Transat Tours is seeking legal intervention in their dispute with Expedia concerning exclusivity contracts the operator has with several partner hotels in Mexico and the Caribbean. According to Rue Frontenac, the tour operator subsidiary of Transat A.T. has filed an injunction against Expedia and its representative in Quebec, Tour East Holidays, requesting the Quebec Superior court prohibit Expedia from offering the hotels in question.
Transat is claiming that expedia.ca and expedia.com as well as Canadian sites using the Expedia platform such as aircanada.com and westjet.com, are offering Canadian travellers rates at hotels with which Transat Tours has exclusive distribution agreements in Canada. Under the terms of those contractual agreements, the hotels are offered to Transat customers within an ITC package price.
The request for injunction indicates the hotels in question are exclusive to Transat Tours and are advertised as such in the company’s promotional material However, Transat Tours claims Expedia is offering the same hotels on its international site, expedia.com, as it is on expedia.ca, which is dedicated to the Canadan market.
Transat Tours says they have contacted the American head office of Expedia on many occasions advising them of the issue. A meeting between the two parties took place in Montreal on August 27th and, thereafter, according to Transat Tours, Expedia withdrew some, but not all, of the hotels in question from its Canadian site (expedia.ca).
Transat claims they were able to make a reservation for a room at the Holiday Inn Puerto Vallarta on expedia.ca, hotels.com, hotels.ca and westjet.com on September 17th and at the Allegro, Puerto Plata on expedia.ca, aircanada.com and itravel2000.com, on September 20th. Both hotels have exclusive Canadian distribution deals with Transat Tours.
“Transat is exposed to the daily loss of its customers current and future, with the erosion of the volume of its businesses and its reputation as well as its position in the market," stated Transat's legal representative, Babak Barin. "The problem also undermines the relations of Transat Tours with its hotel partners and compromises the renewal of the agreements of exclusivity, as well as the ability of the company to deliver what it advertises," she added.
Ms. Barin says it would be relatively simple for Expedia to block access to the hotels in question for Canadian customers. Expedia's spokesperson has not commented.
