Jim young had had enough The senior vice-president for global distribution at InterConti-nental Hotels Group had seen IHG's 3,300 franchisees flirt too much with the Internet. Some locally owned hotels had allowed online travel agents, such as InterActiveCorp.'s Expedia Inc. and Travelocity, to offer lower rates than those charged by Intercontinental. That gave the Web services a bigger slice of revenues per room than they pay the In-terContinental chain. On Apr. 20, he threw down the gauntlet at TravelCom Expo, an annual confab of 1,200 hotel owners and other travel execs. Franchisees have to choose between doing business on the Web travel agencies' terms or on Inter-Continental's. "If a hotel chooses not to comply, it won't be a Holiday Inn or a Crowne Plaza any longer," Young told a packed room.
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