Expedia and IHG Sign New Long-Term Agreement
New Long-Term Relationship Pairs Two High Growth, Global Travel Leaders
LONDON, Nov. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — WORLD TRAVEL MARKET — IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) (LON: IHG; NYSE: IHG) and Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) today announced they have entered into a multi-year agreement under which consumers can now book IHG hotels on Expedia® sites globally. The agreement will result in the addition of more than 3,700 hotels across all IHG brands, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites, to the hotel selection on Expedia and hotels.com® branded points of sale globally, as well as Hotwire® and Expedia® Corporate Travel.
“IHG continually seeks to extend the reach of our brands to deliver our customers additional convenience in booking their accommodations and we are delighted to work with Expedia in such a way that will greatly benefit our guests,” said Eric Pearson, senior vice president, Distribution Marketing, IHG.
As a further testament to the relationship, IHG is participating as the launch partner for Expedia, Inc.’s new media-based pricing model. The dynamic, two-part economic model will blend transaction pricing with media pricing based on clicks on specific IHG properties in Expedia.com and hotels.com search results. Expedia and IHG collaboratively developed this innovative approach to distribution marketing — a first in online travel — where IHG will receive significant benefits from value-added media placement throughout the Expedia network in addition to the bookings they receive from Expedia.
“This agreement with IHG not only underscores Expedia, Inc.’s focus on forging long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with our partners, but it also exemplifies our innovative approach to working with them,” said Paul Brown, president, Expedia North America and Expedia, Inc. Partner Services Group. “We believe that our new media-based pricing model is truly ground-breaking in its ability to help our hotel partners maximize both their exposure to, and transactions from, the highly qualified customers in Expedia, Inc.’s global marketplace.”
“We are pleased to be the launch partner to Expedia, as IHG has always been an innovator in the online arena,” added Pearson. “As one of the largest online advertisers in the industry, we welcome new opportunities to further leverage our marketing spend and return on investment in the online space.”
IHG properties are currently available on Hotwire.com™. They will be available on Expedia Corporate Travel by December 2007, with all participating hotels becoming available on Expedia and hotels.com branded sites globally in 2008.
About IHG
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) of the United Kingdom [LON: IHG, NYSE: IHG (ADRs)] is one of the world’s largest hotel groups by number of rooms. IHG owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, over 3,800 hotels and more than 571,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. IHG owns a portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites® and Hotel Indigo®, and also manages the world’s largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club® Rewards with over 37 million members worldwide.
The company pioneered the travel industry’s first collaborative response to environmental issues as founder of the International Hotels and Environment Initiative (IHEI). The IHEI formed the foundations of the Tourism Partnership launched by the International Business Leaders Forum in 2004, of which IHG is still a member today. The environment and local communities remain at the heart of IHG’s global corporate responsibility focus.
IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at http://www.ihg.com/ and information for the Priority Club Rewards programme at http://www.priorityclub.com/. For the latest news from IHG, visit our online Press Office at http://www.ihg.com/media
About Expedia® Partner Services Group
Expedia® Partner Services Group offers its supplier partners choice, seamless coordination and complete access to our vast traveler base. The formation of the Partner Services Group is a testament to Expedia’s commitment to continually refine the way we conduct business by seeking our suppliers’ input and customizing our services to meet their needs.
About Expedia, Inc.
Expedia, Inc. is the world’s leading online travel company, empowering business and leisure travelers with the tools and information they need to easily research, plan, book and experience travel. Expedia, Inc. also provides wholesale travel to offline retail travel agents and in-destination concierge service and activity desks for travelers. The Expedia, Inc. portfolio of brands includes: Expedia.com®, hotels.com®, Hotwire®, Expedia® Corporate Travel, TripAdvisor®, Expedia Local Expert™, Classic Vacations® and eLong™. Expedia, Inc.’s companies operate more than 50 global points of sale with sites in North America, South America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Expedia, Inc. was recently added to the S&P 500 index. For more information, visit http://www.expediainc.com/ (NASDAQ: EXPE).
Expedia and Expedia.com are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Classic Vacations is either a trademark or registered trademark of Classic Vacations, LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. hotels.com is either a trademark or registered trademark of hotels.com, L.P., a subsidiary of hotels.com in the U.S. and/or other countries. Hotwire is either a trademark or registered trademark of Hotwire, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. TripAdvisor is either a trademark or registered trademark of TripAdvisor, LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.
© 2007 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. CST: 2029030-40
SOURCE: Expedia, Inc.
CONTACT: Stephanie Yudin of IHG, +1-770-604-5083,
stephanie.yudin@ihg.com; or Katie Deines of Expedia, Inc., +1-425-679-7991,
press@expedia.com</br/></br/>
Web site: http://www.expedia.com/
http://www.ihg.com/</br/>