| San
Francisco, CA � May 2001 � Hotwire
has announced the results of an independent pricing audit verified by big-five
public accounting firm KPMG. The audit, designed by Dr. Stefanos Zenios,
a statistical expert and professor at Stanford University Business School,
involved nearly 12,000 identical airfare searches on Hotwire, Expedia.com
and Travelocity.com. The results; Hotwire Hot-Fares(sm) were lower in three
out of four searches � beating Travelocity.com fares 81 percent of the
time and Expedia.com fares 77 percent of the time.
"This is a scientifically
designed, factual survey of actual fares with a very high level of statistical
confidence -- there are no opinions expressed in this audit," said Dr.
Zenios, Stanford Business School Statistics Professor and the audit's creator.
"We conducted a head-to-head comparison of real fares and found Hotwire
Hot- Fares(SM) to be the price leader among the sites surveyed."
Hotwire is designed for
the flexible leisure traveler whose primary concern is to save money. By
offering non-refundable tickets and disclosing details such as exact flight
time and airline only after purchase, Hotwire can offer consumers prices
well below competitor published fares.
The
Audit
In real time, the study
compared actual Hotwire customer searches against all available fares on
Expedia.com and Travelocity.com for the same dates of travel � published
and opaque. It was not possible to survey Priceline.com, as they require
a credit card purchase before displaying fares and a bidding process instead
of showing their lowest price.
Big-five independent public
accounting firm KPMG monitored the study and verified the integrity of
the results. Due to the large number of fares sampled, the study also has
a high level of accuracy � less than a two percent margin of error. The
results of this study found that Hotwire:
-
Offered the lowest fares
in three out of four searches.
-
Offered lower fares than
Travelocity.com 81 percent of the time and Expedia.com 77 percent of the
time.
-
Saved even more money within
seven days of travel: Hotwire winning fares save an average of $308 over
Expedia.com and $229 over Travelocity.com. For a family of four, that can
equate to a savings of more than $1,000.
"There are a number of sites
out there that are claiming their airfares are the lowest," said Karl Peterson,
Hotwire's president and chief executive officer. "This is the first time
someone has actually sought statistical proof with the backing of a major
accounting firm. With Hotwire Hot-Fares(SM), travelers not only get low
prices, but they only fly with a top-notch, quality airline. No bargain
basement carriers, only the best at a good price."
Hotwire
Focus
Since its launch, Hotwire
has focused narrowly on one thing: being the one site where flexible leisure
travelers can find the lowest prices on top travel brands � simple, easy
with no hassles or games. Hotwire does not try to be all things to all
people, but with Hot-Fares(sm) and Hot-Rates(sm), Hotwire offers some of
the best deals from the most trusted names in the industry. Unlike other
opaque sites, Hotwire publicly discloses the names of all its partner airlines,
so customers can be confident they will only fly with a top name. In addition,
Hotwire focuses on the consumer experience � allowing travelers to control
the number of stops, and always routing passengers on the same quality
airline for each leg of their trip. Hot-Fares(sm) cost less because they
are nonchangeable and nonrefundable � aimed at the flexible leisure traveler.
Hotwire developed its
consumer-friendly model to help airlines, hotels and rental car companies
sell perishable inventory � seats, rooms and cars that would otherwise
go unsold. Hotwire is proud of its partnerships with 27 leading airlines,
close to 2000 hotels and leading rental car companies.
About
Hotwire
Hotwire launched in October
2000, offering an affordable and easy way for the leisure traveler to purchase
travel online with trusted brands. Hotwire currently offers Hot-Fares(SM)
and Hot-Rates(SM) on airline tickets, hotel rooms and rental cars with
27 airlines including founding partners American, America West, Continental,
Northwest, United and USAirways. In addition, Hotwire is partnered with
nearly 2000 top hotels nationwide and top rental car companies. Hotwire
was established in 1999 in San Francisco, with an initial $75 million investment
from Texas Pacific Group and founding airline partners.
Abstract
Since
its launch, Hotwire has focused narrowly on one thing: being the one site
where flexible leisure travelers can find the lowest prices on top travel
brands � simple, easy with no hassles or games. Hotwire does not try to
be all things to all people, but with Hot-Fares(sm) and Hot-Rates(sm),
Hotwire offers some of the best deals from the most trusted names in the
industry. Unlike other opaque sites, Hotwire publicly discloses the names
of all its partner airlines, so customers can be confident they will only
fly with a top name. In addition, Hotwire focuses on the consumer experience
� allowing travelers to control the number of stops, and always routing
passengers on the same quality airline for each leg of their trip. Hot-Fares(sm)
cost less because they are nonchangeable and nonrefundable � aimed at the
flexible leisure traveler.
|
Hotwire
launched in October 2000, offering an affordable and easy way for the leisure
traveler to purchase travel online with trusted brands. Hotwire currently
offers Hot-Fares(sm) and Hot-Rates(sm) on airline tickets, hotel rooms
and rental cars with 27 airlines including founding partners American,
America West, Continental, Northwest, United and USAirways. In addition,
Hotwire is partnered with nearly 2000 top hotels nationwide and top rental
car companies. Hotwire was established in 1999 in San Francisco, with an
initial $75 million investment from Texas Pacific Group and founding airline
partners.
|
Media Contact:
Amy Bohutinsky
abohutinsky@hotwire.com
Hotwire
415-343-8502 |
