Amazon Launches Hotel Booking Business With Local Getaways In Mind

For those looking to escape the daily grind but perhaps still stick close to home, Amazon is launching a new hotel booking service called Destinations, which seeks to pair locals up with a getaway nearby at select hotels.

The service allows hoteliers at about 150 properties in the Northeast, southern California and the Pacific Northwest the choice to offer lodgings through Amazon at either their published rates or for discounts and packaged deals, reports the Wall Street Journal, with only select days available at most.

Most of those hotels listing rooms on Amazon Destinations are independent hotels, but there are also some large brands in the mix, insiders tells the WSJ.

The goal is to entice locals looking for quick getaways, an Amazon spokesman told the WSJ.

“These are all handpicked properties that have been visited by someone at Amazon to make sure they meet our quality,” he said.

Though it’s unclear if Amazon is charging hotels for rooms booked through the service, the spokesman says the service would be “competitive” with booking sites like Expedia.com and Booking.com, both of which charge a commission between 10% and 25%.

Amazon’s New Travel Service Enters Lucrative Online Travel Market [Wall Street Journal]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist