparity, Starbucks is launching an on-the-job training program for people with cognitive and physical disabilities at its Carson Valley Roasting Plant and Distribution Center.

The plant in Minden, Nevada employs 210 people who distribute products to Starbucks® stores worldwide. Several of the partners (employees) have completed the Starbucks Inclusion Academy program which helps them gain skills and work experience in manufacturing and distribution.

The Inclusion Academy is the result of a year-long collaboration between Starbucks and the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR). Starbucks provides training space at the Carson Valley plant and instructors for on-the-job and soft-skills practice. The State of Nevada refers candidates to the program, funds the instructor’s salary and pays for the time candidates spend training on the floor. Participants receive three hours of classroom instruction and three hours of work each day for the first four weeks. In the final two weeks, candidates complete an internship in the Starbucks facility.

“The program has opened a lot of eyes,” said Todd McCullough, senior operations manager at the Starbucks facility. “Supervisors and partners look past disabilities and realize we all have different abilities in the workplace.”

McCullough said 13 partners with disabilities who work in the plant have had the “highest attendance and best performance” in the building and enhance the work culture.

“Sometimes in a break room you’ll see that groups separate themselves, but I’ve seen that change over the past year,” he said. “It’s very powerful to see how the whole team engages with people with disabilities.”

Distribution partner Shawn Stainbrook, a Special Olympics athlete, has been at the Carson Valley facility for more than a year. Prior to joining Starbucks he worked for a grocery store for 20 years and said he didn’t feel fulfilled.

“Going to work at Starbucks is enjoyable,” said Stainbrook. “Now I have goals and would say to anyone who doesn’t feel good about where they’re at in life, never give up. You never know what’s around the corner.”

One of the first partners hired at the Carson Valley plant would agree with that advice. McCullough said a partner named Ray, who has difficulty communicating, lived with his parents for most of his life. Since getting a job with Starbucks, Ray has been able to move out and live independently.

In addition to improving the lives of several partners, the Starbucks Inclusion Academy is beneficial for business, said Ken Pierson, DETR Business Development Manager.

“Companies, like Starbucks, that give individuals with disabilities an opportunity to work often end up with some of their most loyal employees,” Pierson said. “The investment in training often results in a high retention rate.”

This week 11 Starbucks Inclusion Academy students will receive graduation certificates from Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval at the Carson Valley plant.

“I want to extend my appreciation to Starbucks for its dedication to working with our community to improve Nevada’s workforce and recognizing the importance of hiring people with disabilities,” said Governor Sandoval. “Collaborations with the private sector are vital to our state and we appreciate the opportunity to work with Starbucks on this endeavor.”

“Starbucks is deeply committed to creating pathways to opportunity for our people and the communities they serve,” added John Kelly, Starbucks senior vice president of global responsibility and public policy. “These graduates remind us to do everything we can to develop an inclusive workplace and a diverse network of suppliers. It’s both the right thing to do and good for business. We are proud to join Governor Sandoval and DETR to launch the first Starbucks Inclusion Academy in Nevada.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Nov. 6, 2015— (NYSE:GE)—Ask a hotel front desk employee or read an online review to learn quickly that temperature and noise are two of the biggest complaint opportunities for guests, and both can result from a faulty air conditioner. Hospitality industry data proves that when guests are not pleased with the temperature or noise of their room, two-thirds are unlikely to return to the hotel, and one-third are unlikely to recommend a hotel.2

GE’s new Zoneline® packaged terminal air conditioners (PTACs) are now engineered to be more reliable and quiet, perfect for hotel/motel customers, as well as provide energy efficiency and easier installation and maintenance, all features that are critical to hotel/motel owners.

“The number one priority for hotel owners when it comes to PTACs is having a reliable, dependable unit. If the unit isn’t working, the room cannot be sold, which means a loss of revenue for hotel/motel owners,” said Liz VerSchure, product general manager for consumer comfort. “GE has millions of installed Zoneline units with an excellent service record, and its latest design will build and improve on that legacy.”

With this new design, GE has taken the most important aspects of heating and cooling the traveler’s room into account, so both the guests and our customers can rest easy at night.

Features include:
•Reliability: With millions of units installed across the United States, GE Zoneline PTACs offer consistent performance and unrivaled comfort for guests. Its redesigned structure and easy-access front controls simplify service.
•Quiet: GE Zoneline is the quietest PTAC compared to leading competitors, has the best noise insulation and lowest dBA, as verified by an independent, nationally accredited certified acoustics lab.1 An extra seal surrounding the edge keeps dirt and excess noise outside, along with a heavy-duty mastic seal for extra sound deadening and two fan motors for quiet operation.
•Efficiency: GE’s Zoneline units are on average 8 percent more energy efficient than the leading competitor’s units. Specially designed sentinels protect property by preventing overheating and freezing, all while enhancing efficiency in extreme elements. Zoneline PTACs come standard with highly featured microprocessors for efficient operation. For a 100-room property, efficient heat pump models can save a hotel owner an average of $36,170 annually on their utility bill.3
•Appearance: New design and appearance improvements keep a fresh, streamlined look: A backlit, coverless control panel with white, dimmable LED lighting makes the functions easier to read. Zoneline also boasts the industry’s slimmest room front, leaving more room for guests. Matching color sleeves blend perfectly with interiors.

1 Independent third-party testing at nationally accredited certified acoustical lab, conducted March 2015 and October 2015 in accordance with ASTM and AHRI standards.
2 Clarabridge ratings and reviews for hospitality data collected July 2013-June 2014.
3 Savings of GE heat pump compared to GE electric resistance, National Average (Kansas City) on a 12K heat pump model.

GE Appliances
GE Appliances is at the forefront of building innovative, energy-efficient appliances that improve people’s lives. GE Appliances’ products include refrigerators, freezers, cooking products, dishwashers, washers, dryers, air conditioners, water filtration systems and water heaters. General Electric (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter to build a world that works better. For more information on GE Appliances, visit www.ge.com/appliances.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®), one of the world’s largest hotel companies, has announced its seventh multiple development agreement (MDA) in Germany with existing owner partner Sierra Hotel Management Ltd. The first property already signed under the agreement is Holiday Inn Express® Karlsruhe – City Park, due to open in mid-2016.

Holiday Inn Express Karlsruhe – City Park marks the first hotel out of a total of five hotels in the agreement. The newly constructed hotel will feature 115 rooms, three multifunctional meeting rooms and ample car parking spaces for guests.

Holiday Inn Express Karlsruhe – City Park will occupy a prime location on Zimmerstrasse at the entrance to the city of Karlsruhe, which is home to the German Federal Constitutional Court, a number of large companies and several research institutions. The city is well connected to Frankfurt, Munich, Freiburg, Basel and Paris and the hotel is within close proximity to the largest redevelopment being undertaken in the area.
René Schappner, Director of Development for Germany, IHG said: “We’re thrilled to have signed our seventh MDA with Sierra and this growth engine is going to greatly help accelerate our shared development goals for Germany.”

Uwe Aschke, CEO of Sierra Hotel Management Ltd. said: “Holiday Inn Express is a strong hotel brand with fantastic growth potential in Germany. We’re excited about the multiple development agreement with IHG. The new Holiday Inn Express in Karlsruhe is a significant milestone in the company’s growth strategy.”

Launched in 1991, the Holiday Inn Express brand opens hotels at a rate of two per week on average across the world and is part of the Holiday Inn portfolio of brands, which is the largest global hotel brand, with the largest global pipeline. There are currently 221 Holiday Inn Express hotels open in Europe and 39 in the development pipeline.*

IHG’s broader family of nine brands in nearly 100 countries meets the needs of guests, whatever the occasion – whether an overnight getaway, a business trip, a family celebration or a once-in-a-lifetime experience. All IHG hotels participate in IHG’s guest loyalty programme, IHG® Rewards Club which is the industry’s first and largest guest loyalty programme with over 80 million members. It is free to join at www.IHGRewardsClub.com.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) today announces a multi-year partnership between its industry leading loyalty programme, IHG Rewards Club, and the Mahindra Racing Formula E Team.

Formula E is the world’s first all-electric powered motor racing Championship consisting of a series of races known as ‘ePrix’ all held on city-centre street circuits. Formula E represents cutting-edge engineering and progressive design. It promotes clean energy and sustainability, which makes it a great partner for IHG with its own strong track record of innovation and commitment to achieving sustainability, through its award-winning environmental management tool, the IHG Green Engage™ system.

The partnership will be officially launched at the inaugural Miami Formula ePrix on March 14th 2015, where IHG Rewards Club branding will be unveiled on the Mahindra Racing Formula E Team’s uniforms and cars raced by Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok. As part of the strategic partnership, IHG will also become the preferred hotel partner of Mahindra Racing Formula E Team worldwide.

The partnership will offer IHG Rewards Club’s valued members various levels of access to the Mahindra Racing Formula E Team and its drivers, both at ePrix and other exclusive member events, in some of the world’s most exciting cities from Miami to Beijing and London.

This latest enhancement is in addition to the other existing industry leading benefits of IHG Rewards Club such as, Reward Nights with no blackout dates and access to a wide selection of offerings in the new global redemption catalogue. The partnership also gives IHG Rewards Club members more opportunity to share rewarding experiences such as these, with their family and friends.

Announcing the partnership, Susanna Freer Epstein, SVP Customer Loyalty Marketing, IHG, said:
“At IHG we aim to build lifetime relationships with our guests and ensure we are offering our most valued IHG Reward Club members fantastic experiences they can share with their family and friends. In Mahindra Racing, we see a like-minded, innovative business that is helping to make this entertaining sport accessible to a global audience.
“Through this new partnership IHG Rewards Club will offer motor racing fans opportunities that are simply not normally available”.

“We are delighted to partner with IHG” said Dilbagh Gill, Team Principal, Mahindra Racing. “IHG Rewards Club precisely reflects the quality of brand partnerships that we are seeking to support our team and in particular, helps us to further excite and engage our growing fan-base worldwide.”

“The team will also benefit from access to the most comfortable hotels and highest levels of guest service as we travel the world, which will no doubt make a real difference to our ability to perform on the track.”
IHG has a history of sponsoring motorsports team, drivers and associations. Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts has been the Official Partner of BMW Motorsports since 2007, represented by motor racing driver and brand ambassadors Joey Hand and triple world champion Andy Priaulx MBE.

From 2015, IHG Rewards Club will take over the BMW partnership which has been evolved to cover IHG Rewards Club branded cars in the British Touring Car Championship, driven by Andy Priaulx, and in the GTLM and GTD classes of the Tudor United Sports Car Championship in the US. It will also support the BMW NA Young Driver Programme, sponsoring up and coming female driver Ashley Freiberg, 23 who is competing in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge.

In recent years, the InterContinental® brand was the official partner of Aston Martin racing, whilst the Holiday Inn® brand has had partnerships with Vauxhall and Seat racing teams in the UK and the Jeff Burton race team in NASCAR in the US.
-ends-

About IHG
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts,Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, EVEN™ Hotels, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®. In January 2015, IHG acquired Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, the world’s leading boutique hotel business.
IHG manages IHG® Rewards Club, the world’s first and largest hotel loyalty programme with over 84 million members worldwide. The programme was relaunched in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members including free internet across all hotels, globally.
IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,800 hotels and more than 710,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries, with over 1,200 hotels in its development pipeline. Over 350,000 people work across IHG’s hotels and corporate offices worldwide.
In January 2015 we completed the acquisition of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, adding 62 hotels (11,300 rooms) to our system size and 16 hotels to our development pipeline.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.
Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

About Mahindra Racing
The Mahindra Group focuses on enabling people to rise through solutions that power mobility, drive rural prosperity, enhance urban lifestyles and increase business efficiency.
A USD 16.5 billion multinational group based in Mumbai, India, Mahindra provides employment opportunities to over 200,000 people in over 100 countries. Mahindra operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership. In addition, Mahindra enjoys a strong presence in the agribusiness, aerospace, components, consulting services, defence, energy, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel, commercial vehicles and two wheelerindustries.
In 2014, Mahindra featured on the Forbes Global 2000, a comprehensive listing of the world’s largest, most powerful public companies, as measured by revenue, profit, assets and market value. The Mahindra Group also received the Financial Times ‘Boldness in Business’ Award in the ‘Emerging Markets’ category in 2013.

GLENDALE, Calif., IHOP® Restaurants announces that it is going by a new name – IHObSM. Since the news broke last week on the brand’s social media sites, fans can’t get enough with more than 30,000* people speculating what the change could “b”, guessing everything from bacon to brunch to bananas. The change in fact celebrates the debut of the brand’s new Ultimate Steakburgers, a line-up of seven mouth-watering, all-natural burgers. Each Ultimate Steakburger starts with 100% USDA choice, Black Angus ground beef that is smashed on the grill to sear in the juices and flavor before being topped with premium ingredients and sandwiched between a buttered and grilled Brioche bun.

To show the brand is as serious about burgers as it is about its world-famous pancakes, it’s flipped the “p” to a “b” in their iconic name for the time being, including its Twitter handle. A flagship IHOb restaurant in Hollywood, CA, has also been completely re-burgered and will play host to the VIB launch party the evening of June 11. But even those who aren’t near Los Angeles can get in on burgermania at IHOb — for a limited time, the new Ultimate Steakburgers are available with unlimited fries and a drink starting at $6.99 at participating locations**.

IHOb’s Ultimate Steakburgers come in seven varieties that will satisfy burger cravings morning, noon and night. The line-up, which includes both distinctive and classic flavors, is available at IHOb restaurants nationwide starting today:

Big Brunch – IHOb knows how to put breakfast on a burger. The Big Brunch Steakburger includes IHOP’s custom-cured, hickory-smoked bacon, a fried egg, a crispy browned potato, American cheese and a delicious new signature burger sauce that compliments the savory flavors.
Cowboy BBQ – This may be how the West was won. This sky-high Steakburger includes two thick, crispy onion rings, custom-cured hickory-smoked bacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomato and mouthwatering tangy BBQ sauce.
Jalapeño Kick – For those who like a little excitement in their lives, there’s the Jalapeño Kick Steakburger with a spicy blend of sautéed jalapeños, Serrano peppers and onion, custom-cured hickory-smoked bacon, Pepper-Jack cheese, lettuce, tomato and jalapeño mayo.
Mushroom & Swiss – A match made in burger heaven with a blend of sautéed mushrooms and onions, Swiss cheese and creamy mayo.
The Classic – Truly a burger classic…melting American cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles and the brand’s new signature Steakburger sauce.
The Classic with Bacon – Only bacon can improve on an American classic, which is made with custom-cured hickory-smoked bacon, melting American cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles and the brand’s signature burger sauce.
Mega Monster – No need to fear this monster…two premium Steakburger patties, American and White Cheddar cheeses, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles and the brand’s signature sauce.
“Burgers are a quintessential, American menu item so it makes perfect sense that IHOP, one of the most iconic, all-American comfort-food brands in the world, would go over the top to create a delicious line-up of quality burgers that hit the spot any time of day,” said Chef Nevielle Panthaky, Head of Culinary at IHOb. “Our new Ultimate Steakburgers are made with all-natural, 100% USDA Choice, Black Angus ground beef that is smashed on the grill to create a sear that locks in the juices and flavor. With seven different burger builds, all Steakburgers are custom built and piled high with premium quality ingredients and unique, signature sauces in between a buttered and grilled Brioche bun. There’s definitely a juicy Steakburger for whatever you might be craving at any time of day! The IHOP Culinary team took the creation of these Steakburgers as seriously as we take innovation around our pancakes, which means they’re soon to become world famous, too.”

To spread the news about their new burgers and their new name, IHOb is shouting it from the rooftops. Literally. Droga5’s latest creative campaign for the brand puts an overly-excited IHOb manager atop IHOP’s iconic and slightly dangerous blue rooftop. From this precarious position, the manager risks life and limb to spread the word… or should we say, the letter, b. For burgers. The spot will air nationally on TV, online and on social media beginning today, and can be viewed here.

“Everyone knows that IHOP makes world-famous pancakes so we felt like the best way to convince them that we are as serious about our new line of Ultimate Steakburgers as we are about our pancakes, was to change our name to IHOb,” said Brad Haley, Chief Marketing Officer for IHOb restaurants. “We’ve pancaked pancakes for 60 years now so it’s the perfect time to start burgerin’ burgers, and we’re kicking it off by flipping the ‘p’ in IHOP to a ‘b’ for burgers. And, when you try them, I think you’ll agree with me that IHOb’s new line of Ultimate Steakburgers are so good that I’d put them up against anyone’s … just like our pancakes.”

Guests can visit IHOP.com to learn more about the new Ultimate Steakburgers, the IHOb flip, and the flagship burger location, and find their nearest restaurant. For more information, images, interview requests or in-studio cooking demos, please contact Alexandra Shapiro at AShapiro@devriesglobal.com.

*Based on the number of Tweets responding to the IHOb post

**Bundle offer for a limited time only. Price and participation may vary by location.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES, LLC
For 60 years, IHOP has been a leader, innovator and expert in all things breakfast, any time of day. The chain offers 65 different signature, fresh, made-to-order breakfast options, a wide selection of popular lunch and dinner items as well as meals under 600 calories. IHOP restaurants offer guests an affordable, everyday dining experience with warm and friendly service. Today, there are more than 1,750 IHOP restaurants around the world, including restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam as well as Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Lebanon, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Thailand, India and The Philippines. IHOP restaurants are franchised by affiliates of Glendale, Calif.-based Dine Brands Global (NYSE: DIN).

(Conshohocken, PA) Today IKEA starts serving its new veggie ball, GRÖNSAKSBULLAR, which is the first step to include a wider variety of nutritious and more sustainable food choices. The veggie ball consists of only vegetables and has a reduced environmental impact; for example, a lower carbon footprint. This is a natural step for IKEA, building on the vision of creating better everyday lives.

While IKEA will continue to focus on offering delicious and affordable food, the company will also add more food options that are nutritious and more sustainable. IKEA menu additions will also be produced in a responsible manner that considers people, planet, and animal welfare, based on our People and Planet Positive strategy. In addition, IKEA Restaurants will be updated to improve the customer experience of IKEA food.

“We will continue to serve delicious food, offering a taste of Sweden at affordable prices, but with increasing focus on the aspects of food that are really important to people: health and sustainability,” said Michael La Cour, Managing Director of IKEA Food Services AB. “We have high ambitions, and our journey in this direction has just begun. I am proud that we now take the first step and start serving veggie balls.”

The new veggie ball, GRÖNSAKSBULLAR, is a good alternative to the popular IKEA meatball, offering tasty chunks of vegetables and a good protein level to support a main meal. With the veggie ball as the centerpiece, new IKEA food dishes have been developed which include fresh ingredients. GRÖNSAKSBULLAR will be available in IKEA U.S. restaurants (except Carson, CA) starting April 9 for $4.49 (10 meatball plate). The IKEA Swedish Food Market will be selling veggie and chicken balls starting June 30, 2015.

The IKEA new food course impacts these areas:
Health – We will provide more food options that include nutritious ingredients and consider portion sizes.
Sustainability – Increased focus on choice of ingredients and responsible production, including animal welfare. Salmon and herring are important parts of our Swedish heritage food. By the end of FY15, our restaurants and all seafood at IKEA will be ASC or MSC certified, except crayfish. We are currently working with the MSC organisation to certify crayfish fisheries.
The food experience – During FY16, IKEA restaurants will be updated to offer a more personal experience and ‘homey’ feeling, incorporating our home furnishing competence and Swedish heritage.
IKEA food co-workers – We want to be a great place to work! Our co-workers are at the heart of our new direction, and we will continuously build their knowledge around health and sustainability.
For more information, please contact : Mona Astra Liss, IKEA US Corporate PR Director, Mona.Liss@IKEA.com, 610.834.0180, ext. 5852

About IKEA Group
The IKEA vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. Our business idea supports this vision by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. There are currently 315 IKEA Group stores in 27 countries. Additionally, there are 40 IKEA stores run by franchises. There are 40 IKEA stores in the US. In FY 14, IKEA Group had 716 million visitors to the stores and 1.5 billion visitors to IKEA.com. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information, please visit www.IKEA.com, facebook.com/IKEAUSA, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA, http://pinterest.com/IKEAUSA/, www.youtube.com/IKEAUSA, www.theshare-space.com, www.theshare-space.com/en/Blog

SANTA CLARA, Calif., – Intel Corporation and Royal Caribbean International teamed up to integrate Intel-powered tablets onboard Quantum of the Seas, the world’s first “Smartship.”

Signaling a new modern age of cruising, Royal Caribbean is installing 15,000 Intel-based Dell Venue* tablets at point-of-sale locations on the new ship. It is also using 40,000 Intel-powered tablets built by HEXA Electronics*, to give to every crew member throughout its fleet, providing them an easy way to stay connected with friends and family while at sea.

The Windows 8.1* tablets for Royal Caribbean are powered by the Intel® Atom™ processor that delivers lightning-fast processing power along with long battery life and an easy-to-use interface.

The tablets at point-of-sale will perform various hospitality functions, including check-in, reservations, entertainment options, activity scheduling and billing transactions throughout the ship, thus providing a better experience for guests and more efficiency for crew members.

The Royal Caribbean crew tablets also include the productivity applications bundle from Intel, valued at $233 per tablet and available through the Intel Business App Portfolio program with apps such as Dictionary*, DocuSign* and McAfee Anti-Virus Plus*.

Crew members can also enjoy Intel-powered tablets in their personal time, including access to apps such as Skype*, Bing* and Office365* to stay up to date on everything happening back home and to keep in touch with their loved ones while at sea.

“Introducing Intel-powered tablets to our onboard crew is part of our effort to provide the best guest experience possible,” said Bill Martin, CIO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “Keeping our crew happy by giving them easy ways to connect with family and friends and the world through the Intel-powered tablets is also an integral part in reaching that goal. We are excited to work with Intel in providing high-quality tablets for our staff and crew members.”

“Our collaboration with Royal Caribbean demonstrates how Intel-powered tablets can help the travel industry deliver better experience and more efficient services to its customers,” said CJ Bruno, Intel vice president and general manager of the Americas. “We are also excited that Royal Caribbean will provide tablets to all of its crew members for business and personal use. This will allow Royal Caribbean’s employees to personally experience the amazing performance of Intel-powered tablets across commercial and consumer applications.”

Royal Caribbean crew members began receiving tablets in November, starting with the world’s first “Smartship,” Quantum of the Seas, which was delivered on Nov. 20.

About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. As a leader in corporate responsibility and sustainability, Intel also manufactures the world’s first commercially available “conflict-free” microprocessors. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com and about Intel’s conflict-free efforts at conflictfree.intel.com.

IHG values the relationship we have with our guests and understands the importance of protecting payment card data.

What Happened

Many IHG-branded locations are independently owned and operated franchises, and certain of these franchisee operated locations in the Americas were made aware by payment card networks of patterns of unauthorized charges occurring on payment cards after they were legitimately used at their locations. To ensure an efficient and effective response, IHG hired a leading cyber security firm on behalf of franchisees to coordinate an examination of the payment card processing systems of franchise hotel locations in the Americas region.

The investigation identified signs of the operation of malware designed to access payment card data from cards used onsite at front desks at certain IHG-branded franchise hotel locations between September 29, 2016 and December 29, 2016. Although there is no evidence of unauthorized access to payment card data after December 29, 2016, confirmation that the malware was eradicated did not occur until the properties were investigated in February and March 2017. Before this incident began, many IHG-branded franchise hotel locations had implemented IHG’s Secure Payment Solution (SPS), a point-to-point encryption payment acceptance solution. Properties that had implemented SPS before September 29, 2016 were not affected. Many more properties implemented SPS after September 29, 2016, and the implementation of SPS ended the ability of the malware to find payment card data and, therefore, cards used at these locations after SPS implementation were not affected.

A list of affected IHG franchise locations and respective time frames, which may vary by location, is available here.

What Information Was Involved

The malware searched for track data (which sometimes has cardholder name in addition to card number, expiration date, and internal verification code) read from the magnetic stripe of a payment card as it was being routed through the affected hotel server. There is no indication that other guest information was affected.

What You Can Do

It is always advisable to remain vigilant to the possibility of fraud by reviewing your payment card statements for any unauthorized activity. You should immediately report any unauthorized charges to your card issuer because payment card rules generally provide that cardholders are not responsible for unauthorized charges reported in a timely manner. The phone number to call is usually on the back of your payment card. Please see the section that follows this notice for additional steps you may take.

What We Are Doing

On behalf of franchisees, IHG has been working closely with the payment card networks as well as with the cyber security firm to confirm that the malware has been eradicated and evaluate ways for franchisees to enhance security measures. Law enforcement also has been notified.

MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy, the brand created by two hospitality powerhouses, MGM Resorts International and Marriott International, opens up a world beyond the ordinary. Now accepting reservations for 16 iconic hotel and resort destinations on Marriott.com and the Marriott Bonvoy app, MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy offers an all-access pass to the world’s largest stage. Marriott Bonvoy Moments® inspired by MGM Collection – from curating the production of the legendary Bellagio fountain show to the heart-pumping thrill of aerial acrobatics with jaw-dropping Cirque du Soleil performers – will transform a stay into a once-in-a-lifetime memory.

“Our commitment to providing unforgettable experiences is at the heart of everything we do. Travelers are seeking larger-than-life moments that speak to their passions and the destinations they love, and this guides our approach to orchestrating the guest and Marriott Bonvoy member experience at MGM Collection properties,” said Peggy Roe, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer, Marriott International. “MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy is the fusion of two experiential giants in MGM Resorts and Marriott International that will provide epic and extraordinary moments for our guests – through world-class acts, impeccable service, and endless opportunities to indulge – as delivered by some of the most recognizable resorts in Las Vegas and the United States.”

For the reveler in every traveler – the seeker of thrills, the collector of experiences – MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy exhilarates at every turn, featuring:

New York-New York Hotel & Casino, MGM Collection
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, MGM Collection
Vdara Hotel & Spa, MGM Collection
The Signature at MGM Grand
Luxor Hotel & Casino, MGM Collection
Excalibur Hotel & Casino, MGM Collection
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, MGM Collection (Atlantic City, New Jersey)
Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, MGM Collection (Biloxi, Mississippi)
MGM Grand Detroit (Detroit, Michigan)
MGM National Harbor (Oxon Hill, Maryland)
MGM Springfield (Springfield, Massachusetts)
Of the 16 MGM resorts comprising MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy, four of the properties are also affiliated with existing Marriott collection brands:

Bellagio, a Luxury Collection Resort & Casino, Las Vegas
ARIA Resort & Casino, Autograph Collection
Park MGM Las Vegas, a Tribute Portfolio Resort
Continuing its affiliation with Autograph Collection is The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Autograph Collection
Steve Zanella, President of MGM Resorts Operations, said, “MGM Resorts destinations are iconic for their breadth of unrivaled entertainment experiences, world-class dining and superior hospitality. With the MGM Collection, we are thrilled to unveil the world MGM Rewards members have been experiencing for years to Marriott Bonvoy’s passionate members.”

Marriott Bonvoy Moments: Collect the Extraordinary in Las Vegas + Beyond
Unmatched entertainment and sports offerings reach new heights with Marriott Bonvoy Moments. These extraordinary packages provide larger-than-life experiences that Marriott Bonvoy members can redeem with points earned through stays and everyday activities. Marriott Bonvoy Moments inspired by MGM Collection unveiled today, with much more to come, include:

Choreograph the World-Famous Bellagio Fountain Show – The Fountains of Bellagio have served as the stage for many of Las Vegas’ most epic moments. Now, for the first time in Bellagio’s 25-year history, one lucky Marriott Bonvoy member will leave their mark on this Las Vegas icon, as they step into the role of maestro and curate the production of the show, from selecting a new song to the aquatic artistry of the choreography. With a visit to the WET Campus, the fountains’ design studio, they will work hand-in-hand with the show’s producers before witnessing their masterpiece come to life when they visit Las Vegas with five of their closest friends for an exclusive fountain show premiere. (1 package available starting March 6)
The Ultimate Golf Weekend at Shadow Creek – True fans of the game can start a new tradition to celebrate the best Sunday in golf. From playing Shadow Creek, one of the country’s most exclusive golf courses, to a VIP Bungalow Bay at Topgolf at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino with three friends during golf’s biggest major on April 14, this weekend is a golf lover’s dream. (1 package available starting March 6)
Cirque du Soleil, the MGM Collection Way – Journey further behind-the-scenes than ever before at four of Cirque du Soleil’s most awe-inspiring shows – KÀ, Michael Jackson ONE, Mad Apple, and “O.” This one-of-a-kind experience will immerse guests in the artistry of these world-renowned shows with special access, exclusive meet and greets with the artists, a pre-show VIP experience and premier show seating, and dining at MGM Resorts’ renowned restaurants. From the mind-bending acrobatics and story of KÀ to the surrealism and theatrical romance in “O,” this is the ultimate weekend for passionate patrons of the arts. (1 package available starting March 6)
Play, Stay and Earn Your Way
Marriott Bonvoy members can earn and redeem Marriott Bonvoy points at MGM Collection destinations with qualifying stays and enjoy unique benefits when they reserve through Marriott’s booking channels. Members of MGM Resorts’ award-winning loyalty program, MGM Rewards, are eligible to link accounts with Marriott Bonvoy to directly Tier Match and receive member benefits.

Marriott Bonvoy’s separate collaboration with BetMGM, a leading iGaming and sports betting operator, will have an initial launch in certain states on March 7 with additional states anticipated to launch shortly thereafter. Members can enjoy online gaming and the opportunity to earn points while playing, then transferring the points to their Marriott Bonvoy account for future free nights at Marriott Bonvoy hotels, including MGM Collection. Members who link their accounts and play will be able to earn Marriott Bonvoy points on certain BetMGM transactions, and participate in exclusive games, experiences, and offers on the BetMGM platform. BetMGM is proud to provide resources to help customers play responsibly including GameSense, an industry leading program, developed and licensed to MGM Resorts by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation.

For those seeking more thrills, visit mgmcollection.marriott.com and follow along via @mgmcollection.

Note on Forward Looking Statements
All statements in this press release are made as of March 6, 2024. Neither Marriott International, Inc. nor MGM Resorts International (“we” and “our”) undertakes any obligation to publicly update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of federal securities laws, including statements related to expected arrangements between Marriott International and BetMGM; and similar statements concerning anticipated future events and expectations that are not historical facts. We caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to numerous evolving risks and uncertainties that we may not be able to accurately predict or assess, including the risk factors that we describe in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our most recent Annual Reports on Form 10-K or Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Any of these factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations we express or imply in this press release.

About MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy
MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy creates unforgettable, larger-than-life memories with exhibitions of brilliance and extraordinary service for the reveler in all of us. With an unrivaled portfolio of hotels and resorts, MGM Collection includes Las Vegas icons such as Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino​, MGM Collection, and gaming paradises across the United States, such as MGM Springfield. MGM Collection with Marriott Bonvoy is the groundbreaking strategic alliance between MGM Resorts International and Marriott International, and participates in Marriott Bonvoy®, the global travel program from Marriott International. The program offers members an extraordinary portfolio of global brands, exclusive experiences, and unparalleled benefits including free nights and Elite status recognition. To enroll for free or for more information about the program, visit marriottbonvoy.com.

About Marriott Bonvoy®
Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s portfolio of over 30 hotel brands and 10,000 global destinations, offers renowned hospitality in the most memorable locations around the world. The award-winning travel program and marketplace gives members access to transformative, eye-opening experiences around the corner and across the globe. To enroll for free or for more information about Marriott Bonvoy, visit marriottbonvoy.com. To download the Marriott app, go here. Travelers can also connect with Marriott Bonvoy on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok.

Bethesda, Md., – JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts and The Joffrey Ballet are taking guest service to a new level with the launch of “Poise and Grace,” a series of inspirational video training tutorials led by Ashley Wheater, artistic director of The Joffrey Ballet. As part of the luxury hotel brand’s commitment to service excellence, the program was developed to inspire associates to develop and bring natural confidence, poise and grace to the guest experience. The training series includes exclusive content and tailored instruction that teaches associates how to incorporate the foundations of dance into everyday guest interaction.