Hotwire Reveals Newly Enhanced Hotel Rate Report for August 2010

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Hotwire.com®, a leading discount travel site, today announced the results of the recently revamped Hotwire® Hotel Rate Report. The report now features the top five cities in North America where hotel rates have dropped the most and the top five cities where rates have experienced the biggest price increase. While one report guides customers to the destinations that will maximize their travel dollars, the other helps inform travelers when using Hotwire to save money will be even more essential.

Top Five Price Drops:

San Diego shoots from number 10 on July's report to number one this month with a six percent drop. It continues to deal with a decline in business and group travel as compared to last year. In addition, new, aggressively priced properties have come on board recently, leading to even more competition for travelers' dollars.  

Las Vegas makes a welcome return to the list at the number five spot with a two percent drop.  The record breaking heat in Las Vegas this summer has slowed leisure travel to the city. In turn, Las Vegas hoteliers have dropped prices to lure travelers back.

When compared to the same time last year, the top five hotel price reductions for August 2010 include:

Top Five Price Increases:

Markets with higher hotel rates than last year are not out of reach and should not deter travelers, but they may need to hunt a little more for great prices.  With Hotwire, customers can find the deepest discounts on hotels in any destination.

Anchorage, Alaska, tops the list with a 40 percent increase as compared to last year.  In August 2009, the area suffered from record low occupancy rates.  But now, summer leisure travelers are returning to the area and prices are returning to levels last seen in 2008.

All five of these cities have experienced some increases, primarily driven by recovery in business travel, but also supported by a steady flow of leisure travelers. This is especially true of number three, Toronto, and number four, San Francisco.  As Canada's financial hub, Toronto is seeing more business travelers related to this industry. In San Francisco, the increases are driven by more convention business this year as well as a spike in international travel.

When compared to the same time last year, the top five hotel price increases for August 2010 include:

"We are excited to introduce our enhanced Hotel Rate Report, which further helps travelers save money by pinpointing the destinations where diligently shopping for bargains might be even more important," said Clem Bason, President of the Hotwire Group. "The good news is that, regardless of whether hotel markets continue to drop prices or are bouncing back from the lows of 2009, there will always be unsold inventory, so consumers will find great deals on Hotwire."

Over 1.8 million hotel rooms go unsold across North America every night, even when travel is strong. Hotwire is able to deliver great deals across all types of markets because it works with hotels, airlines, and car rental companies to fill unsold inventory. So customers can find low prices at any of their desired travel destinations.

About the Hotwire Hotel Rate Report

The Hotwire Hotel Rate Report will run results during the second week of each month. Results are calculated by looking at Hotwire stay dates for select regions in the current month, and comparing prices in the current month against Hotwire prices in the same month in the prior year. Prices are compared within the same star rating categories for consistency, and the percent change in price for each region is generated as an overall average of the changes in those categories. The prices in the charts above are examples for a particular star rating category within that market, and actual prices may be higher or lower than the example that is provided.

About Hotwire

Hotwire.com is a leading discount travel site with low rates on airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, cruises and vacation packages. Launched in 2000, Hotwire negotiates deep discounts from its travel suppliers to help travelers book unsold airline seats, hotel rooms and rental cars. J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Independent Travel Web Site Satisfaction Study(SM) recognized Hotwire for ranking "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Independent Travel Web Sites, Three Years in a Row." Hotwire is an operating company of Expedia, Inc. 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. © 2010 Hotwire, Inc. All rights reserved. CST# 2053390-40.

SOURCE Hotwire.com