Cyndi Lauper and True Colors Fund Shine at Renaissance Times Square

NEW YORK, NY, USA - MAY 2011 - Renaissance Hotels (www.renhotels.com) kicked off an early salute to Pride season benefiting True Colors Fund (http://www.truecolorsfund.org/) with an exclusive event featuring an appearance by Cyndi Lauper and a performance by the cast of "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." Hosted at the Renaissance Times Square, the evening also featured an RLife Live performance by DJ Mia Moretti & electronic violinist Caitlin Moe. Please click here to view the YouTube video from the event.

In a subsequent thank-you memo, Cyndi Lauper wrote, "I want to thank Renaissance Hotels, American Airlines and those who attended last week's wonderful event at the R Lounge in support of the True Colors Fund. The money raised from the online auction will go to help homeless gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth and to support the ongoing work of the Give a Damn Campaign to engage straight allies in the advancement of equality. It is wonderful to salute the Renaissance Hotels again, and all our friends who continue to show their support for the community and to see so many of you showing your support for them in return."

Renaissance Hotels, along with American Airlines and GREY GOOSE� Vodka, partnered to sponsor an online auction featuring exclusive travel packages to select new Renaissance Hotels around the world, including the new St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London. All auction proceeds benefit the True Colors Fund, co-founded by Cyndi Lauper to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality and raise awareness about LGBT youth homelessness. The special auction items will be available for online bidding through May 12th at True Colors Fund.

This special event also represents part of a larger Renaissance Hotels program designed to celebrate the diversity within the hospitality, travel and tourism community. "Renaissance is thrilled to partner with these entertainers and popular brands to benefit the True Colors Fund, which addresses the challenges facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth today," said Apoorva Gandhi, vice president of multicultural markets and alliances for Marriott International, Inc.. "We strive to make diversity and inclusion part of the fabric of our company culture."

Renaissance Hotels, as part of Marriott International has a longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all of our guests throughout the world, and enjoys a 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index. Renaissance Hotels is an upscale brand with more than 145 properties in 32 countries that speaks to passionate travelers in search of authentic local discoveries when traveling for business or leisure.

Renaissance Hotels has recently welcomed several new "gems" to its global collection - the boutique Renaissance Malmo hotel in Sweden, the historic Stanford Court hotel in San Francisco, the exotic Renaissance Curacao Resort & Casino in the Dutch Caribbean, the opulent Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel and the modern Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel.

These hotels join a rich portfolio defined by distinctive and well-known icons such as the Eden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach, La Concha Renaissance San Juan, Renaissance New York Hotel 57 and Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe.

The event, hosted at the Renaissance Hotel Times Square RLounge, was attended by many guests throughout the LGBT community, with special support given also by Troy Masters, publisher of Gay City News. Cocktails courtesy of GREY GOOSE� Vodka. Airline tickets for silent auction provided by American Airlines.

American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection� serve 250 cities in 50 countries with, on average, more than 3,600 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 900 aircraft. American's award-winning website, AA.com�, provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines fares are also available through Kayak.com and Priceline.com, as well as thousands of travel agencies worldwide.

American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld� Alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members serve approximately 900 destinations with more than 9,000 daily flights to 145 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com, and AAdvantage are trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR).

GAY CITY NEWS is the award winning newspaper of record for New York City's dynamic lesbian and gay community, reaching more than one hundred thousand readers every week in print and online at gaycitynews.com.

All Renaissance hotels participate in the award winning Marriott Rewards� frequent travel program that allows members to earn hotel points or airline miles for every dollar spent during each stay.

To make reservations and for more information visit www.renaissancehotels.com. Follow Renaissance on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RenaissanceHotels, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RenHotels, and via the RLife blog at www.therenaissancelife.com.

For more information or reservations, please visit the web site at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com.

Visit the auction site to bid online through May 12th at: http://charitybuzz.com/TrueColorsFund
Please visit our Facebook Photo Album for photos from the event at: http://on.fb.me/CyndiLauperRLounge