Online travel agent Webjet has entered into a deal with auction king eBay to supply, distribute and market hotel rooms online through the shopping website.

Webjet says the partnership will give eBay users access to 50,000 hotels.

Webjet Managing Director David Clarke says the move is “the largest single step that Webjet could make in terms of extending its market footprint into the sale of hotels”.

“Unlike many other forms of distribution, eBay has a unique and very special community of members of enormous size and marketing strength in the Australian region,” he says.

Clarke says Webjet will incur only marginal incremental operating costs from the arrangement and would achieve greater economy of scale.

By Elizabeth Clifford-Marsh