Want wholesale Marriott rates? They're only available with Expedia
Hotel giant Marriott and travel technology company Expedia Group announced a deal that makes Expedia the exclusive distributor of Marriott's wholesale rates and availability starting Oct. 15.
"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 Solution," Marriott said in a statement on Tuesday, when the agreement was announced.
Tour operators that access wholesale rates from Marriott directly will still be able to do so.
Marriott said the partnership will improve consistency and reliability for shoppers.
Skift.com described the deal as an "industry first" and reported it will mean sites that want to keep offering users Marriott deals will need to work with Expedia.
The deal comes as Expedia says it refuses to let its formidable cash reserves go to waste, according to the company's chief financial officer.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXPE | EXPEDIA GROUP INC. | 181.35 | -0.91 | -0.50% |
| MAR | MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL INC. | 278.78 | -3.24 | -1.15% |
Expedia has acquired a handful of branded travel booking sites, including Travelocity, Hotels.com, Orbitz, AirAsia, Wotif, and Egencia, while expanding into travel media with the acquisition of Trivago in 2012. The company hasn't made any significant acquisitions since its 2015 purchase of HomeAway for $3.9 billion.
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Meanwhile, it was revealed that in April that Marriott wants to move into the home-sharing market in order to compete with Airbnb. HomeAway is an Airbnb rival.
FOX Business' Matthew McNulty contributed to this report.