Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell has blasted Government?s ignoring of its ?partners? in the industry by unilaterally employing Internet giant Expedia as a booking engine on the Tourism website without their input.

Hoteliers are seeking answers following a decision to employ Expedia resulting in those who want to be part of the system having to pay a much larger slice of commission to a third party for every booking made.

And concern has been expressed over the way the new set-up was introduced without apparent consultation with hoteliers.

It has also been reported that the Tourism Department is getting a share of the commission money.

Mr. Dodwell ? the owner of the Reefs Hotel in Southampton ? said the other occasion of Government ignoring hoteliers is the introduction of TNT Vacations? $49 subsidised US to Bermuda flights that started last Thursday.

Only hotels who have agreed to be part of Expedia?s Private Label service and pay 20 percent commission to the company are included on this favoured part of the website.

A report in Friday?s Mid-Ocean News said it was understood that the Department of Tourism would get a portion of the commission from Expedia, but has been unable to reach Tourism Minister Dr. Ewart Brown to substantiate this claim.

However, until the full facts are known there is a feeling of unease amongst hoteliers who want to know the whole story.

?It is the second time there has been no consultation with the hotels in a short period of time,? Mr. Dodwell said.

?That?s not good if you count the hotel industry as your partners. Government has to do a better job communicating.?

He added: ?And should the Department of Tourism be earning a commission from the hotels, if that is indeed the case??

The current website booking system has hotels paying a small fee to be on the Bermuda Hotel Association?s website which has a booking system run by Synxis. There is reported to be a secondary link on Tourism?s website that uses Synxis for those hotels not on the Expedia list.

Mike Winfield, president of the BHA said he was not sure of the arrangements that the Tourism Department has made with Expedia and was seeking clarification from the Ministry.

Asked what he thought about the Expedia involvement he said: ?We are surprised and we would like to have had a discussion. We are waiting for a response from the Department of Tourism.?

Another hotelier, who asked not to be named, said: ?There is concern amongst the hotel community. Let?s hope we can get everything resolved.?