BY CHRIS KNAPE

THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS

WYOMING -- State and local officials plan to pony up $5.2 million in incentives to win jobs from online travel giant Priceline.com Inc.

Now, the company needs to decide whether it is going to buy a ticket here.

A former Siemens Dematic and Smiths Industry office building is in line to house as many as 424 employees for a new Priceline.com call center. The vacant building, 4147 Eastern Ave. SE, is part of the Siemens complex purchased by Franklin Partners LLC in 2006. The building would be leased by Norwalk, Conn.-based Priceline for its growing Web site Booking.com, which offers hotel reservations in 16 countries in 17 languages, primarily for European customers.

"When you look at the last couple of weeks, we've got new jobs moving into the GM plant ... the investment in the Delphi plant. To me, that's pretty good news for West Michigan all the way around," said Curtis Holt, Wyoming city manager.

The Michigan Economic Development Corp. said the state is competing against an offer from Columbus, Ga., that included more than $11 million in incentives.

Brian Sillitto, project manager for the Valley Partnership, a Columbus-based economic development group, said the figure Michigan was using is "several million dollars" higher than the informal offer Columbus has extended.

He also said Michigan's description of the project in terms of jobs and investment "is not consistent with the scope of the project as we know it."

Birgit Klohs, president of West Michigan economic development agency The Right Place Inc., said the information only reflects what a consultant for Priceline presented to the state.

"The company has been dealing with us in good faith on this whole project," she said.

The Columbus area has thousands of jobs in the call center/customer service realm run by companies such as Aflac, Tsys, and Road America, Sillitto said. They typically pay $9 to $10 an hour.

West Michigan also is a hot bed for call centers, with Fifth Third Bank, Huntington Bank and Foremost Insurance employing hundreds of workers in the region.

Holt said starting wages at Priceline are expected to be $12 to $14 an hour with benefits.

"That's a pretty good wage today," he said.

Priceline.com spokesman Brian Ek said the company expects to have a final decision about the center's location early this summer.

Incentives for the project include a state tax credit approved Tuesday worth up to $3.9 million over seven years to encourage the company to locate in Wyoming.

The city of Wyoming is proposing an additional seven-year property tax abatement worth $1.1 million. The MEDC has offered as much as $200,000 in job training assistance.

Estimates show state tax revenue would be increased by $7.7 million due to the facility through 2015.

Priceline is best known for its quirky commercials featuring actor William Shatner and its "Name Your Own Price" feature, though its recent growth has been driven by international businesses, such as Booking.com.

Priceline calls Booking.com Europe's largest and fastest-growing hotel reservation service.

"Considering it's a pretty flat world, we consider those pretty good jobs considering what they pay," Klohs said. "It's a good brand company. "If we were losing them to Georgia, you would be asking me why they weren't coming here."

Priceline's project is expected to spur $7.7 million in capital investment and 186 spin-off jobs, according to the state.

Priceline, a survivor of the dot-com bust, has been on a roll lately driven by international growth at Booking.com and its Asian counterpart Agoda.com.

First-quarter revenues of $403.2 million was a 33 percent increase over the same period a year ago. First-quarter profits of $18.2 million were a turnaround from a loss of $16.3 million in the first three months of 2007.

Priceline.com's proposed Booking.com call center

Where: Former Siemens Dematic offices, 4147 Eastern Ave. SE

Jobs: Up to 424, plus 186 spin-off jobs

Planned investment: $7.7 million

Total incentives: $5.2 million

Total state tax revenue generated: $7.7 million

Source: Michigan Economic Development Corp.