Expedia closing LV center

Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2004 | 10:40 a.m.

By Richard N. Velotta

LAS VEGAS SUN

The Las Vegas call center of Expedia.com -- an Internet travel company that helped launch the careers of two high-profile gaming executives -- is closing.

A representative of the Bellevue, Wash.-based parent company, a division of IAC/InterActiveCorp, confirmed today the company would close the Las Vegas operation over the next nine months and transfer some 100 call center jobs to Tacoma, Wash., and Miami.

Robb Krieg, senior vice president of customer service for Expedia, said the Las Vegas call center was the most expensive of eight centers nationwide to operate, leading to the decision to consolidate resources to save money. He said company policy prevented him from disclosing the hourly wage level at the Las Vegas office.

"We have outsourced with a company to help with the transition of our employees," Krieg said. "We'll have a job fair and career transition training with help provided in resume writing and job interview skills."

He said employees affected by the closure would be offered positions at other call centers as well as jobs with other IAC/InterActiveCorp divisions, which include Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Ticketmaster, Match.com and LendingTree.com.

Krieg said other Expedia support functions would remain based in Las Vegas, with accounting, market management and other personnel, but he did not know how many Expedia employees would remain in Southern Nevada once the call center closes.

The Las Vegas office of Expedia.com, the nation's largest Internet travel company, began as Travelscape.com, founded by Tim Poster and Tom Breitling. Poster and Breitling sold the company to Expedia.com, then a division of Microsoft Corp., in early 2000, for $95.5 million. The two have since parlayed the proceeds into an acquisition of the Golden Nugget hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas and are the stars of a reality television show, "The Casino," on the Fox network.

IAC/InterActiveCorp completed its acquisition of Expedia.com a year ago.