Orbitz 2009 Annual Report Download - page 17

FCPA and applicable laws and regulations in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial penalties or
restrictions on our ability to conduct business in certain foreign jurisdictions.
Our ability to attract, train and retain executives and other qualified employees is critical to our results of
operations and future growth.
We depend substantially on the continued services and performance of our key executives, senior
management and skilled personnel, particularly our professionals with experience in our industry and our
information technology and systems. Any of these individuals may chose to terminate their employment with
us at any time. The specialized skills we require can be difficult and time-consuming to acquire and, as a
result, these skills are often in short supply. Our recent reductions in workforce, our failure to meet threshold
performance targets required to pay employee bonuses and the implementation of a Company-wide salary
freeze may also negatively impact our ability to attract, hire and retain skilled personnel. A lengthy period of
time may be required to hire and train replacement personnel when skilled personnel depart the Company. Our
inability to hire, train and retain a sufficient number of qualified employees could materially hinder our
business by, for example, delaying our ability to bring new products and services to market or impairing the
success of our operations or prospects for future growth.
We rely on information technology to operate our businesses and maintain our competitiveness, and any
failure to adapt to technological developments or industry trends could harm our business.
We depend upon the use of sophisticated information technologies and systems, including technologies
and systems utilized for reservations, communications, procurement and administrative systems. Certain of our
businesses also utilize third-party fare search solutions and GDSs or other technologies. As our operations
grow in both size and scope, we must continuously improve and upgrade our systems and infrastructure to
offer our customers enhanced products, services, features and functionality, while maintaining the reliability
and integrity of our systems and infrastructure. Our future success also depends on our ability to adapt our
services and infrastructure to meet rapidly evolving industry standards while continuing to improve the
performance, features and reliability of our service in response to competitive service and product offerings
and the changing demands of the marketplace. In particular, expanding our systems and infrastructure to meet
any potential increases in business volume will require us to commit substantial financial, operational and
technical resources before those increases materialize, with no assurance that they actually will. Furthermore,
our use of this technology could be challenged by claims that we have infringed upon the patents, copyrights
or other intellectual property rights of others.
In addition, we may not be able to maintain our existing systems, obtain new technologies and systems,
or replace or introduce new technologies and systems as quickly as our competitors or in a cost-effective
manner. Also, we may fail to achieve the benefits anticipated or required from any new technology or system,
or we may be unable to devote financial resources to new technologies and systems in the future. If any of
these events occur, our business could suffer.
We are dependent upon third-party systems and service providers, and any disruption or adverse change in
their businesses could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We currently rely on certain third-party computer systems, service providers and software companies,
including the electronic central reservation systems and GDSs of the airline, hotel and car rental industries. In
particular, our businesses rely on third parties to:
• conduct searches for airfares;
• process hotel room transactions;
• process credit card payments; and
• provide computer infrastructure critical to our business.
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