Expedia Group Signs Industry-First Agreement to Become Optimized Distributor of Marriott International Wholesale Rates

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Sep 17, 2019, 07:30 ET

BELLEVUE, Wash. and BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Expedia Group (NASDAQ: EXPE) and Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) today announced that as part of a new agreement signed in April 2019, Expedia Group will become the exclusive global optimized distributor of Marriott's wholesale rates, availability, and content to a network of global travel providers, effective October 15, 2019.

With the launch of the optimized distributor model, Marriott is introducing changes to how it approaches the redistribution of the company's wholesale rates and availability among third-party travel providers. Through this agreement, Marriott will leverage Expedia Group's industry-leading technology and enterprise-level service to create a single gateway for the redistribution of Marriott's wholesale inventory. The optimized distribution model, provided by Expedia Group's B2B arm, Expedia Partner Solutions, will eliminate the complexity and inefficiency of today's wholesale redistribution model for Marriott hotels. This single gateway solution will also provide a consistent and reliable shopping experience for travelers, ensuring accurate display of hotel descriptions, room rates and fees through known and trusted third party travel providers.

The wholesale distribution landscape today is fragmented and complex; hotels need to navigate an intricate web of third-party redistributors and technology standards. 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 Solutions to obtain access, provided such redistributors comply with Marriott's distribution standards. Tour operators who access wholesale rates from Marriott directly continue to have this option, in addition to leveraging Expedia Partner Solutions as the optimized distributor for Marriott International wholesale rates. For Marriott hotels, the new optimized distribution model will reduce the cost, complexity, and consumer issues associated with the current redistribution marketplace.

"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."

"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.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group (NASDAQ: EXPE) is one of world's largest travel platforms. We help knock down the barriers to travel, making it easier, more enjoyable, more attainable and more accessible. We are here to bring the world within reach for customers and partners around the globe. We leverage our platform and technology capabilities across an extensive portfolio of businesses and brands to orchestrate the movement of people and the delivery of travel experiences on a both local and global scale. Our family of travel brands includes: Brand Expedia®, Hotels.com®, Expedia® Partner Solutions, Egencia®, trivago®, HomeAway®, Orbitz®, Travelocity®, Wotif®, lastminute.com.au®, ebookers®, CheapTickets®, Hotwire®, Classic Vacations®, Expedia® Group Media Solutions, CarRentals.com™, Expedia Local Expert®, Expedia® CruiseShipCenters®, SilverRail Technologies, Inc., ALICE and Traveldoo®. For more information, visit www.expediagroup.com.

About Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 7,000 properties under 30 leading brands spanning 132 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company now offers one travel program, Marriott Bonvoy™, replacing Marriott Rewards®, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®(SPG). For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on Twitter and Instagram.

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SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.