InformationWeek

While many hotel companies have internal E-procurement initiatives, this is the first time competitors have formed a separate E-commerce entity and invited others to participate. There will be no cost to join, and GoCo-op, which is building and hosting the site, is offering a free Internet-access device to help get everyone from kitchen staff to loading-dock employees online.

"We're not a start-up," says Marriott's Dennis Baker, who will be CEO of the yet-to-be-named venture. "We have vendor contracts; we have customers not only at Hyatt-and Marriott-managed properties, but in our franchise networks as well. And we have experience in sourcing and negotiation, strategic procurement, and supply-chain management."

But the real key to success lies in how well the marketplace integrates with hotels' enterprise resource management and inventory systems, says Bob Bennett, director of the hospitality and leisure practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. GoCo-op's Procura system already interfaces with SAP--an important advantage, Bennett says--and it's adding links to PeopleSoft and Oracle.

The dispersed nature of the hospitality industry means the marketplace is unlikely to run into the antitrust issues that may face its auto and airline peers. "They'll get some additional major chains and independent properties to join," Bennett predicts, "but they'll never be 70% of the market."

GoCo-op chairman and CEO Christopher Cogan acknowledges that while he hoped to share his E-commerce engine and electronic catalogs with many hotel customers, virtually all the major chains "aren't comfortable going with us now that Marriott and Hyatt are on board." In fact, insiders say, major hotels are planning broader E-commerce initiatives that focus on selling rather than purchasing, and they're holding discussions about building a business-to-consumer travel site of their own instead of turning over their inventory to third parties such as Expedia and Travelocity.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts, owner of the Sheraton, Westin, and W hotel chains, declined an invitation to participate in the Hyatt-Marriott marketplace, a spokeswoman says, because "we want to go in a different direction."

In other E-marketplace launches, five construction companies, a venture capital firm, and Oracle rolled out a joint venture called HomebuildersXchange. It's for builders, contractors, distributors, wholesalers, and manufacturers in the $200 billion U.S. homebuilding industry to buy materials and labor.

Oracle is an equity partner in the venture and will provide "technology, infrastructure, development, and consulting resources to help these companies transform their businesses," says Lou Unkeless, Oracle's senior director for worldwide marketing. That's something the company has done only about a dozen times, for "extremely large, global endeavors" like the AutoXchange, an auto-industry marketplace. The other members are Centex, D.R. Horton, Kaufman and Broad Home, Lennar, Pultep, and venture-capital firm Encore Venture Partners.

Service provider Keane Inc. last week disclosed a partnership with BlueBolt Networks Inc., a technology provider to the commercial interior-design world. The companies have created a prototype business-to-business E-marketplace for interior designers, architects, facility planners, and manufacturers in the flooring, textile, fabrics, laminates, and wall-coverings markets.

Keane and BlueBolt are building the site using a search engine that lets users view, sort, and select from a range of materials online, create electronic storyboards, request samples of materials, and connect with other members of the design community. Keane is using Enterprise Java Beans for the user interface and Oracle's Visual Information Retrieval software to create, manage, and distribute media through the site. The site is expected to launch by the beginning of next year.

A June launch of Personic Inc.'s Personic Exchange will leverage its heritage as a developer of software and services that let professional recruiters and personnel managers use the Internet for hiring. Businesses, job-placement agencies, and job candidates will be able to use the marketplace to connect employers with potential employees.