2013 Valentine's Day Shoppers Say They Were Looking For Bargains

NORWALK, Conn., Feb. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Wondering how much this year's Valentine's Day gift cost?  Probably less than you think.  In a new survey by priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN), 69% of all shoppers admitted to being bargain hunters with their Valentine's Day gifts.  They also firmly subscribe to the theory that it's the thought that counts - 71% said they had no intention of letting on how much they saved on their gifts.  The survey, conducted the day before Valentine's Day, drew over 2,300 responses.

When asked which gifts they felt were "very romantic" for the big day:

• 86% chose an overnight stay in a luxury hotel
• 60% chose dinner
• 57% chose jewelry
• 51% chose flowers
• 25% chose a Valentine's Day card
• 18% chose chocolate
• 12% chose clothing

"Gifts that require a little bit more thought and planning were clearly viewed as being more romantic choices," said priceline.com's in-house Travel Ekspert Brian Ek.  "While it may be perceived otherwise, a luxury hotel stay is actually very easy to plan and book, and may be the best bargain of all when it's booked through priceline.com."

This year's Valentine's Day hotel savings were substantial, and varied by city.  Priceline.com looked at bookings made by mobile-equipped customers who used the popular Tonight-Only Deals hotel service on the Priceline app for iOS and Android.  The deepest Valentine's Day savings were found in Charlotte (an average of 60% off published rates), followed by Kansas City (59% off), Dallas (53% off), Raleigh-Durham (51% off), New Orleans (50% off), New York City (43% off), Portland (43% off) and Montreal (41% off).  Other guests using priceline.com's website and its no bidding-required Express Deals(sm) service saved up to 45% over published rates.

Owners of mobile devices equipped with the Priceline hotel booking app were the most last-minute among Valentine's Day shoppers.  74% of guests with mobile devices booked their Valentine's Day rooms within 24 hours or less of check-in.  Of those mobile-equipped guests who waited until the big day itself, 69% booked their rooms after 2:00 p.m., while 11% held out until after 9:00 p.m. to make their reservations.  Fortunately, those last-minute bookers stayed close to home – 51% booked hotels that were only 15 miles away or closer.

On the other hand, 35% of those who responded to priceline.com's Valentine's Day survey said they bought their gifts a week or more in advance.  38% purchased a couple days ahead and only 9% waited until Valentine's Day itself (hopefully, these were the flower-givers).

About the Priceline App
Priceline's app is optimized for the iPhone5, and can be downloaded for free from the iTunes store http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/priceline-hotel-car-negotiator/id336381998?mt=8&uo=4.  Priceline.com also offers a version of the app for Android, that can be downloaded for free from the Android market https://market.android.com/details?id=com.priceline.android.negotiator. Travelers with other devices can access priceline.com's mobile-friendly website at m.priceline.com.

About The Priceline Group
The Priceline Group (Nasdaq: PCLN) is a leader in global online hotel reservations, with over 270,000 participating hotels worldwide. The Group is composed of four primary brands - Booking.com, priceline.com, Agoda.com and Rentalcars.com - and several ancillary brands. The Priceline Group provides online travel services in over 180 countries in Europe, North America, South America, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa.

Booking.com is the number one online hotel reservation service in the world, offering over 260,000 hotels (as of January 1, 2013), and is available in 41 languages. More recent hotel counts are available on the Booking.com website. 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, or the recently added Express DealsSM, where travelers can take advantage of hotel discounts without bidding.

Agoda.com is an Asia-based online hotel reservation service that is available in 38 languages. Rentalcars.com is a multinational car hire service, offering its reservation services in over 6,000 locations. Customer support is provided in 40 languages.

SOURCE Priceline.com