Expedia Partners With MSN for Launch of New MSN Travel Site
Expedia.com, TripAdvisor, Hotwire and Hotels.com Content Now Offered on MSN Travel
BELLEVUE, Wash., March 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), the world’s leading online travel company, has implemented its expanded partnership with MSN, Microsoft Corp.’s network of Internet services. Now, customers who visit http://travel.msn.com/ will find Expedia.com® content as well as information from Expedia, Inc.’s other sites including hotels.com®, Hotwire.com® and TripAdvisor.com™, giving them more travel booking options and content on the MSN Travel channel.
Expedia.com has powered the travel channel on MSN.com and many localized MSN sites around the world since 1999. This relationship brings value and convenience to MSN customers and represents a step forward in Expedia’s commitment to bringing the breadth of its supplier relationships to all travel customers. It is a testament to Expedia’s dedication to giving customers unparalleled service, choice and trusted advice.
“We are excited about the newest results of our relationship with MSN,” said Steven McArthur, president of North American Leisure Travel Group, Expedia, Inc. “It represents a giant step forward in our efforts to form strong, lasting relationships with valued suppliers and bring together exceptional services to benefit everyone: Expedia, our partners and most importantly, our customers.”
“Recent studies have shown that U.S. travelers visit multiple web sites when planning a vacation,” added McArthur. “With the addition of Expedia, TripAdvisor, hotels.com and Hotwire to the MSN Travel channel, both companies are able to provide customers with what they want, when, where and how they want it.”
The new MSN Travel channel showcases the power of the brands in the Expedia, Inc. portfolio, each brand offering MSN visitors unique attributes such as specialized content, traveler opinions or discounted opaque inventory. Expedia’s partnerships such as this drive significant volume of bookings for Expedia’s supply partners and bring together exceptional services Expedia has to offer in one convenient location.
The following brands will be featured on the MSN Travel channel:
TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor.com is the leading global travel information and advice destination, with more than 4 million unbiased reviews and opinions and covering more than 200,000 hotels and attractions. With nearly 19 million unique monthly visitors worldwide (source: comScore Media Metrix, January 2006) TripAdvisor™ features real advice from real travelers and easy access to major online travel sites, including Expedia.com and hotels.com, among others.
hotels.com
hotels.com is a leading provider of lodging worldwide, giving travelers one of the widest selections of lodging accommodations from traditional hotels to vacation rentals at more than 20,000 properties worldwide. The company offers a one-stop shopping source for hotel pricing, amenities and availability and also specializes in providing travelers with accommodations during sold-out periods.
Hotwire
Hotwire’s mission is to offer unbeatable low prices on airline tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals, vacation packages and cruises. Through partnerships with leading travel companies, Hotwire can get customers low prices that can’t be found anywhere else. The company’s partners allow Hotwire access to their unsold inventory — empty seats on flights, empty hotel rooms and unrented cars — at big savings. By showing the name of the travel partner after a customer books, Hotwire can offer travel deals that are significantly below published prices.
Expedia.com
Expedia.com is the world’s leading online travel provider, helping more than 25 million travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia.com provides personalized service, the latest technology and the widest selection of vacation packages, flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises and in-destination activities, attractions, and services. With the Expedia Best Price Guarantee, Expedia.com promises to offer to its customers the best rates available online for all types of travel, making it the most comprehensive customer guarantee in online travel.
About Expedia, Inc.
Expedia, Inc. is one of the world’s leading travel services companies. With its portfolio of leading travel brands, Expedia, Inc. empowers business and leisure travelers with the tools and information they need to easily research, plan, book and experience travel. The company also provides wholesale travel to offline retail travel agents. Expedia, Inc.’s main businesses and brands include: Expedia.com®, hotels.com®, Hotwire®, Expedia® Corporate Travel, TripAdvisor™ and Classic Vacations®. Expedia, Inc.’s companies also operate internationally with sites in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and China, through its investment in eLong™. For more information, visit http://www.expediainc.com/ .
NOTE: Expedia, Expedia.com, and the airplane logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the United States, Canada and/or other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE: Expedia, Inc.
CONTACT: Expedia.com, +1-425-679-4317, or press@expedia.com
Web site: http://www.expedia.com/