Hyatt Plays Hardball With Expedia Over Contract Negotiations

What would happen if consumers couldn't book a Hyatt hotel on Expedia anymore? That's a possibility, if reports hold true regarding Hyatt's current contract negotiations with Expedia Inc. According to Hotels Magazine, Hyatt hotel owners recently received a notification from the company of its intent to terminate its Corporate Lodging Agreement with Expedia if the two companies don't reach an agreement by July 31. What's unclear, however, is whether this agreement impacts all of Hyatt's distribution for both leisure and corporate managed travel, or solely its corporate travel contracts. Skift spoke to the author of the Hotels Magazine article, Kristie Dickinson, EVP of business development and marketing for CHMWarnick, an independent hotel asset management company. Dickinson, some of whose clients have received the note from Hyatt, "In the letter our owners received from Hyatt, it was clear that the termination of the Corporate Lodging Agreement meant that Expedia would no longer be an approved distribution channel." Instead of having Hyatt properties being distributed on Expedia's channels, which include Hotels.com, Travelocity, Orbitz, and Hotwire, among others, Hyatt reportedly informed its hotel owners that it would engage in an "aggressive sales and marketing plan" to drive more direct bookings, as well as promote its newly relaunched loyalty program, World of Hyatt. A Hyatt spokesperson said, "Hyatt is in constant dialogue with Expedia and all our OTA partners around the world, but we will not get in to the details of those discussions. Our focus remains on growing the value proposition for booking directly with Hyatt so we can build strong relationships with our guests, a