The National Federation of the Blind Announces Partnership with Expedia, Inc. to Optimize Accessibility of Expedia.com and Travelocity.com Sites

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Jul 10, 2015, 10:19 ET

BELLEVUE, Wash., July 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), announced today that the company has entered into a collaboration agreement with the National Federation of the Blind, the leading organization of blind people in the United States. The two organizations will work in partnership with the goal of enhancing and improving accessibility for the blind on the Expedia.com and Travelocity.com websites and mobile applications.

As a result of this agreement, blind travelers visiting Expedia® or Travelocity® brand sites or accessing the mobile applications using text-to-speech screen readers and Braille display technologies will have stronger and more reliable access to the two sites.

Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "We are delighted with this new partnership, and we hope and believe that it will spur collaboration and innovation that will serve as an example to the rest of the travel industry and to other online service providers. Blind people must have equal access to goods and services made available on websites and via mobile applications if we are to live the lives we want and compete on terms of equality in the twenty-first century. This partnership is another step toward making that goal a reality."

This agreement paves the way for Expedia and the National Federation of the Blind to work together in implementing approved standards on both the Expedia and Travelocity brand websites so that Expedia can maintain its role as the leader in providing accessible, online travel services to the blind community.

"Expanding our partnership with the National Federation of the Blind is an important next step in making sure the Expedia and Travelocity sites are readily accessible and intuitive for blind travelers," said Aman Bhutani, President, Expedia.com. "We are thankful to have the National Federation of the Blind as a partner as we continue to develop the compatibility of these sites with state-of-the-art screen readers and display technology to offer a best-in-class experience."

About the National Federation of the Blind

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

About Expedia, Inc.

Expedia, Inc. is one of the world's leading travel companies, with an extensive brand portfolio that includes leading online travel brands, such as:

Expedia.com®, a leading full service online travel agency with localized sites in 31 countries
Hotels.com®, the hotel specialist with localized sites in more than 60 countries
Hotwire®, a leading discount travel site that offers opaque deals in 12 countries throughout North America, Europe and Asia
Travelocity®, a pioneer in online travel and a leading online travel agency in the US and Canada
Egencia®, a leading corporate travel management company
Venere.com™, an online hotel reservation specialist in Europe
trivago®, a leading online hotel metasearch company with sites in 51 countries
Wotif Group, a leading operator of travel brands in the Asia-Pacific region, including Wotif.com ®, lastminute.com.au®, travel.com.au, Asia Web Direct®, LateStays.com and GoDo.com.au
Expedia Local Expert®, a provider of online and in-market concierge services, activities, experiences and ground transportation in hundreds of destinations worldwide
Classic Vacations®, a top luxury travel specialist
Expedia® CruiseShipCenters®, a provider of exceptional value and expert advice for travelers booking cruises and vacations through its network of 180 franchise locations across North America
CarRentals.com™, the premier car rental booking company on the web

The company delivers consumers value in leisure and business travel, drives incremental demand and direct bookings to travel suppliers, and provides advertisers the opportunity to reach a highly valuable audience of in-market consumers through Expedia® Media Solutions. Expedia also powers bookings for some of the world's leading airlines and hotels, top consumer brands, high traffic websites, and thousands of active affiliates through Expedia Affiliate Network. For corporate and industry news and views, visit us at www.expediainc.com or follow us on Twitter @expediainc.

SOURCE Expedia, Inc.