Priceline.com Goes Android

NORWALK, Conn., Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) today announced the availability of its popular Hotel Negotiator hotel room booking app for Android devices.  The iPhone-compatible version of Hotel Negotiator, which was released in 2009, is one of the most popular free travel apps on the App Store.  

The Hotel Negotiator app for Android features The Priceline Negotiator (William Shatner) and lets travelers use their Android devices to quickly find and book last-minute hotel rooms using priceline.com's Name Your Own Price® hotel service and save up to 50% over published hotel rates.

Hotel Negotiator for Android is available for free from the Android market.  Simply launch the market on any Android device and search for "priceline."  

"Following the strong response we've received from iPhone and iPod touch owners – and the money we've saved them on their hotel room bookings – we are very excited to offer this new Android app," said Brett Keller, priceline.com's Chief Marketing Officer.  "Hotel Negotiator for Android is designed for travelers who are on the road, at an airport, or have arrived in a city and need a room for the night.  Using their Android device, they can instantly bid on a room in the star level and location they want, or they can select a published-price room from our comprehensive inventory of top-quality hotel rooms.  The best part is, they can book their hotels right up until 11:00 p.m. ET on the night they need the room."

Hotel Negotiator for Android includes the following unique features:

• Winning Bids recommendations.  Choose a city and Hotel Negotiator displays multiple recent winning bids made by other priceline.com customers for hotels in different parts of the city at different star levels.
• Shake-Down geo-locator-triggered hotel search.  Shaking the device establishes your location using location-based features and then performs a Winning Bids search for hotels in the surrounding areas.  
• Instant Bid Results.  You'll know instantly whether your bid is accepted.  If it is, you'll immediately receive all the details on your hotel and its location.
• Two booking options.  If you're using priceline.com's Name Your Own Price® hotel service, you can enter your bid using your Android.  For published-price hotel rooms, you can book the room with your device or by calling Priceline's hotel booking specialists.

Hotel Negotiator for Android hotel listings can be sorted by star level, price, proximity and popularity.  Hotel listings include address, star level, customer reviews and satisfaction scores, zoomable maps, pictures and descriptions.

Travelers who need help with other trip arrangements can select another option on the Hotel Negotiator for Android that takes them to a priceline.com mobile website.  There, they can check flight status and browse and book airline tickets and rental cars on a published-price or Name Your Own Price® basis.  

About The Priceline Group of Companies

The Priceline Group of Companies (Nasdaq: PCLN) is a leader in global online hotel reservations, with approximately 61 million room nights booked in 2009.  The Group is composed of four primary brands – Booking.com, priceline.com, Agoda.com and TravelJigsaw. The Priceline Group provides online travel services in 38 languages in 100 countries in Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Based in Amsterdam, Booking.com is a leading international online hotel reservation service operating in 92 countries in 38 languages.  Booking.com offers its customers access to over 105,000 participating hotels worldwide.

In the U.S., priceline.com gives leisure travelers multiple ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises. In addition to getting compelling published prices, travelers can take advantage of priceline.com's famous Name Your Own Price® service, which can deliver the lowest prices available. Priceline.com also operates the following travel websites: Travelweb.com, Lowestfare.com, RentalCars.com and BreezeNet.com.

Singapore-based Agoda.com is an Asian online hotel reservation service that offers hotel rooms around the world and is available in 32 languages.  With headquarters in Manchester, UK, TravelJigsaw is a multinational car hire service, offering its reservation services in more than 4,000 locations in 80 countries.  Customer support is provided in 20 languages.

SOURCE Priceline.com