Bethesda, USA (TAN): Travel service provider Expedia Group has signed a deal with hotel giant Marriott International to become its exclusive global distributor of wholesale rates, availability, and content to a network of global travel providers. The announcement was made as a part of an agreement signed by the two companies in April 2019 and effective from October 15.
Following the agreement, Marriott will introduce changes to how it approaches the redistribution of the company’s wholesale rates and availability among third-party travel providers. It expects to leverage Expedia Group’s industry-leading technology and enterprise-level service to create a single gateway for the redistribution of its wholesale inventory.
This optimised distribution model is provided by Expedia Partners Solution, B2B arm of the Expedia Group.
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This single gateway solution will provide a reliable shopping experience for travellers by ensuring accurate display of hotel descriptions, room rates and fees through only the trusted third-party travel providers.
“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.”
The new technology of Expedia Group will provide one point of access for all Marriott hotels worldwide. This optimized distribution model will also ensure more efficient wholesale redistribution by reducing the cost, complexity, and consumer issues associated with the current redistribution marketplace.
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“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.
Marriott International, Inc., based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, operates hotels and resorts and currently has more than 7,000 properties under 30 leading brands spanning 132 countries all around the world.