Hotwire Reveals Hotel Rate Report for October 2009

San Francisco (PRNewswire / WorldTourismNews)- Hotwire.com®, a leading discount travel site, today announced the results of the October 2009 Hotwire® Hotel Rate Report. This monthly report features the top 10 cities in North America where hotel rates have dropped the most.

When combined with Hotwire's already discounted prices, the Hotel Rate Report helps guide customers to the destinations that will maximize their travel dollars. Houston, which was not on last month's Hotel Rate Report, takes the top spot for October with a drop of 30 percent compared to last year. Houston's top ranking is mostly due to a large increase in area prices in October of 2008, as hotels filled up due to Hurricane Ike.
 

Sun-soaked cities dominate the top ten this month as hotels continue to adjust to the economic slowdown, with Orlando, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles all in the top ten for October (percent drops of 19, 18, 17, 13, respectively). Vancouver, which was in the top three for the past seven Hotel Rate Reports, is the lone Canadian city this month and has dropped to the tenth spot due to the strength of the Canadian dollar and an increase in seasonal business travel in Canada.

Hotwire is able to find great deals, especially in these cities where prices are unseasonably low, because it works with hotels, airlines and car rental companies to fill unsold inventory. This means that customers will find deals that they won't see anywhere else.
 

When compared to the same time last year, the top 10 hotel price reductions for October 2009 include:
 

                                                  Example of a Current
  Rank    Hotel Market            Price Drop     Hotwire Deal, US$/Night
    1     Houston, TX                 30%           4-star       $83
    2     Jacksonville, FL            22%           4-star       $75
    3     Orlando, FL                 19%           4-star       $65
    4     Miami, FL                   19%           4-star       $92
    5     Phoenix, AZ                 18%           4-star       $66
    6     Portland, OR                17%         3.5-star       $78
    7     Las Vegas, NV               17%         4.5-star       $94
    8     Oahu, HI                    16%           3-star       $78
    9     Los Angeles, CA             13%         3.5-star       $77
   10     Vancouver, BC               13%           3-star       $70

"With the fall season comes naturally slowing leisure travel," said Clem Bason, President of the Hotwire Group. "And with business travel unable to fill that gap this year, we're seeing amazing deals at some of the most popular destinations around the country."
 

For more information about the Hotwire Hotel Rate Report, visit: www.hotwire.com/hotelratereport
 

About the Hotwire Hotel Rate Report
The Hotwire Hotel Rate Report will run results during the first week of each month. Results are calculated by looking at Hotwire stay dates for select regions in the current month, and comparing prices in the current month against Hotwire prices in the same month in the prior year. Prices are compared within the same star rating categories for consistency, and the percent change in price for each region is generated as an overall average of the changes in those categories. The prices in the chart above are examples for a particular star rating category within that market, and actual prices may be higher or lower than the example that is provided.
 

About Hotwire

Hotwire.com is a leading discount travel site with low rates on airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, cruises and vacation packages. Launched in 2000, Hotwire negotiates deep discounts from its travel suppliers to help travelers book unsold airline seats, hotel rooms and rental cars. J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Independent Travel Web Site Satisfaction Study(SM) recognized Hotwire for ranking "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Independent Travel Web Sites, Three Years in a Row." Hotwire is an operating company of Expedia, Inc. CST: 2053390-40. NST: 20003-0209. For more information, visit http://www.hotwire.com/.
 

Hotwire, Hotwire.com and the Hotwire logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Hotwire, 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. © 2009 Hotwire, Inc. All rights reserved. CST# 2053390-40.
 

Source: Hotwire.com

For more information contact:

Chris Fucanan of Atomic PR, +1-415-439-4219,
chris.fucanan@atomicpr.com, for Hotwire.com