Expedia Announces Fans' Picks for Worst and Best Celebrity Travel Companions

BELLEVUE, Wash., May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Expedia.com®, the world's leading online travel agency, announced the results to date of Facebook polls designed to determine the celebrities they would least and most want to join them on a luxury vacation. The polls celebrate the spirit of the Expedia® FriendTrips™ Game, the largest ever hosted on Facebook, offering more than $1 million in luxury travel. Expedia FriendTrips is ongoing; less than two weeks remain for participants to join.

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Participants may win one of 13 luxury vacations for themselves and five Facebook friends. The chance of winning – many of these luxury trips are worth more than $100,000 – is spectacular. For example, the average odds of winning the Mega Millions lottery are approximately one in 176 million. Each FriendTrips plane holds six people. With the 13 trips given away there will be a total of 78 lucky winners. Seventy-eight winners out of the 840,000 members of the Expedia Facebook page yields an approximate 1 in 11,000 chance of winning a trip. In addition, Expedia is giving away $1,000 in daily prizes every day until the conclusion of the game.

Four polls were conducted. Each asked Expedia's Facebook community to identify someone they would most or least wish to take with them on a FriendTrips vacation. The categories were Least Favorite Celebrity, Favorite Late Night Host, Favorite Daytime Host and Favorite Morning Show Host.

Least Favorite Travel Companion

The five celebrities considered as least favorite travel companion were Gary Busey, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Charlie Sheen and The Situation. Snooki narrowly edged out Charlie Sheen as the "least desired" celebrity travel companion. The poll results as of April 29, by percentage, are:

Favorite Late Night Host Travel Companion

The Expedia Facebook community debated which late night talk show host to bring on vacation, from among Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Chelsea Handler, Conan O'Brien and Jon Stewart. Chelsea Handler was the runaway winner, capturing nearly a third of all votes. Conan O'Brien finished second. The poll results are:

Favorite Daytime Talk Show Host Travel Companion

Among daytime talk show hosts, Tyra Banks, Ellen Degeneres, Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey were considered. Ellen was the clear favorite, earning twice as many votes as the second-place candidate, Oprah. The poll results are:

Favorite Morning Show Host Travel Companions

The five morning show host teams considered as FriendTrips travel companions were Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira of The Today Show, Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa of Live! With Regis and Kelly, George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts of Good Morning America, Chris Wragge and Erica Hill of CBS Early Show and Jim Haggerty and Tracy Hill, hosts of The Onion's (fictitious) morning talk show, Today Now! Regis and Kelly won the day, edging Matt and Meredith by 5 percentage points. The poll results are:

How to Play & Win Expedia FriendTrips

To play, prospective travelers just need to "like" Expedia on Facebook at www.facebook.com/expedia, then follow three simple steps. (1) Select one of the 13 FriendTrips, (2) invite five of their Facebook friends to the trip, (3) once all five friends have accepted the invitation, the travelers and their five friends are officially entered to win the trip.

The vacations are extraordinary. Most of the trips have been contributed by the Conventions and Visitors' Bureaus and key partners representing different regions of the world. Five of the trips each are valued at up to $100,000 or more. Destinations include:

• Wonders of South America:  The winner and five friends will be flown First Class on LAN Airlines to Chile and then on to Peru and Foz do Iguassu for a luxury 14-day tour;
• Luxury in St. Vincent: The winner and five friends will fly to Buccament Bay Resort on St. Vincent in St. Vincent & the Grenadines, where they will spend 7-nights in private water view villas while enjoying spa visits, golf, scuba, tours and more;
• European Cruise: Winners will fly First Class to Venice and tour Europe aboard Norwegian Cruise Line's ship, Jade. The winner and five friends will stay in a super-exclusive 6,000 sq ft. villa with their own personal butler service;
• Viva Las Vegas: The winner and five friends will experience Vegas like the VIPs they are. This prize includes seven nights in a 4-star suite, limo service, access to the biggest shows, finest restaurants and hottest clubs, plus spa treatments, a shopping spree, golf, helicopters and more; and
• Extraordinary trips to Australia, Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda, Banff Lake Louise in Canada, France, Villa La Estancia at the Riviera Nayarit in Mexico, New York, South Africa, South Korea or at the Bora Bora Le Moana Resort Intercontinental in Tahiti.

Participants can double and even triple their chance of winning by being connected to more Facebook friends in the game. Once a particular entrant is connected to 25 friends in the Expedia FriendTrips Game, his or her chance of winning doubles. Should they have 50 friends in the game, their chance of winning triples.

Expedia is also awarding four $250 Expedia travel credits daily to game participants who complete a plane when all 5 friends accept their invitation, accept an invitation to a FriendTrip, contribute pictures, and share stories why they want to visit a featured destination.

About Expedia.com

Expedia.com is the world's leading online travel site, helping millions of travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia.com (http://www.expedia.com/, 1-800-EXPEDIA) aims to provide 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.com customers can get the best rates available online for all types of travel.

Expedia, Expedia.com, FriendTrips and the Airplane logo are trademarks or registered 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. © 2011 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. CST: 2029030-50

SOURCE Expedia, Inc.