IHG SETS 3D PARTY RULES

Intercontinental hotels Group is redefining its relationship to third party providers by limiting it; to those that show and define all guest charges on their websites.

That is only one of several demands IHG announced in late April. They suggest a more militant attitude on the part of hotel

The IHG announcement was the talk of the recent Travel Commerce Conference in the Hilton New York, where several experts suggested more chains will follow suit.

Other IHG rules for providers like Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline and hotels.com include:

* Elimination of "confusing and unclear practices," such as luring customers to websites that promise huge discounts but lack the inventory to back them up

* Unacceptability of "brand diversion" in which customers seeking a specific brand can be diverted to another website without their knowledge or consent

* Working only with providers that have automated booking, payment and settlement

* Working only with providers that conform to IHG's best rate guarantee

* Combating commissions of up to 30 percent by working only with distributors that "want to share Internet efficiency gains with hotel owners and guests."

"The standard directly addresses a number of problems that IHG's guests and hotel owners are experiencing with some hotel companies," says Tom Seddon, IHG senior vice president, Americas Brand Performance. "It is important that we ensure the business practices of all our online distribution partners are in line with our core values."