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Marriott Leverages Distribution Capabilities; Makes
Inventory of Hotel Rooms Available to
Expedia.com and Hotels.com

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2004 - Expedia.com(R) and Hotels.com announced today they have signed an agreement with Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR) to provide Expedia.com and Hotels.com customers with greater access to rooms at Marriott properties.  Participating brands include Marriott Hotels & Resorts, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts, Residence Inn by Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, Fairfield Inn by Marriott and SpringHill Suites by Marriott.

As part of this agreement, Marriott will make its inventory of hotel rooms available for the hotel and vacation package offerings on Expedia.com and Hotels.com, enabling Marriott hotels to market to the nearly 20 million customers looking for hotel rooms on Expedia.com and Hotels.com each month. In turn, travelers will have access to rooms at more than 2,000 Marriott properties in North America.

"We want to ensure travelers have access to Marriott properties no matter how they prefer to plan and book travel," said Bruce Wolff, Marriott senior vice president, sales and eCommerce strategy. "Expedia(R) and Hotels.com are valuable distribution channels, and we are pleased with this new relationship."

Marriott has also agreed to develop a direct connection with Expedia and Hotels.com that will make it easier and more cost effective for Marriott to manage inventory and rates through Expedia's and Hotels.com's booking channels from the Marriott central reservation systems.

"With this agreement, Expedia, Hotels.com and Marriott have made great strides to develop offerings that ultimately benefit consumers," said Lloyd Frink, senior vice president of hotels at IAC Travel. "The hotels in Marriott's portfolio are highly regarded by Expedia's and Hotels.com's customer bases and this exciting relationship will allow us better to meet our travelers' needs.  Marriott's decision to join our network of high quality hoteliers is further evidence of the value that Expedia.com and Hotels.com bring to hotels."

Marriott International, Inc. is a leading worldwide hospitality company with over 2,600 lodging properties in the United States and 68 other countries and territories. 

Expedia, Inc. is the world's leading online travel service and the fourth largest travel agency in the U.S. 


 
Contact:
Expedia, Inc.
http://www.expedia.com
Also See: Cendant's Nearly 4,000 Hotels Distributed through Five Third-party Booking Web Sites / June 2003
Evaluating Internet Distributors; How Can Hoteliers Best Leverage Third Party Distributors? / October 2003


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