Marriott is 8th-biggest Internet sales retail

Marriott International Inc., the world's largest hotel operator, has battled back against online travel agents such as Expedia.com to become the eighth-biggest Internet retailer by sales.

Through Marriott.com, the Bethesda, Maryland-based lodging company sold $3.7 billion worth of rooms in 2006, more than doubling revenue from the site in 2004. For the first half of 2007, Web sales for Marriott hotels, which range from luxury Ritz-Carltons to lower-priced Fairfield Inns, were up almost 25 percent.