Expedia Inc wants to boost its efforts on the hotel technology side of operations - unveiling a revenue management tool known as Rev+ this week.
The Expedia Partner Central wing of the group says it will offer the product free to properties that are already part of its distribution network on sites such as Expedia, Hotels.com and Venere.
The system allows hotels to gauge their rates against competitors over the course of 90 days, alongside other market factors.
A forecasting tool will allow properties to view demand for a market based on datapoints captured across the portfolio of Expedia Inc brands, whilst a notification system will alert hotels to changes to rates over the course of the last 24 hours.
Rev+ will initially be available to hotels in the US, with other regions and markets to follow in due course.
The launch of Rev+ is part of a wider programme to work closer with hotels by providing IT and services to hotels that, somewhat ironically, will help them manage their direct-booking capabilities.
The company recently started working with Marriott to power its Vacations By Marriott channel - a "next generation partnership" that sees the chain use a dynamic packaging platform powered by the OTA so that customers can secure a flight alongside their accommodation.
North American chain Red Lion also now has its own loyalty scheme actively promoted by Expedia in search results - an apparent first for Expedia Inc.
Expedia's efforts in this area follow a similar path to those of the Priceline Group, which launched its BookingSuite division to provide additional B2B services to hotels (revenue management, digital marketing, distribution) on its platform.
It bought PriceMatch, Buuteeq and Hotel Ninjas respectively to build out the product. Expedia says it created the Rev+ product in-house.
Cyril Ranque, president of lodging partner services at Expedia, says there is a "lot of appetite" for such services from its hotel customer base.
"Rev+ is a product that is going to be extremely valuable to them," he adds.
NB: Hotel monopoly board image via FreeImages.