Hotwire Survey Reveals More than 49 Million* Americans Intend to be More Deal-Conscious when Booking Travel in 2014

SAN FRANCISCO, March 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Hotwire.com®, a leading discount travel site, today announced additional results from its third annual American Travel Behavior Survey, conducted online in October 2013 by Harris Poll on behalf of Hotwire among 2,020 U.S. adults ages 18+. The survey found that 21 percent of Americans intend to be more deal-conscious when booking travel in 2014. With savings in mind and spring break right around the corner, Hotwire has unveiled its annual Travel Value Index, which showcases the top 10 destinations that offer the best combination of value, entertainment options and attractions throughout 2014. This year's index is filled with southern charm, featuring destinations like Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth and Nashville, while the southwestern city of Albuquerque resurfaces after a year of absence.

The Hotwire Travel Value Index is based on a statistical model combining both in-house and third-party research. Hotwire evaluates the top 75 U.S. leisure markets, rating them across three individual categories to generate an overall ranking for consumer vacation value. The formula includes:

• Low prices on air, car rentals and hotel (50 percent of overall score)
• Discounts on air, car rentals and hotel (25 percent of overall score)
• Affordable entertainment (25 percent of overall score)

"Americans may be looking for better travel deals than ever before, but they're headed into one of the busiest, and subsequently most expensive, times of year to travel," said Henrik Kjellberg, president of Hotwire. "That's why we run the Travel Value Index each year—to help budget-minded travelers map out the deepest discounts across the country, so they can get the best overall vacation value."

This year, Atlanta tops the list as the number one deal destination for low prices after having spent three consecutive years as the number two value destination. Over the past few years, we've seen Atlanta maintain its offering of travel deals and discounts, but the City in the Woods also offers a wide array of entertainment activities for families – from biking through its 180-acre Piedmont Park to visiting theme parks like Six Flags and LEGOLAND Discovery Center. Second on the list is Orlando, another city which has continued to be in the top three for the past five years. The city dropped one spot, but still maintains its very high rank for low travel prices. Tampa comes in at number three for the second year in a row, with an overall rating of 97 due mostly to low prices, followed by Phoenix – up one spot from last year – with an overall rating of 92 thanks in large part to its affordable entertainment options.   

Dallas-Fort Worth and Raleigh tie for fifth with overall ratings of 89 due to their respective travel discounts and low prices. St. Louis, one of our top sleeper cities last year, jumps up three spots to seventh with high marks for low prices and great discounts. Rounding out this year's list are three new cities – Kansas City, Albuquerque and Nashville – which earn their place on this year's Travel Value Index for scoring very well on discounts, low prices and entertainment options respectively.  

According to the Hotwire Travel Value Index, the top 10 U.S. destinations for value vacations in 2014 include:

For over 10 years, Hotwire has worked with hotels, airlines and car rental companies to fill unsold inventory. As a result, Hotwire offers travelers amazing deals, every day of the year, across a variety of markets. Through Hotwire's deep understanding of the industry and unique relationships, consumers have been able to save millions of dollars on their travel needs.

For more information about Hotwire's planning tools, visit:
http://www.hotwire.com/planning/index.jsp

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Hotwire from October 8-10, 2013 among 2,020 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact [email protected].   

*According to the 2010 U.S. Census, there are 234.6 Americans aged 18 and over.

About Hotwire
Hotwire.com is a leading discount travel site with low rates on airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars and vacation packages.  Launched in 2000, Hotwire, Inc. obtains deep discounts from its travel suppliers to help travelers book unsold airline seats, hotel rooms and rental cars.  Hotwire.com is an award winning website and Hotwire, Inc. is an operating company within Expedia, Inc. CST # 2029030-50.  NST: 20003-0209.  For more information, visit http://www.hotwire.com. Hotwire.com operates sites in 12 countries worldwide: www.hotwire.com, www.hotwire.com/uk, www.hotwire.com/ie, www.hotwire.com/au, www.hotwire.com/nz, www.hotwire.com/se, www.hotwire.com/no, www.hotwire.com/dk, www.hotwire.com/de, www.hotwire.com/hk, www.hotwire.com/mx and www.hotwire.com/sg. In addition to Hotwire.com, The Hotwire Group also operates www.carrentals.com.  

Hotwire, Hotwire.com, the Hotwire logo and Hot Rate are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Hotwire, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2014 Hotwire, Inc.  All rights reserved. CST # 2053390-50.

Contact:
Monica Caires
Grayling
(323) 648-5426
[email protected]

SOURCE Hotwire.com