Hotwire.com Reveals
Close-To-Home Destinations as the Travel Trend for Memorial Day
A Leading Discount Travel Site Lists Chicago as the Top Hotel Booking
Destination for the Holiday
SAN FRANCISCO, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- With soaring gas prices and a slipping
economy, consumers find it even more important than ever to find great travel
deals this Memorial Day. As Americans get ready to kick off the start of
summer, discount travel authority Hotwire.com(R) reveals consumer travel trends
for the weekend of May 23 - 27, 2008.
Customers opt for close-to-home drive destinations this Memorial Day,
booking hotels within nearby cities. For example, Chicago is the top
destination for those living in Detroit and Las Vegas is the top draw for Los
Angeles residents. With soaring gas prices, consumers are shifting vacation
plans as the airline industry continues to increase fares.
Chicago tops the list as the most popular Memorial Day destination for the
second consecutive year, followed by Las Vegas and San Francisco. New to the
top 10 are Las Vegas, New York City, Seattle and Orlando.
The top Memorial Day weekend destinations, according to hotel booking data
from Hotwire.com, include the following hot spots that attract tourism from
neighboring cities (2007 rankings in parentheses):
1. Chicago, Illinois (1) 6. Los Angeles, California (5) 2. Las Vegas, Nevada (22) 7. Washington D.C. (2) 3. San Francisco, California (3) 8. Toronto, Ontario, Canada (10) 4. New York City, New York (12) 9. Boston, Massachusetts (7) 5. Seattle, Washington (16) 10. Orlando, Florida (11)
Chicago, Las Vegas and San Francisco are the top close-to-home destinations,
with at least 40 percent of hotel bookings being made by customers living
within 250 miles from these cities. More than 57 percent of Chicago hotel
bookings for example are made by customers living in the Chicago, Detroit, St.
Louis, and Minneapolis areas.
"During this economic downturn, price-savvy consumers are attracted to
close-to-home destinations with a wide range of free events and celebrations
where they can make the most of their travel dollar," said Clem Bason,
vice president of merchandising and travel expert at Hotwire.com. "Through
our relationships with top travel brands, we can offer four-star hotel rooms
for two-star prices as well as discount car rentals for as low as $13.95 per
day."
Through deep discounts on car rentals offered by Hotwire(R), consumers can
now rent that convertible and travel to the most popular close-to-home
destinations. Consumers can also save big by booking hotel rooms through
Hotwire.com. Below are examples of hotel rates recently available on
Hotwire.com for Memorial Day weekend (May 23 - 27, 2008):*
Chicago: $89/night, 3.5-star hotel, North Michigan Avenue/Water Tower/Gold
Coast
Las Vegas: $114/night, 4-star hotel, Strip East San Francisco: $109/night, 4-star hotel, Union Square East New York City: $226/night, 4-star hotel, Downtown/SoHo Seattle: $112/night, 4-star hotel, Downtown /Pike Place Los Angeles: $96/night, 3.5-star hotel, Downtown Washington DC: $99/night, 4-star hotel, Dupont Circle/Embassy Row Toronto: $89/night, 4-star hotel, Downtown Boston: $139/night, 4-star hotel, Waterfront Area/South Boston Orlando: $45/night, 3-star hotel, Universal Orlando/I-drive North Area
The discount travel experts at Hotwire recommend booking travel now, to land
the best travel deals for Memorial Day weekend. For more information, visit http://www.hotwire.com/.
*Hotel rates shown do not include applicable tax recovery charges and fees.
However, total cost, including all applicable tax recovery charges and fees, is
shown before bookings are made on Hotwire.com. All bookings are non-changeable
and nonrefundable. Rates are subject to availability. Because rates change all
the time, Hotwire customers are encouraged to check rates for themselves.
About Hotwire.com
Hotwire.com(R) is a leading discount travel site with low rates on airline
tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, cruises and vacation packages. Launched in
2000, Hotwire(R) negotiates deep discounts from its travel suppliers to help
travelers book unsold airline seats, hotel rooms and rental cars. J.D. Power
and Associates 2007 Independent Travel Web Site Satisfaction Study(SM)
recognized Hotwire for ranking "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among
Independent Travel Web Sites, Two Years in a Row." Hotwire is an operating
company of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) . 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. (C) 2008 Hotwire, Inc. All rights reserved.
MEDIA CONTACT: Rachel Rogers Atomic PR for Hotwire rachel@atomicpr.com 310-689-7585
Source: Hotwire.com
CONTACT: Rachel Rogers of Atomic PR, +1-310-689-7585,
rachel@atomicpr.com, for Hotwire.com
Web site: http://www.hotwire.com/