With all the coverage and analysis of the Expedia-Travelocity deal last week, another major partnership at the European end of the industry has slipped under the radar.
But as folk in the US ponder how the partnership between the two giants will play out next year when it officially launches, maybe they should just look across the Atlantic Ocean at another significant and similar deal between major players in the world of online travel agencies.
This one, however, has arrived almost unnoticed.
Odigeo, the umbrella organisation overseeing the likes of Opodo and the French and Spanish OTA brands GoVoyages and eDreams, is now an affiliate of Booking.com for the trio's respective hotel channels.
An official declined to confirm exactly what is going on:
"We are constantly testing new solutions and approaches looking to provide the best product and user experience to our customers. We have been working with different providers and integrations for years for our different brands."
But take a look at a search on Booking.com for a hotel stay in Prague...
And then here on GoVoyages...
In other words: Booking.com's entire hotel product line, interface and functionality has been rebranded into GoVoyages (it is the same for Opodo and eDreams).
Odigeo would not disclose how long the agreement has been in place.
But once again, major brands have decided to throw their lot in with essentially a competitor for a specific part of their service rather than take on the responsibility for sourcing product and fulfilment themselves.
Odigeo was formed in July 2011 by two investment houses (AXA Private Equity and Permira Funds) which saw an opportunity to challenge the dominance and buying power of the likes of Expedia (and sister brands Hotels.com and Venere) and Lastminute.com in Europe.
Individually the brands were well positioned in many markets across Europe – Opodo in the UK, France, Germany and in Scandinavia, eDreams in Spain, Italy and Portugal, and Go Voyages in France.
The trio took a combined Euro 3.5 billion worth of bookings in 2010, with officials claiming the group had strong positions in France and Spain for both air ticketing and hotel stays.
Booking.com did not respond to a request for comment.
NB:Hotel keyboard image via Shutterstock.