Expedia, Inc. Announces Launch of Market-leading Hotel Connectivity Platform, Expedia Connect 2

BELLEVUE, Wash., April 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Expedia, Inc., the world's largest online travel company, announced today the launch of Expedia® Connect 2, an upgraded connectivity solution that offers hotels and reservation system providers the ability to design, build and deploy standardized interfaces to connect directly with Expedia. 

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110121/SF33870LOGO-b)

This latest iteration of Expedia's connectivity technology ensures that the most accurate pricing and availability data are displayed to customers booking a room on one of the more than 70 Expedia-brand or Hotels.com® booking sites around the world. By offering the combined benefits of push-and-pull technology, Expedia Connect 2 allows for an efficient and timely exchange of hotel data, meaning customers receive the most accurate and up-to-date property information throughout the travel shopping and booking process. In addition to streamlining Expedia bookings for connected hotels, this type of functionality enables hotels to easily provide last-minute room inventory for mobile and short booking window channels, without the risk of force-sell or overbooking. 

Expedia announced its new connectivity platform today on the eve of the annual Open Travel Advisory Forum in Miami, where representatives from Expedia's connectivity team will be on hand to present in the general session and meet with travel suppliers.  

"Expedia Connect 2 was introduced out of our desire to deliver a connectivity solution that ensures we are serving our hotel partners in a way that is relevant and meaningful to their business goals," said Melissa Maher, senior vice president of global strategic accounts and industry relations, Expedia, Inc. "We're constantly innovating and pushing the envelope in terms of the breadth of services we provide to our supply partners, and in this case, this platform is truly a first-of-its-kind interface that offers our hotel partners a connectivity solution that is unmatched in the online travel space."

For more information on Expedia Connect 2, please contact [email protected], or visit www.expediaconnect.com.

About Expedia, Inc.
Expedia, Inc. is the largest online travel company in the world, with an extensive brand portfolio that includes some of the world's leading online travel brands, including:

• Expedia.com®, the world's largest full service online travel agency, with localized sites in 30 countries
• Hotels.com®, the hotel specialist with sites in more than 60 countries
• Leading discount travel site Hotwire®, which offers opaque deals in nine countries on its eight sites in North America and Europe
• Egencia®, the world's fifth largest corporate travel management company
• China's second largest booking site eLong™ 
• Leading agency hotel company Venere.com™
• Destination services and activities provider Expedia Local Expert®; and
• Luxury travel specialist Classic Vacations®

The company delivers consumers value in leisure and business travel, drives incremental demand and direct bookings to travel suppliers, and provides advertisers the opportunity to reach a highly valuable audience of in-market travel consumers through Expedia Media Solutions. Expedia also powers bookings for some of the world's leading airlines and hotels, top consumer brands, high traffic websites, and thousands of active affiliates through Expedia® Affiliate Network. (NASDAQ: EXPE)  For corporate and industry news and views, visit us at www.expediainc.com or follow us on Twitter @expediainc.

Trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners. © 2012 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. CST: 2029030-50

SOURCE Expedia, Inc.