<B>InsideTrack</B>
<B>Rosenbluth To Launch Air Auction Site</B>
Rosenbluth International executives late last week said this quarter it will launch MyTravelBid.com, an auction site for small corporations to take air inventory. Ron DiLeo, senior vice president of North America, said the venue is geared toward lightly managed companies with under $2 million in annual air spend that wish to aggregate volume with others. DiLeo said the site also can be harnessed by large clients that want to toss in the percentage of travel that isn't included in its overall portfolio of leveraged activity.
<B><A NAME="2">Pegasus Makes Its Move On The PMS</B>
Pegasus Solutions last week announced it had agreed to acquire a stake in a firm that provides property management systems to hotels. The deal is a step toward fulfilling Pegasus CEO John Davis' dream of processing reservations through a Web-based PMS that would require no capital expenditure on the part of the hotel. Rather, the system will be fee-based and tied back to occupancy levels. Still, considering that the technology isn't yet fully developed, Pegasus gave itself 24 months to decide just how much of the firm, Global Enterprise Technology Solutions, it will end up acquiring.
<B>Without Settlement, DOJ vs. Northwest Trial Begins</B>
After a week's delay aimed at hammering out a settlement that never materialized, the case against Northwest Airlines and its ownership stake in Continental brought by the Department of Justice went to trial last week. The case will determine if ownership by the nation's fourth largest carrier in Continental, the fifth largest, violates antitrust law. Northwest lawyers in opening arguments before U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood claimed fares have declined on routes in question, while service has improved. DOJ attorneys said Northwest's ownership translates to eventual price hikes and reduced competition. The case, which likely won't be resolved until sometime in 2001, should have ramifications for others on the cusp of consolidation.
<B>Carriers Announce Airport Projects</B>
United Airlines and the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey unveiled plans for a $610 million project to improve United's Terminal 5 at New York JFK International. The project includes a new terminal building housing 15 gates and other new facilities set for completion by 2005. Subsequent project phases funded by Port Authority will revamp existing Terminals 5 and 6 for JetBlue Airways and TWA. Every JFK terminal recently has been redone or is in some stage of construction, including American Airlines' ongoing $1.4 billion project to create a single 56-gate terminal (BTN, March 20). Meanwhile, Continental Airlines began a $350 million expansion project to add as many as 20 gates at Houston Bush Intercontinental. Construction on the terminal, and another parallel runway, should be complete in 2003.
<B>Cendant Gears Up For New Acquisitions</B>
Cendant Corp.'s decision to spin off its membership services businesses has spurred speculation that CEO Henry Silverman will focus on travel-related businesses--specifically hotel brands--as fertile ground for new investments. On Friday, it announced a first move, agreeing to acquire Orlando-based Fairfield Communities, a timeshare operator. The franchisor of such midprice and economy brands as Ramada, Days Inn, Howard Johnson and Wingate Inns most recently acquired branding rights to the AmeriHost name. Since an accounting scandal rocked the company in early 1998, Cendant has been struggling to regain its footing--and the good graces of Wall Street, which punished its stock.
<B>Ciao, Ciga</B>
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide last week announced it was interested in selling its portfolio of 25 deluxe Ciga Hotels. Acquired three years ago, many of the Cigas had been reflagged as either Westins or Luxury Collection. The properties tend to be historic, including some former castles. Starwood's preference is to maintain the management contracts, but may end up selling the management rights as well.
<B>Menkes Turns Consultant</B>
Andrew Menkes, 1999 BTN Travel Manager of the Year, resigned from his post at HSBC Bank and hung up a shingle last week. The new partner and COO of Above The Rim Events is not the first to go consultant, but he was the first buyer to get the Airlines Reporting Corp.'s Corporate Travel Department accreditation, one of the first to build a travel page on a corporate intranet and establish direct airline deals. Menkes' skillset will broaden the scope of the four-month-old meeting and incentive planning and special event ticketing business established by private investors and 15-year meeting industry veteran Bill Wulff. The Ft. Lee, N.J.-based venture reunites the two former IVI Travel eastern region colleagues.