Online travel booking retailer, Webjet, has signed an agreement with British holiday company Thomas Cook in an outsourcing deal that will transfer around 3000 hotel contracts to Sunhotel, Webjet’s European online accommodation business.

The 3000 hotel contracts will be added to Sunhotels’ substantial existing hotel inventory of hotels from across the world which will also be provided to Thomas Cook under the terms of the agreement.

The five-year deal will see Sunhotels assume control regarding the contracting and sourcing of hotels for Thomas Cook’s complementary business.

Webjet will pay Thomas Cook £21 million for entering into the supply agreement, the transfer of hotel contracts and implementation costs of the deal.

“Webjet is delighted to be entering into a partnership with such an iconic travel brand as Thomas Cook,” said John Guscic, Webjet’s managing director.

“Like Webjet, the Thomas Cook Group is a results driven, customer first organisation, focused on delivering th best customer experiences in the market.”

“Working together, we are confident this partnership will deliver superior results for both parties.”

Guscic added the agreement will escalate Webjet’s growth profile in the dynamic European B2B market.

Peter Fankhauser, Thomas Cook chief executive, said the agreement with Webjet will provide them with a low-cost production platform for their complementary offer across all their source markets, enabling them to streamline their systems and processes while at the same time ensuring certainty over the quality of hotel they offer their customers.

“This frees us up to focus on growing our differentiated holiday offering, the area where we know Thomas Cook can really make a difference.”

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