Jul. 24, 2003 - InterContinental Hotels Group, owner of Holiday Inn and several other well-known hotel brands, announced Wednesday it will close its Cary call center and lay off about 200 workers in October.

The decision to shut the center comes as more customers book hotel rooms online, reducing the need for reservation agents to answer phones, said Carolyn Hergert, a spokeswoman at the British company's U.S. headquarters in Atlanta.

"It's allowing us to consolidate or move locations," she said. "That makes business sense."

After InterContinental reviewed its call center business earlier this year, the London-based decided to close centers in Cary and Singapore, and downsize an Amsterdam location, she said. About 500 employees in a total work force of more than 30,000 worldwide will be affected by the cut.

The Cary call center, adjacent to the Crossroads Plaza shopping center on Walnut Street, has been in business about 20 years. It operated until recently under the name Six Continent Hotels and is the company's smallest facility in the United States.

All employees in Cary will either receive severance packages or be offered jobs at call centers in Charleston, S.C., and Salt Lake City. Those who choose to move will receive relocation assistance, Hergert said. The company, which owns about 3,300 hotels worldwide, also has a call center in New Orleans.

"We really encourage our employees to transfer because chances are good that we can fit them in," she said. "We want to take care of our employees."

Call center jobs are increasingly targeted for cuts as companies outsource operations overseas to cut labor costs, or pick up more business over the Internet. The financially pressured travel and lodging industries in particular are taking a closer look at their reservation centers as they're trying to slash costs.

Even though airline travel is expected to be down 5 percent this year, Jupiter Research estimates that online airline ticket sales will grow 14 percent in 2003. It's partly because many people are able to find better deals over the Internet, the Darien, Conn., research firm said.

American Airlines said this month that it is considering scaling back operations at eight telephone reservation centers, including one in Cary that employs 959 workers. U.S. Airways closed five of its seven call centers in the past couple of years. And United Airlines last year closed three such facilities.

Other companies that cater to travelers are taking similar steps.

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, which owns Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental, announced last week that it is closing an Oklahoma reservation center because of growing Internet use.

But Joe Fleischer, technical editor for Call Center Magazine, said such decisions can't be blamed only on the Internet. Many companies are simply reacting to the soft economy and a drop in sales, he said.

By Karin Rives and Jonathan B. Cox

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