REPORT FROM THE U.S.—After 10 years of learning how to operate effectively under merchant-model agreements, many parties across the distribution landscape might find themselves having to learn the ins and outs of the agency model sooner rather than later.
After Expedia introduced its Expedia Traveler Preference program earlier this month—which would allow travelers to choose whether to pay Expedia at the time of booking (merchant model) on the site or pay the hotel upon checkout (agency model)—sources told HotelNewsNow.com they expect the agency model to take off immediately.
“I believe the agency model is going to sunset the merchant model and that the merchant model is going to go away very quickly,” said Mark Carrier, president of B. F. Saul Company Hospitality Group. “They’re going to move extremely quickly to the agency model, and I think it will happen almost overnight.”
Read full story at: http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx?ArticleId=8871
