BELLEVUE, Wash. and
BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Expedia Group
(NASDAQ: EXPE) and Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) today
announced that as part of a new agreement signed in April 2019, Expedia Group will become the
exclusive global optimized distributor of Marriott's wholesale
rates, availability, and content to a network of global travel
providers, effective October 15,
2019.
With the launch of the optimized distributor model, Marriott is
introducing changes to how it approaches the redistribution of the
company's wholesale rates and availability among third-party travel
providers. Through this agreement, Marriott will leverage Expedia
Group's industry-leading technology and enterprise-level service to
create a single gateway for the redistribution of Marriott's
wholesale inventory. The optimized distribution model, provided by
Expedia Group's B2B arm, Expedia Partner Solutions, will eliminate
the complexity and inefficiency of today's wholesale redistribution
model for Marriott hotels. This single gateway solution will also
provide a consistent and reliable shopping experience for
travelers, ensuring accurate display of hotel descriptions, room
rates and fees through known and trusted third party travel
providers.
The wholesale distribution landscape today is fragmented and
complex; hotels need to navigate an intricate web of third-party
redistributors and technology standards. This new solution
unlocks the power and scale of Expedia Group's technology through
one point of access and uniform technology for all Marriott hotels
worldwide, which will enable Marriott to more efficiently manage
its wholesale redistribution. Redistributors will no longer receive
access to Marriott rates and inventory directly from Marriott but
may contract with Expedia Partner Solutions to obtain access,
provided such redistributors comply with Marriott's distribution
standards. Tour operators who access wholesale rates from Marriott
directly continue to have this option, in addition to leveraging
Expedia Partner Solutions as the optimized distributor for Marriott
International wholesale rates. For Marriott hotels, the
new optimized distribution model will reduce the cost,
complexity, and consumer issues associated with the current
redistribution marketplace.
"At Marriott, our highest priorities include enhancing service
and transparency for consumers while driving profitability for
owners and franchisees," said Brian
King, Global Officer of Digital, Distribution, Revenue
Strategy & Global Sales, Marriott International. "With this
truly innovative solution from Expedia Group, we can increase
our reach to leisure travel providers while solving distribution
challenges and improving profitability for our hotels around the
world."
"We believe in unlocking the power of the Expedia Group platform
for our partners so that they can benefit from our significant
investments in technology, support services and industry expertise.
This agreement with Marriott International is a great example of
putting this ethos into practice" said Christian Gerron, Senior Vice President.
Enterprise Solutions, Expedia Partner Solutions, Expedia
Group.
About Expedia Group
Expedia Group (NASDAQ: EXPE) is one of world's largest travel
platforms. We help knock down the barriers to travel, making it
easier, more enjoyable, more attainable and more accessible. We are
here to bring the world within reach for customers and partners
around the globe. We leverage our platform and technology
capabilities across an extensive portfolio of businesses and brands
to orchestrate the movement of people and the delivery of travel
experiences on a both local and global scale. Our family of
travel brands includes: Brand Expedia®, Hotels.com®, Expedia®
Partner Solutions, Egencia®, trivago®, HomeAway®, Orbitz®,
Travelocity®, Wotif®, lastminute.com.au®, ebookers®, CheapTickets®,
Hotwire®, Classic Vacations®, Expedia® Group Media Solutions,
CarRentals.com™, Expedia Local Expert®, Expedia®
CruiseShipCenters®, SilverRail Technologies, Inc., ALICE and
Traveldoo®. For more information, visit www.expediagroup.com.
© 2019 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. Trademarks and logos
are the property of their respective owners. CST: 2029030-50
About Marriott International
Marriott International,
Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a
portfolio of more than 7,000 properties under 30 leading brands
spanning 132 countries and territories. Marriott operates and
franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all
around the world. The company now offers one
travel program, Marriott Bonvoy™, replacing Marriott Rewards®, The
Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®(SPG).
For more information, please visit our website
at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news,
visit www.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect
with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl
on Twitter and Instagram.
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SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.