Orbitz Election Board Announces Winner of Vacation Party Candidate Contest

CHICAGO, Sept. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- After a spirited campaign, a resident of Kentucky has been chosen as the standard bearer for fun and relaxation seekers everywhere and was anointed as the official Orbitz Vacation Party candidate tasked with making sure the hard-earned travel dollars of American workers are well spent and bridging the partisan divide on issues like reserving lounge chairs by the pool and goggle choice (ski vs. snorkel).  

Walt Arnett, of Lexington Kentucky, will campaign across the U.S. to spread the Orbitz pro-vacation message of cutting the vacation deficit, providing universal access to beachfront views and filling hotel rooms from sea to shining sea. As the official Orbitz Vacation Party candidate, Arnett will receive $25,000 in travel, courtesy of Orbitz, to show his fellow citizens how to be the world's greatest vacationers.

Voters can watch Arnett's "Vote for Walt" video that won the confidence, and votes, of would-be vacationers everywhere by visiting the Orbitz Vacation Party headquarters at www.orbitzvacationparty.com.

"I entered the Orbitz Vacation Party because of three words: Orbitz, vacation and party—if you throw in seafood and buffet, you would have my five favorite words. I look forward to encouraging my fellow, hard-working Americans to not let any of their vacation time go to waste. Don't just live to work, work to live and live to vacation," said Walt Arnett, the Orbitz Vacation Party candidate. "I plan to continue the history theme I used in my campaign video by spending my winnings on trips to historic destinations around the country that shaped America."

Arnett will be on a coast-to-(almost)-coast campaign tour where he will share his bold, pro-vacation stance, give out random acts of vacation kindness and most importantly show Americans how to vacation in style. Arnett will make stops at some of the most illustrious hotels in top vacation spots across the country:

• October 5-6: The Perry South Beach, Miami
• October  12-13: Mirage, Las Vegas
• October 19-20: The Peninsula, Chicago

"Orbitz is excited to have found a candidate that a vacation-starved nation can believe in. We are thrilled for Walt to hit the campaign trail with his inspiring, pro-vacation platform, and to let Americans know their best vacation days are yet to come," said Chris Orton, president of Orbitz.com. "We also want to thank the tens of thousands of consumers that participated in the Orbitz Vacation Party contest by way of video submissions, votes for the winning candidates and in sharing in the various stages of the campaign via social media."

Visit the Orbitz Vacation Party headquarters, www.orbitzvacationparty.com, to view Arnett's winning election-clinching video and for a complete schedule of his campaign tour. The electorate can also meet John Cragen of California, who was the runner-up in the Orbitz Vacation Party contest and will assume office should the Orbitz Vacation Party candidate be unable or too sunburned to fulfill his official duties.

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. On 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