The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), which represents 1.8 million employees belonging to the lodging industry in the country, has opposed the pending Expedia-Orbitz merger.

According to AH&LA, the transaction will result in the consolidation of the online travel marketplace, potentially leading to larger fees for hotel owners and higher prices for vacationers. It will also negatively affect small business owners.

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The deal is currently being reviewed by the Department of Justice.

"AH&LA believes the proposed acquisition will accelerate these trends, which are likely to increase distribution costs and ultimately reduce value to consumers."

According to AH&LA CEO Katherine Lugar, the merger will result in 75% control of the US online travel agency (OTA) business by Expedia and its associated brands, which would also include Orbitz, and reduce consumer choice in the online marketplace.

She also highlighted that Expedia takes 11% higher commissions from hotels than Orbitz, and the merger will result in Orbitz escalating its commission, which will increase distribution costs for hotel operators.

See Also:

Online travel booking sites in the US will end up having two major companies that are Expedia and Priceline.

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Lugar said: "AH&LA believes the proposed acquisition will accelerate these trends, which are likely to increase distribution costs and ultimately reduce value to consumers.

"We also believe the combination of Expedia and Orbitz will cause small and independent hotels to pay significantly more to advertise online in the increasingly pay-to-play ecosystem of online search.

"Taken together, these effects could substantially drive up the cost of doing business for small and independent hotels to the ultimate detriment of consumers."