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Hotels
Hotel CEOs to investors: "Trust us, it was all worth it."
Deanna Ting, Skift | 7 years ago
Sometimes, being bigger really can be better. Or at least that's what Marriott is telling itself.
Online Travel
Red Lion Hotels is obviously a much smaller chain than a Hilton Worldwide or Marriott International. Still, Red Lion's deal to offer its member-only rates on Expedia.com and Hotels.com represents the start of some shifting in the direct-booking landscape. Expedia is a powerful force in hotel distribution and there will be more of these changes to come.
Dennis Schaal, Skift | 8 years ago
Priceline Group Interim CEO Jeffery Boyd is too much of a gentleman and a professional to get into a public shouting match with his hotel-chain partners. Still, behind the scenes, he doesn't intend to sit back and let hotel chains withhold their lowest rates without taking retaliatory steps.
Choice thus joins its peers and fellow Room Key partners, Marriott, Hilton, InterContinental, Hyatt and Wyndham in luring customers to book direct.
Deanna Ting, Skift | 8 years ago
By letting guests bid for rooms and getting hotels to engage in this practice, more guests are encouraged to book direct and understand the benefits of doing so.
Dan Peltier, Skift | 8 years ago
Loyalty isn't necessarily a dying breed among millennials if a brand knows how to make a program appealing to their spending and lifestyle habits outside of travel. That means doubling down on experiences and diversifying how points are earned.
We knew this day would come.
Now that Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and InterContinental have all joined the fray, it'll be interesting to see how the online travel agencies respond.
