Expedia.com See the Savings: New Vacation Package Savings Tool Illustrates Added Value of Booking Travel Together on Expedia.com
BELLEVUE, Wash. – Sept. 14, 2004 – Travel terminology can be confusing sometimes, but price savings for vacation packages are now crystal clear thanks to Expedia®’s new Vacation Package Savings Tool. This exclusive tool details package savings directly within search results and is just one of many new features that Expedia has released to help its customers travel even smarter. Travelers can now instantly see how much money will be saved by building the trip they want as a vacation package versus booking trip components such as air, hotel and car separately. And the savings add up — last month, customers saved an average of $193 per vacation package1 booked on Expedia.com®.
Expedia’s vacation packages are a smart and effortless way for travelers to plan and assemble their flights, car rentals and/or accommodations. Ever since Expedia first started offering vacation packages online in 2001, customers have responded enthusiastically to one-stop shopping, easy booking, price savings and an amazing selection of more than 700 destinations worldwide. The launch of several new features — including the Vacation Package Savings Tool — empowers Expedia customers with even more information to help transform complex travel situations into simple decisions.
“Expedia excels at putting smart technology to bear on tough travel problems — making it easier for our customers to book the trip they want,”said Stuart MacDonald, senior vice president of marketing and packages at Expedia. “The Vacation Package Savings Tool is just one example of how Expedia listens to our customers and applies the latest technology to continue to improve our customers’ online travel experience.”
The Vacation Package Savings Tool can be found in the upper right corner of each vacation package search result that provides savings over booking stand alone. Go to www.expedia.com and choose the “Vacation Packages”tab. Click on “details”to see a cost comparison between booking that trip as a stand alone versus part of a vacation package on Expedia.com. Found the hotel you want but need a different flight? Simply click on “change flight”and browse among other flight options.
In addition to great value and flexibility, customization and choice are inherent with Expedia vacation packages. Multiple destinations? No problem. Only need a hotel for part of the trip? Easy. Want to make partial payments? Absolutely. The only hard part is deciding where to go!
“Expedia makes vacation packages appealing to customers,”said Jared Blank of Online Travel Review. “The continued evolution of its package offering shows that Expedia is still the leading innovator in online travel.”
Additional Expedia Features: It’s no understatement to say that Expedia’s customer development team has been busy. In addition to the Vacation Package Savings Tool and the introduction of two new international Expedia Web sites in France and Italy, customers worldwide benefit from the following new additions:
Hotel Rate Calendar: If you have flexibility in your dates, view a two-month calendar that shows the range of prices for that particular Expedia® Special Rate hotel per day — darker green days are more expensive; lighter green days are least expensive.
Hotel Room Layout View: A 3D graphical rendering of a hotel room’s layout — a different perspective to see if the room will meet your needs.
More Information = The Right Stay: Know what you’re booking — before you book! Expedia has added more virtual tours, photos; property, room, and amenity descriptions to make it easier to find the right hotel.
Enhanced Star Ratings: Expedia now has ½ stars and a new approach that calculates star ratings based on information from up to 12 different sources (including media coverage, customer feedback, independent rating systems, amenities list, etc.).
Trip Planning Has Never Been So Good: Expedia has destination planning pages for close to 200 cities worldwide, showing travel information and opportunities for that particular area. Includes interactive maps with points-of-interest, local attractions, trip tips, including best times to visit, events, insider tips, weather forecasts and more.
What to Do While You’re There: Expedia has added even more trip extras or activities that can be booked with any package, from swimming with dolphins and going on a sunset cruise to helicopter rides, Broadway tickets, and even transfers to/from the airport. Have fun planning the things you want to do on your trip!
1Average savings amount was calculated by comparing the cost of all two-adult flight + hotel packages booked to Expedia’s top 50 destinations in August 2004 against the cost of booking the same flight and hotel room separately on Expedia.com. Because this amount represents average savings, your actual savings could be higher or lower. With Expedia’s Vacation Package Savings Tool, you’ll always see how much you’re saving by booking a package versus booking your flight and hotel separately on Expedia.com.
About Expedia, Inc.
Expedia, Inc. is the world’s leading online travel service and the fourth largest travel agency in the U.S. Expedia’s award-winning Expert Searching and Pricing (ESP) technology delivers the most comprehensive flight options available online. ESP also allows customers to dynamically build complete trips that combine flights, Expedia® Special Rate hotels and other lodging, ground transportation, and destination services and activities. Expedia’s quality and leadership have been recognized in awards such as PC Magazine’s “Editors’ Choice”and Forbes’ “Favorite General Travel Site.” Expedia, Inc. is an operating company of IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI). CST: 2029030-40
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