rom the company.
Moreover, some of these Internet travel intermediaries are attempting to
commoditize hotel rooms by increasing the importance of price and general indicators of quality
(such as "three-star downtown hotel") at the expense of brand identification.
Over time
, consumers may develop loyalties to these third party Internet reservations systems rather than to Starwood's lodging brands
.
Thus, dependence on third party Internet reservation channels may negatively impact
the company's hotel room bookings