Marriott aims to cut commissions for online agencies - CEO

By Ankit Ajmera

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Marriott International Inc is looking to lower the commissions it pays to online travel agencies starting with Expedia Group Inc when it renegotiates its contract with the company later this year, Chief Executive Officer Arne Sorenson said on Tuesday.

"We would certainly like to pay less. We will have to see how the negotiations go," Sorenson told Reuters on the sidelines of a press conference in Bengaluru.

Marriott will be renegotiating contracts with major online bookers for the first time since its merger with Starwood in September 2016.

Sorensen said the first major renewal would be Expedia's, with the current deal expiring later this year.

The Marriott chief was in India's global outsourcing capital Bengaluru to open the company's 100th hotel in the country.

Marriott, which currently pays a commission of upwards of 10 percent to online travel agencies, is set to renegotiate its contract with Booking Holdings Inc sometime in 2019.

Online travel agencies currently contribute about 12 percent to Marriott's overall bookings.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)