Orbitz Celebrates a Decade of Innovation and Launches 10th Anniversary Sale

CHICAGO, June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- To jump start its anniversary month and thank its millions of customers, Orbitz is launching a 10th anniversary sale with up to 30% off thousands of hotels worldwide in summer's most popular destinations(1).  In addition, travelers who book a stay of two-nights or more at a participating hotel through June 15th will receive a $200 coupon towards future travel and a $25 dining gift certificate(2).

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20070813/AQM125LOGO)

For more details about the anniversary sale and to find a great deal on your next vacation visit www.orbitz.com/sales.

A Decade of Innovation

Since its launch in June 2001, Orbitz (www.orbitz.com) has played a central role in revolutionizing the way consumers plan and purchase travel, helping customers book tens of millions of trips to destinations all around the world. Key innovations include the Orbitz Matrix Display and Orbitz Price Assurance.

The Orbitz Matrix Display transformed the process of comparing flights, car and vacation packages.  For example the Orbitz Vacation Package Matrix Display allows consumers to make more knowledgeable decisions when booking vacation packages.  With just one click, customers know all their flight and hotel package options, and what they can save by booking them together.

The Orbitz Price Assurance program gives travelers confidence that they have the lowest Orbitz price on their flight or hotel. Since the launch of Price Assurance in 2008, Orbitz customers have received automatic Price Assurance refund checks for over $9MM.  Orbitz has also led the industry with traveler firsts including flight delay notifications via SMS, and through its green travel initiatives.

"Orbitz burst onto the scene in 2001 and rapidly earned a reputation as the best place to book air travel.  Since then we've diversified our focus to become one of the world's leading online travel companies, offering consumers outstanding deals on hotels, flights, car rentals, cruises and vacation packages," said Barney Harford, CEO of Orbitz Worldwide.  "I'd like to thank our customers for their business and loyalty over the past 10 years. We've come a long way since our launch in 2001, but there is still so much opportunity to use technology to improve the travel planning process, we're fired up by the chance to deliver meaningful innovation to our customers."

Orbitz Milestones

2001

• Orbitz.com debuts with groundbreaking Flight Matrix Display, a new technology that shows travelers all of their flight options at a glance, making it faster and easier for consumers to search and book flights.
• First online travel company to send proactive Care Alerts (formerly OrbitzTLC alerts) informing customers of flight departure delay, gate change or cancellation via email or phone.  
• Orbitz becomes the only online travel company to build an in-house, onsite Customer Care Center staffed by former air traffic controllers, travel agents, weather specialists and journalists.  

2002

• Able to search 94 date combinations in one click, Flex Search becomes the most powerful fare search tool.

2003

• Breakthrough Matrix Display™ technology is expanded beyond flights and now shows travelers all their hotel and package choices at a glance.

2006

• Care Alerts now inform up to 6 of the traveler's friends, family members or business colleagues of flight arrivals as well as departure delays.
• Mobile functionality debuts that allows travelers to check trip details and flight status anytime, anywhere on their phones.

2007

• Orbitz sends 1,000,000th Care Alert.

2008

• Orbitz announces Flight Price Assurance, and becomes the first travel company to automatically refund travelers when cheaper fares are booked.  If customers book any flight on Orbitz, and another Orbitz customer subsequently books the same flight at a lower rate, Orbitz automatically sends a check for the difference.   
• Orbitz becomes first online travel company to recognize ENERGY STAR hotels, helping travelers across the country book green travel options.

2009

• Orbitz launches Hotel Price Assurance, an industry-leading innovation that promises customers the best Orbitz rate for their hotel.   If customers book any pre-paid hotel on Orbitz, and another Orbitz customer subsequently books the same hotel stay at a lower rate, then Orbitz automatically sends a check for the difference.
• Orbitz launches campaign to give Americans the freedom to travel to Cuba.  More than 100,000 people sign the petition.

2010

• Orbitz became the first U.S. online travel company to allow customers to search and book flights, cars and hotels from native iPhone and Android apps as well as mobile web.  
• Orbitz launched a new hotel search experience including expandable and interactive maps, Google Street View, filters and sort options, saved hotels  and unfiltered reviews from verified customers, photos, videos and virtual tours.  

2011

• Orbitz is among one of the first online travel companies to offer the new Facebook Send button to consumers, making it quick and easy to share hotel options with specific people or groups on Facebook or via email.

Visit www.orbitz.com/anniversary to stay updated on special 10th anniversary deals and promotions.

Terms and Conditions:

(1) Up to 30% savings or free night stays are available at participating hotels only. Minimum stay requirements and blackout dates may apply and will vary depending on market and hotel. Prices shown in search results reflect discount and may exclude taxes and other fees. Discounts available on bookings made by 11:59pm CST on 6/15/11.

(2)Coupon Offers: Book a 2+ night stay at a participating Orbitz hotel, and receive coupons for: (a) $200 off a new flight + hotel  booking of five (5) or more nights, and (b) $25 Restaurant.com Gift Certificate. Participating properties are called out on Orbitz.com with the "10th Anniversary" icon.

How to receive the coupons: If you book a qualifying hotel, expect to receive your coupons by e-mail within 3-5 days of booking. Your qualifying booking must be made by 11:59 PM (CST) on June 15, 2011. One coupon is redeemable for a $200 discount on a qualifying Orbitz flight + hotel booking that includes hotel stay of at least five (5) or more consecutive nights and at least one (1) roundtrip plane ticket, must be redeemed by September 30, 2011. The other coupon is redeemable for a $25 Restaurant.com Gift Certificate. Email notification will be sent to the email address associated with each account.

Restaurant.com Gift Certificate: Certificates are valid for parties of two or more unless otherwise stated. Voucher may be redeemed for a $25 Restaurant.com Gift Certificate. Voucher may only be redeemed once. Only one (1) voucher per reservation is allowed. Valid for dine-in only unless otherwise stated. Unredeemed gift certificates not valid toward purchase at restaurants. Limit of one gift certificate per restaurant per visit. There may be minimum spend requirements at participating restaurants and online merchant websites. Other restrictions may apply.

About Orbitz.com

Orbitz.com (www.orbitz.com) is a leading online travel company that enables travelers to search for and book a broad array of travel products, including airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, cruises and vacation packages.  Since launching its Web site to the general public in June 2001, Orbitz.com has become one of the largest online travel sites in the world and has led the industry with innovations including Flight Price Assurance, Hotel Price Assurance and Total Price hotel search results. Orbitz.com consumers can search more than 80,000 suppliers worldwide including airlines, hotels and car rental companies.  Orbitz.com is owned by Orbitz Worldwide.  Stay connected to Orbitz.com with sale alerts, exclusive promotions and engaging conversations by following Orbitz on Facebook (www.facebook.com/orbitz), Twitter (www.twitter.com/orbitz) and the Orbitz Travel Blog (www.orbitz.com/blog).

About Orbitz Worldwide

Orbitz Worldwide is a leading global online travel company that uses innovative technology to enable leisure and business travelers to research, plan and book a broad range of travel products.  Orbitz Worldwide owns a portfolio of consumer brands that includes Orbitz  (www.orbitz.com), CheapTickets (www.cheaptickets.com), ebookers (www.ebookers.com), HotelClub (www.hotelclub.com), RatesToGo (www.ratestogo.com) and the Away Network (www.away.com).  Also within the Orbitz Worldwide family, Orbitz Worldwide Distribution (http://corp.orbitz.com/partnerships/distribution) delivers private label travel solutions to a broad range of partners including many of the world's largest airlines, and Orbitz for Business (www.orbitzforbusiness.com) delivers managed corporate travel solutions for corporations.  For more information on partnership opportunities with Orbitz Worldwide, visit corp.orbitz.com.  Orbitz Worldwide uses its Investor Relations website to make information available to its investors and the public at http://corp.orbitz.com/investors. You can sign up to receive email alerts whenever the company posts new information to the website.

SOURCE Orbitz.com