28/10: Choice Hotels Fights Expedia
Choice Hotels and Expedia have failed to agree on key contract terms and have broken off negotiations. You will no longer see Choice Hotel brands such as EconoLodge and Comfort Inn on Expedia.ca or Hotels.com. This is a bold move for Choice Hotels since Expedia and other Online Travel Agents reportedly generate +30% of all bookings. But most Hotel owners are applauding the move.
AboutAnywhere.com CEO Ashwin Kamlani had this comment in a recent press release:
“It takes a lot of courage to do what Choice has done and I congratulate Mr. Joyce. This should serve as a clear signal to the OTAs that the hotel industry refuses to fall victim to the same mistakes that were made after September 11, 2001. It is completely unreasonable for an OTA which demands such a high percentage of the hotels’ reservations revenue to require last room availability. Objectively speaking, if a hotel is certain that they can fill their last rooms through their own direct channels, they should do so without hesitation. Expedia’s demands are also unrealistic. Anyone from the industry will tell you that regardless of what you force a hotel to put into the contract, the hotel is going to do whatever is necessary to maximize its profits. This is why they need an army of market managers all over the world to enforce these outrageous policies. Forcing the hotels to commit financial suicide in a contract is just a product of arrogance.”
For a very full understanding of the relationship between Hotels and OTA, such as Expedia, you must read the article by Max Starkov of www.hotel-online.com.
AboutAnywhere.com CEO Ashwin Kamlani had this comment in a recent press release:
“It takes a lot of courage to do what Choice has done and I congratulate Mr. Joyce. This should serve as a clear signal to the OTAs that the hotel industry refuses to fall victim to the same mistakes that were made after September 11, 2001. It is completely unreasonable for an OTA which demands such a high percentage of the hotels’ reservations revenue to require last room availability. Objectively speaking, if a hotel is certain that they can fill their last rooms through their own direct channels, they should do so without hesitation. Expedia’s demands are also unrealistic. Anyone from the industry will tell you that regardless of what you force a hotel to put into the contract, the hotel is going to do whatever is necessary to maximize its profits. This is why they need an army of market managers all over the world to enforce these outrageous policies. Forcing the hotels to commit financial suicide in a contract is just a product of arrogance.”
For a very full understanding of the relationship between Hotels and OTA, such as Expedia, you must read the article by Max Starkov of www.hotel-online.com.
