Wannabe Travelers Worry Not! Expedia Busts Myths About Vacationing in Today’s Economy

Latest Expedia Travel Trendwatch Shows Americans Still Traveling This Summer

BELLEVUE, Wash., Aug. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Expedia®, the world’s leading online travel company, today released the new issue of the quarterly Expedia Travel Trendwatch®, focused on the current summer travel season and the upcoming fall travel season. In a shift from past reports that provided general travel trend overviews, this issue of the Trendwatch® aims to debunk negative rumors about Americans’ vacation habits and to provide tips for finding worthwhile travel values in a fluctuating economy. The report also highlights top summer destinations and some of the fastest growing vacation spots of 2008. To view the complete Trendwatch, please visit http://www.expedia.com/tips.

“Frankly, the notion that Americans are staying home this summer is just plain wrong,” said Chris McGinnis, editor, Expedia Travel Trendwatch. “According to our data, people have again taken to the roads and skies this season and they’re taking advantage of budget-saving opportunities along the way.”

The trends reported in this issue were also developed as ways to help alleviate worries that travelers may have about planning their next vacation. Included below are the top five “mythbusters:”

   1.   Don't worry!  You don't have to vacation at home.
             *    Despite all the talk of "staycations," a recent survey
                  revealed that 59 percent(1) of U.S. adults said they plan
                  to take a trip at least 100 miles from their home in the
                  next six months -- a slight dip from the 61 percent who
                  said so in recent years.
             *    "Drive-to" destinations are some of the fastest growing in
                  terms of hotel bookings on Expedia.  In fact, New Orleans
                  bookings were up 27 percent in the first half of 2008,
                  compared to the same time in 2007. Other cities that made
                  significant gains in bookings: Las Vegas, San Antonio, Ft.
                  Lauderdale and Los Angeles -- all of which are within a
                  day's drive for millions of Americans.

2. Don’t worry! Not all flight prices are increasing.
* Though prices are up for routes between major business
travel destinations, summer fares are actually decreasing
on routes between many western cities. Popular city pairs
where late summer fares are down the most include:
Denver-San Diego, Seattle-San Francisco,
Indianapolis-Las Vegas and New York-Milwaukee.
* Even if some airfare prices are up, hundreds of hotels are
jumping to offset those costs by offering added-value
incentives and exclusive sale rates. Travelers can also
evaluate the least expensive hotel and flight prices for
the time they want to travel by using Expedia’s new Trend
Tracker™ tool
(http://www.expedia.com/daily/trend_tracker), which
aggregates two-year historical data.

3. Don’t worry! Off-the-beaten path destinations aren’t the only
places with values.
* According to Expedia data, summer hotel rates in many
major leisure travel destinations are down year-over-year.
Most dramatically, Las Vegas rates are down 12 percent
from this time last year.
* Other major destinations with lower hotel rates this year:
Orlando, San Diego, Orange County, Hawaii and Myrtle
Beach, SC.

4. Don’t worry! Airfare and hotel deals can be found together.
* Don’t waste time buying a flight first and then shopping
for a hotel deal closer to your departure date. One of the
surefire ways to find the best value is to book air and
hotel together.
* Because of a vast inventory, Expedia is more likely to
negotiate a reduced rate on the total cost, if the
components are purchased at the same time. According to
internal data, Expedia travelers booking their hotel along
with their airfare have saved a total of more than
$83 million so far in 2008.

5. Don’t worry! There are deals to be found for the upcoming holiday
season.
* Fare searches on several high-volume routes show that
average roundtrip holiday (Thanksgiving/Christmas) fares
are still reasonable for peak days and even more
reasonable for those who are willing to travel on non-peak
days.
* Book early to save: a July 2008 Expedia poll(2) revealed
that 14 percent of U.S. adults (approximately 32 million
people, according to the Census Bureau) plan to travel by
air during the upcoming holiday season. Of those who have
not already made plans, most (68 percent) plan to make
their airline reservations in September or October.

Another reason for wannabe travelers not to worry — Expedia is currently running the biggest hotel promotion in its history. More than 400 hotel deals are included in the last days of summer “Half Off Hotel Sale” — with 50 percent off more than 125 hotels when you stay at least four nights. Additionally, anyone who books four or more hotel nights on Expedia will receive a free $75 Gas Money Prepaid MasterCard redeemable at virtually all gas stations. Travelers who book three hotel nights will receive a complimentary $50 card, and those who book two nights will receive a $25 card. The Half Off Hotel Sale applies to hotel stays booked now through September 2, with travel until September 30. For more information about the sale, or to browse participating hotels, visit http://www.expedia.com/.

About Expedia Travel Trendwatch

Expedia Travel Trendwatch is a quarterly report on consumer travel trends, plus insight and tips from Expedia, the world’s leading online travel service, and Chris McGinnis, a 20-year travel industry veteran who is the editor of the report. McGinnis’ travel industry insight and expertise, coupled with unparalleled travel intelligence from Expedia, can be found throughout each report, providing a treasure trove of data, trends, and tips designed to help empower and inform travelers.

About Chris McGinnis:

Chris McGinnis is the editor of the Expedia Travel Trendwatch. Prior to teaming up with Expedia in early 2006, McGinnis covered the travel beat in a variety of roles, from travel correspondent on CNN Headline News and travel columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Entrepreneur magazine, to producer of special travel sections for Fortune magazine. Based in San Francisco, his is also a speaker, consultant and the author of two books on travel: The Unofficial Business Traveler’s Pocket Guide and 202 Tips Even the Best Business Travelers May Not Know (McGraw-Hill).

About Expedia

Expedia ® is the world’s leading online travel provider, helping millions of travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia (http://www.expedia.com/) aims to provide 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 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. Expedia.com is an operating company of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE).

Expedia, Trendwatch, Travel Trendwatch, Trend Tracker and the Airplane logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.

  © 2008 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. CST: 2029030-40

(1) GfK Roper Consulting
(2) Harris Interactive® fielded the online survey on behalf of Expedia
between July 23 and July 25, 2008 among 2,017 U.S. adults 18 years of
age or older. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be
calculated; a full methodology is available through Expedia.

SOURCE: Expedia.com

CONTACT: Ian Jeffries of Edelman, +1-206-268-2291,
ian.jeffries@edelman.com, for Expedia.com; or Expedia Press Hotline,
+1-425-679-4317, press@expedia.com</br/></br/>

Web site: http://www.expedia.com/