MAITLAND, FL AND SILVER SPRING, MD HOTEL BUSINESS. has learned that GoCo-op and Choice Hotels International may be working on a deal together regarding e-commerce and e-procurement technology. At the recent AH&MA Multi-Unit Lodging Operators & Owners Forum in Denver, Chris Cogan, GoCo-op s chairman/CEO alluded to a possible impending relationship between the two companies.
When contacted, Donna Marks, GoCo-op s vp/corporate communications told HOTEL BUSINESS. that we are in negotiations with Choice, but it is too early to explain the exact details of the relationship.
In January, at the Hotel E-Supply Chains Conference in New Orleans, Daniel Rothfeld, svp/e-commerce and emerging business opportunities at Choice Hotels International, said that Choices total spending via e-purchasing transactions is $400 million on its Choicebuys.com procurement solution. The company launched Choicebuys.com in April of 1999 to manage and aggregate its chain-wide $1.5 billion annual spending on hotel-related goods and services.
Rothfeld maintains that Choicebuys.com is alive and well and would not confirm whether or not the company is in discussions with GoCo-op.
We speak with GoCo-op and lots of other e-procurement companies inside and outside of the hotel industry on a regular basis to keep abreast of what s going on, said Rothfeld.
Choicebuys.com currently has about 300 endorsed supplier partners including AT&T and Coca-Cola. It has 2,400 users and 100,000 products and executes, on average, 1,000 transactions per month.
(3/14/01) Kelly Wayne