Hotels.com

Hotels.com provides facilities for lodging worldwide, offering reservation through its own websites and its toll-free call centers. Hotels.com was established in Dallas, Texas in the year 1991 by two people, Bob Diener and Dave Litman. Initially, it was just a toll-free telephone service offering consumers discounted hotel rooms in big cities. Over time, it flourished into a successful large-scale hotel business on the Internet.

The duo expanded the scope of their business by establishing an affiliate network in 1996 (www.IAN.com), and later launched the very successful Hotels.com brand. They decided to make the company public in the year 2000, with Mel Robinson joining the company as EVP & CFO. The two co-founders and Mel Robinson ultimately left the company in January 2004. In 2005, David Litman and Bob Diener launched a new company called Consumer Club, which is a discount shopping portal.

Upon the departure of Diener, Litman and Robinson from the company, Cheryl Rosner became President of the company. Earlier in 2003, IAC/InterActiveCorp had acquired Hotels.com. In July 2005, IAC/InterActiveCorp separated into two different companies: Expedia, Inc., and IAC/InterActiveCorp. The former is a popular travel company while the latter is an internet and media company with interests in electronic retailing, Internet and interactive media.