Travelers Most Likely to Find Lowest Online Hotel Rates at AAA.com, Research Shows

Recent review of hotel booking sites shows AAA offers lowest online rates 66 percent of the time

ORLANDO, Fla., March 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Travelers who visit AAA.com to book a room are more likely to find a better rate there than on other leading websites, according to a recent survey. A direct comparison of hotel rates offered on competing sites showed that AAA.com offered the lowest rate available 66 percent of the time.

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"The challenging economy has placed a strain on the travel budgets of many Americans," said Glen MacDonell, director of AAA Travel. "While no company can claim to offer the best rate all the time, we are pleased that during difficult financial times AAA.com continues to provide AAA members with access to the some of the best online hotel rates available. In 2009 AAA members saved over $300 million with the AAA member rate."

The survey of lodging rates was conducted by PhoCusWright Inc. and compared rates available on AAA.com to Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, AARP, as well as the hotel brand or individual hotel website. The online audit reviewed rates for stays in a standard double room at AAA Diamond® Rated properties in the top 20 U.S. metro areas for leisure travel. Stays were booked 14 to 21 days in advance for the same dates of travel and were not priced the week before or after any major holidays. Corporate, military, government and industry discount rates were excluded. AAA membership is required to be eligible for member discounts.

In addition to the member discounts, the AAA rate requires no pre-payment, is eligible for loyalty program points accrual and is backed by AAA's Assured Stay® satisfaction guarantee with participating hotel chains. AAA recommends making advance reservations for any hotel stay to ensure availability of rooms.

AAA members enjoy numerous benefits including travel services backed by more than 1,100 offices, staffed with qualified AAA travel professionals, the convenience of online booking combined with personal customer service. Additional benefits include searchable TourBook® guides featuring AAA Diamond Rated hotels and restaurants and AAA's TripTik® Travel Planner, an interactive mapping, routing and travel planning tool that is available free at AAA.com.

AAA members also save by visiting AAA.com/discounts to find additional discounts available to members. AAA's Show Your Card & Save program is the largest member discount program in the world, offering more than 164,000 locations for savings worldwide including 110,000 retail locations in North America and popular online retailers including Target.com, FTD.com and more. Visit AAA.com/discounts for a complete list of retailers and offers.

As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 51 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.

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SOURCE AAA