Online retail giant Amazon could be about to move into travel by selling rooms for independent hoteliers.
US travel site Skift.com said it had spoken to two hotel owners who had signed up to use the new Amazon Travel platform, although the company has yet to confirm or deny these plans.
According to the report, Amazon will launch the travel platform on January 1, with a few hand-picked properties in the New York, Los Angeles and Seattle areas.
Amazon Travel would be aimed at independent and boutique properties which do not have the marketing power of the major hotel chains or leading online travel agencies (OTAs) with the hotels paying Amazon a reported 15 per cent rate of commission per booking.