I've never overpaid for computer parts, because I'm very familiar with their true price. Conversely, I always feel screwed when I need auto repairs since I know nothing about cars and am at the total mercy of the mechanic who tells me I need a new Widget X. It's no surprise that Four Seasons drastically overpays for web design -- it's not their specialty and the cost of making web design an organizational priority would be far more than $18 million. They've correctly chosen to focus simply on running luxury hotels.

Not to mention, a big portion of the cost of this project is hidden from view -- it's the cost of integrating with legacy systems at each Four Seasons hotel around the world. There might be a reservation system from 1994 at the front desk of the Four Seasons Istanbul which needs extremely delicate internationalization: http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/03/whats-wrong-with-tu...