Expedia (EXPE) and Choice Hotels (CHH) tonight
announced they have signed a new, long-term deal that will return Choice's inventory to Expedia's global family of websites including Expedia and Hotels.com. The three-year term is even included in the press release but maybe that is standard for a deal negotiated in the press.
More noteworthy, the jointly issued press release begins with a quote from Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Expedia Inc, that makes it very clear to anyone wondering about the deeper issues of the dispute (LRA and rate parity as we discussed
here) as where the two sides ended up: "We’re pleased to be working with Choice in an agreement that respects the guiding principles which we operate under." In other words, Choice agreed to similar terms that everyone else has: coup averted.
The Choice Hotels CEO has a line as well but not nearly so telling: "Choice Hotels and Expedia worked together to establish a new agreement that is mutually beneficial and enables hotels in the Choice system to effectively manage their businesses."
Glad this thing is over; relationships negotiated in the press are never positive for either side. A public spat like this does little for the industry (hoteliers or OTAs) and takes the focus away from what everyone should be concentrating on in times like these: generating revenue.
These insights are excerpted with permission from Tom Botts' Hudson Crossing blog.
