French hotel group Accor SA is hoping to push back the dominance of major online travel agencies – by becoming one itself.
The hotel giant said it would open up its website to allow select independent hoteliers to market their properties in exchange for a booking commission that would undercut those charged by OTAs such as Expedia and Booking.com.
The big online booking sites charge up to 20% of the cost of a room.
"The transformation of our distribution platform into an open market place is a major step for the group and reflects a new approach," said chief executive Sebastien Bazin.
Accor has more than 3,000 hotels in its portfolio globally and hopes to increase to about 10,000 hotels displayed on its website by 2018.
The new hybrid online marketplace will be launched next month, Bazin said.
At the same time Accor also announced a rebranding and new name ‘AccorHotels’ as part of its new digital strategy.
A new tagline ‘Feel Welcome’ will be rolled out to increase ‘clout and visibility’.
Last year, Accor said it would invest $250 million between 2014 and 2018 to expand and improve its online presence in the face of the growing influence of online travel booking sites and vacation rental services such as Airbnb.
