Forte plans website with on-line booking service

Design groups are yet to be appointed for a new joint Internet venture by Forte Hotel Group, Hilton International and French group Accor, which is due to be launched at the end of 2000.

Forte Hotel Group worldwide director of e-commerce Michael Madison claims there is “no rush” about making any appointments, as the website is not due to go live until the final quarter of this year.

Via the as yet unnamed site, customers will be able to make on-line reservations for any of the combined portfolio of hotels in Europe and access a wide range of products and services.

Other European partners are expected to join the project, which has an initial investment of 20m Euros (£12m), before it launches on the Internet.

“We have been contacted by a lot of different people, including design groups, but are not at the design stage yet. We are still looking at what shape the venture will have,” explains Madison.

“There will be a short development time, so we’re not rushing things. There seems to be such a large amount of interest in the project, that I don’t think we’ll need to spend much on a pitch.”