hotels.com Loyalty Study Shows Many Programs Fall Short

welcomerewards Bucks Trend

DALLAS, July 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Most Americans continue to spend
cautiously and look for more value from every purchase they make. By joining
loyalty programs, they can watch their dollars go further by earning valuable
benefits. Or can they? According to a new survey from hotels.com, those who
belong to loyalty programs are finding a number of shortcomings:

-- Ninety-three percent want improvements made to their memberships.
-- Almost six in ten (59 percent) want fewer restrictions on how they can
use their program benefits.
-- More than one-third (37 percent) don't think the value added bonus
is ever really as great as the program wants them to believe.
-- Nearly one-quarter (24 percent) don't like the fine print that
comes with benefits.

-- Nearly half (49 percent) didn't book anything in the last year
using their reward travel benefits, such as a hotel stay, a flight or
a
car rental.

Loyalty programs have long been offered in the travel space, but have been a
tricky proposition. Complicated terms, heavy restrictions and big redemption
requirements have made them unattainable for nearly everyone except the
frequent business traveler. hotels.com decided to change that with
welcomerewards(TM), a simple program that offers one free night after every 10
nights booked.

A Game-Changer for Travelers
How quickly can people expect to earn a free night? In the last year, survey
respondents who stayed in a hotel or other paid property in the past year
spent an average of 12 nights in such a place. As welcomerewards members,
they would already have earned one free night and be well on their way to
earning a second. With other loyalty programs, they'd still be far from
earning their first credit.

"welcomerewards is a favorite among travelers for one main reason - it doesn't
require much loyalty," said Carl Sparks, general manager of hotels.com. "We
know that every trip is different, and want to reward our guests for staying
in the property that's right for them, every time they travel. welcomerewards
brings tangible benefits within reach of the occasional traveler - it's a
loyalty program 'for the rest of us.'" The program is easy to use and offers
three key benefits:

-- Choice - More than 53,000 property choices worldwide for earning and
redeeming free nights. As long as you spend at least $40 per night on
each of the 10, you can redeem a night up to $400 in value.
-- Flexibility - Build up to your free night by staying in chain hotels,
boutique properties, condos, B&Bs and resorts - mix and match to
reach 10 however you'd like.

-- Simplicity - Book 10 nights anywhere, get a free night. There are no
blackout dates, points to collect, or restrictions.

How Valuable is That Free Night - What Would you Do to Earn It?
hotels.com only requires you book 10 nights to earn one free. Survey
respondents would sacrifice a lot more in order to get a complimentary night
at a hotel. Ninety-two percent would be willing to part ways with some of
their most beloved habits and necessities for a month. Of those who would:
-- 71 percent would give up clothes shopping
-- 65 percent would abstain from chocolate
-- 31 percent would drop their cell phone

-- 29 percent would give up watching television

For additional survey results, please visit our press room. To become a
welcomerewards member, visit hotels.com/welcomerewards.

About hotels.com
hotels.com((R)) is a leading provider of lodging worldwide, offering an
extensive selection of more than 85,000 properties ranging from traditional
hotels and vacation rentals to bed and breakfasts and all-inclusive resorts.
hotels.com serves as an advocate for guests before, during and after their
property stay. To help travelers choose the right property for each trip, the
company provides a variety of tools and features, including property
descriptions, rate calendars, maps, virtual tours, and more than one million
guest reviews. hotels.com offers additional value for guests through its
Price Match Guarantee, Risk-Free Booking(TM) and welcomerewards(TM)(
)programs. For more information, please visit hotels.com or call
1-800-2-HOTELS. hotels.com is an operating company of Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq:
EXPE).

About the survey
The hotels.com survey was conducted by Kelton Research between May 28th, 2009
and June 4, 2009 to 1,005 nationally representative Americans ages 18 and
older using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas are set to
ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total U.S. population ages
18 and over. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a
survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3 percentage points
from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with
all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

Hotels.com, welcomerewards and the Hotels.com logo are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Hotels.com, LP, a subsidiary of Hotels.com. Other
logos or products and company names mentioned herein may be the property of
their respective owners. (C) 2009 Hotels.com, LP. All rights reserved. CST #
2083949-50

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050415/LAFRU1LOGO)

SOURCE hotels.com

Maureen Carrig of hotels.com, +1-425-679-7511, mcarrig@hotels.com; or Kristi
Jutras of Edelman, +1-206-268-2259, kristi.jutras@edelman.com, for hotels.com