Travelocity's private label solution, World Choice Travel, has been the hotel provider for Kayak.com's Book Kayak option since March, but now the Expedia Affiliate Network is in on the action, as well.
Kayak confirms Expedia's EAN and Travelocity's WCT now are both providing hotel data for Book Kayak in the US, and EAN is a provider for Kayak in some international domains, as well, although Kayak declines to provide further details.
Outside the US, Kayak has websites in 14 other countries, including the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Austria.
Hotel-data providers vary by country, Kayak says.
With Book Kayak, instead of solely transferring consumers to a third-party online travel agency or hotel site for bookings as metasearch sites traditionally do, Kayak now uses the two private label services to process the hotel bookings on Kayak.com
Currently on Kayak.com, when the Book Kayak option appears in hotel search results, there is no option to book on Expedia.com as one of the other site options.
Conversely, when there is no Book Kayak option in search results on Kayak.com, Expedia.com often appears as one of the booking options.
Kayak UK also offers a Book Kayak option, but Expedia results appear alongside the Book Kayak option, which suggests that perhaps EAN is not yet providing data for the Book Kayak option in the UK or some other dynamic is at play.
Kayak declines to comment on the display logic it uses.
Kayak's decision to add providers to its Book Kayak service can't be great news for Travelocity, which was the launch provider for the service, or for Orbitz, which argues it has an exclusive online travel agency contract with Kayak for flights and hotels in the US.
Kayak interprets its contract with Orbitz differently, and Orbitz and Kayak are currently arbitrating their dispute.
Chris Chiames, an Orbitz spokesman, declined to comment on Kayak's other relationships, but adds "we are in regular discussions about new and better ways to work together."