Although it isn't the biggest contract in its portfolio, it has to sting a bit that the Expedia Affiliate Network has lost its contract powering travel services for Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The destination management organization's hotel booking engine on Visit Seattle will instead be operated by Regatta Travel Solutions, with the launch slated to take place April 25. It is Regatta's first contract in the US, although it powers booking engines for several DMOs in the Caribbean.
Expedia Inc.'s global headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, is on the outskirts of Seattle in King County, and Visit Seattle promotes the county as a tourist destination for its 1,100 hotel, transportation, restaurant and attractions members throughout the county.
Jerri Lane, senior vice president of the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau cites "positive experiences" with Expedia during the "couple of years" since the Expedia Affiliate Network began powering Visit Seattle, but she also says the CVB is "thrilled to be moving toward the new relationship" with Regatta Travel Solutions.
"They have been good partners," Lane says of Expedia. "They are very powerful. They have done a great job for us, but we have just elected to go into a different direction."
One of the key advantages of opting for Regatta is added flexibility and lower commission, Lane says.
Under Regatta, member hotels will be able to cobble together hotel packages including transportation, dinner and show tickets for events such as a King Tut exhibition and they won't have to pay commission on the add-ons, Lane says.
And the lower commission rate -- Regatta says it is about one-third of Expedia's -- will enable small properties, such as B&Bs, to better-promote themselves, Lane says.
Ashwin Kamlani, the founder of Regatta Travel Solutions, isn't as diplomatic about the Expedia comparison than is Lane of Visit Seattle.
"The bottom line is that it [the Regatta solution] is more intelligent, less expensive, more flexible," Kamlani says. "It gives hotels much more control over their strategy and allows the CVB to show true value that they are delivering back to the suppliers in their destination."
Regatta enables hotels to load events pages with special rates and insert cancellation policies geared specifically for the event, Kamlani says.
He points to this Barbados Food & Wine and Rum page as an example.
The lesson for the Seattle Convention and Visitors Bureau is DMOs need to listen to stakeholders -- supplier members and visitors -- and stay nimble, Lane says.
Lane adds: "The world is so different from even five years ago in the way customers book."
Expedia didn't respond to a request for comment about its Visit Seattle partnership.