Cendant Argues Fairness of Cheap Tickets Deal

NEW YORK— In reporting on Cendant Corp.’s agreement to buy Cheap Tickets Inc., The New York Times Aug.14 noted that “In part, Cendant’s moves are meant to tap into the rapid rise of Internet travel services… they are also intended to send customers to its travel brands, including Avis, Ramada and Days Inn.” The Times also noted, however that this deal, as well as the larger deal for Cendant to buy travel-booking service Galileo, “raises fears that the company will promote its own affiliates at the expense of hotel and car rental companies.” “If you are Hilton or Marriott, you have to be concerned that your product won’t be displayed in a fair and impartial way,” said Henry Harteveldt, an analyst with Forrester Research. Cendant, in turn, argues that it will treat all suppliers equally, said The Times. “We are clearly in the business of offering our customers the broadest possible supply and not favoring any one provider,” said Sam Katz, the chief executive of Cendant’s travel distribution business. In addition to its attempt to buy Galileo— a deal which is being probed by the European Commission— and Cheap Tickets, a Honolulu-based consolidator of airline seats, Cendant owns a large travel agency that serves members of travel clubs it sells through credit card companies and on the Internet as Travelers Advantage, according to The Times. The same report indicated that Cendant intends to combine the Internet portion of Cheap Tickets, as well as website Trip.com, which would come with the Galileo deal, to create its on-line travel portal.