Hyatt Comes To Terms With Expedia
by Jessica Montevago
New York's Hyatt Herald Square
Hyatt Hotels Corp. reached an agreement with online booking giant Expedia, after threatening to pull its properties from the site.
The new distribution agreement will keep Hyatt inventory listed on Expedia and its sister sites, including Travelocity, Orbitz and Hotels.com.
“We’ve had productive discussions with Expedia and have agreed in principle on terms that address our concerns about distribution costs and flexibility,” a Hyatt spokesperson said. “We expect that Hyatt hotels will continue to be distributed on Expedia platforms without disruption.”
Hyatt said it will “remain focused on growing the value proposition for our guests who book directly with Hyatt so that we can build stronger relationships with them,” but also must offer options to “guests who might not be frequent travelers or who otherwise have a reason to book through these sites.”
In June, Hyatt sent out a letter warning its hotel owners that their properties might no longer be offered through Expedia, because of concerns about high commissions. As negotiations fell through over the following weeks, Hyatt also renewed the distribution contract it has with Priceline Group’s Booking.com, an Expedia competitor.
