WebProNews

Travel search engine SideStep has a new agreement with Marriott International to search its sites for rate information.

The SideStep travel search site managed to land a deal with Marriott, which will permit SideStep searches to query its properties. Once a user finds a listing they wish to book, a XML link will take them from SideStep to the Marriott property they want.

A Marriott executive praised SideStep's business model and travel search experience when the deal was announced. "We are being very selective about our sales and marketing channels, placing specific emphasis on brand image and costs," said Shafiq Khan, senior vice president, eCommerce, Marriott International. "A key objective of ours is to drive transactions through Marriott.com and pay for value."

SideStep said in a statement it is the first travel search site to be permitted to search Marriott sites for published rates. The search engine also works with Hyatt and Best Western, and is a partner with Orbitz.

Using SideStep brings results in a metasearch fashion, drawing from hotel sites and other travel search engines like OctopusTravel and Hotels.com. When multiple results for the same hotel can be found, SideStep generates a link that can be clicked to show a comparison of rates from multiple suppliers.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.