LV time share developer buying Internet firm

Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2002 | 10:56 a.m.

A Las Vegas-based time share resort developer plans to buy an Internet company that tracks airline fares for travel agents.

Leisure Industries Corp., which last month announced plans for a 10-year, $450 million renovation of its 18.5-acre flagship property near the Imperial Palace hotel-casino, announced Monday it plans to buy FareQuest Inc., Miami.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

A spokeswoman said FareQuest's office will remain in Miami and no employees are expected to move to Las Vegas

"The acquisition of FareQuest complements our core businesses and allows us to greatly expand the travel services we provide to our internal and external customers," said Floyd Kephart, chairman and chief executive officer of Leisure Industries. "It stakes out our ground as a powerhouse in the travel and leisure industry and raises the bar on customer service," he said in a statement announcing the transaction.

More than 90 travel agencies with $15 billion in annual travel sales are contracted to use the FareQuest system, which searches major and regional airline Internet sites and travel aggregators like Travelocity and Expedia to find low air fares. The site is accessible to travel agents, but not the public.

Leisure Industries owns time share properties in New Jersey, Colorado, Florida and Hawaii in addition to its Leisure Resorts Las Vegas development. The non-gaming time share resort will be expanded from 489 to 2,000 units under its renovation plan.