Seventy-one Percent of Americans Believe Last-minute Travel is More Expensive, Yet Hotwire Hotels Are Offering Deepest Discounts on the Day of Arrival

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- With MLK weekend just days away, Hotwire.com, a leading discount travel site, today revealed more results from its second annual American Travel Behavior Survey, conducted online on its behalf by Harris Interactive in October 2012 among over 2,000 U.S. adults. According to the survey, 71 percent of Americans believe booking a last-minute leisure trip costs more than booking one further in advance. However, the latest Hotwire pricing trends show the exact opposite; hotels, particularly those in big cities typically associated with high prices, are offering their deepest discounts on the day of check-in.  

Large hotels in major cities like Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco adjust their prices on a daily, or sometimes hourly, basis. Oftentimes hotel demand doesn't always materialize as much as expected and they discount heavily on the day of check-in as a last ditch attempt to fill empty rooms. That means that travelers shopping for a room to stay in that night can score a better rate than if they booked weeks, or even days, in advance. Hotwire works with these hotels to provide these 11^th hour discounts to travelers through their website, mobile site and mobile app, where 75 percent of bookings are made on the day of check-in.

"Folks visiting major metropolises are typically wary of waiting until the last minute to book a hotel because they're worried about being able to find an affordable room in a prime location," said Clem Bason, president of the Hotwire Group. "But in reality, hoteliers are dropping prices right up until the day of check in to attract last-minute bookings, with more and more coming from mobile devices. That means it's not too late to score a great deal for MLK weekend, which is right around the corner."

While travelers can get bigger discounts than ever at the last minute, they should keep in mind that different seasons can result in better deals – for example, winter months are typically off-season for many destinations, which can lead to bigger savings before the busier spring and summer months hit. 

Below are five big city examples for January where folks can save more on the day of check-in than if they book further in advance: 

Above savings are calculated by comparing Hotwire Hot Rates for select destinations seven days before against day of bookings. Hotel sample rates are based on Hotwire searches made on 1/14/13 for same day stay compared to a stay either one week or two weeks ahead (1/21/13 or 1/28/13).

Travelers can easily stay on top of the latest last-minute deals to their favorite locations through Hotwire's award-winning website, www.hotwire.com, or search and book an affordable hotel while on-the-go via its free mobile app, available from the U.S. and Canada App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.iTunes.com/AppStore.

Survey Methodology
Harris Interactive^® fielded the study on behalf of Hotwire from October 15-17, 2012 via its QuickQuery^SM online omnibus service, interviewing 2,133 U.S. adults aged 18 years and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Andrew Reynolds at [email protected] or (323) 648-5425.

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, 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 of Expedia, Inc. CST # 2029030-50. NST: 20003-0209. For more information, visit http://www.hotwire.com. Hotwire.com operates sites in 8 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 and www.hotwire.com/dk. In addition to Hotwire, The Hotwire Group of websites includes: www.hotwire.com and www.carrentals.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. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2013 Hotwire, Inc. All rights reserved. CST # 2053390-50.

Contact:
Andrew Reynolds
Atomic PR
(323) 648-5425
[email protected]

SOURCE Hotwire.com