“Hotels are frustrated with the perceived power that the Expedia group has,” said industry analyst Henry Harteveldt of Atmosphere Research Group. “Hotels would like to see other players come in and potentially challenge or even disrupt Expedia.”
Amazon, analysts said, could meet that challenge as well as provide a new way of selling hotels.
“I think Amazon has the power to redefine the market,” said Bob Offutt, senior technology analyst with Phocuswright, who called the online retail giant’s rumored entry into the travel marketplace “exciting.”
