Hotwire Secret Travel Report unveils where to get a deal and beat the crowds as we head into summer

- Hotwire.com analyses online searches and Twitter conversations to determine which destinations will offer the best deals and experiences each season

LONDON, April 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hotwire.com®, a discount travel website, has revealed its first ever Hotwire® Secret Travel Report. Based on a 90-day analysis of thousands of recent searches on Hotwire.com, Google and Twitter activity, the quarterly report helps to predict which destinations will offer the best overall travel experience and deals over the next three months (May – July). It unveils that a number of popular spring/summer spots are expected to see fewer than usual numbers of visitors making these destinations great picks for holidaymakers looking for a budget-friendly vacation without the crowds.

To discover the best holiday spots, the Hotwire Secret Report is based on a statistical model combining both in-house and third-party statistics. Hotwire evaluates the top 50 markets based on Hotwire.com searches, taking into consideration three sets of equally weighted data in order to generate an overall ranking.

The formula includes:

• Twitter mentions of top travel destinations (33.33 percent of overall score)
• Google searches (33.33 percent of overall score)
• Searches on Hotwire.com (33.33 percent of overall score)

"Although all the destinations on the list are great getaway spots during this season, they don't seem to be drumming up as much demand as past years," commented Hotwire's travel expert Fulvia Montresor. "When interest is low prices tend to fall and crowds naturally are smaller, making all of these cities great destinations for your summer break. Many hotels will likely offer discounts up to 50% off on sites like Hotwire.com that offer secret Hot Rate® hotels to sell this excess inventory," she added. Secret Hot Rate hotels are those that offer deep discounts but don't reveal the name of the property until the booking is completed. This booking model allows holidaymakers to stay at 4 and 5-star hotels for 2-star prices and enables hotels to sell rooms that would otherwise remain unsold.

The reasons why the destinations appear on the Hotwire Secret Travel Report are varied. It could be weather patterns that are spurring lower interest or simply another locale nearby that is getting more attention. Whatever the reason may be, all the destinations still provide great vacation experiences and this season they will likely offer lower prices to counter the dip in demand.

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*Average prices based on Hotwire bookings made 1/2/12-16/4/12 for stays May – July.

Methodology

The Hotwire Secret Report is based on a statistical model combining both in-house and third-party research. Hotwire evaluates the top 50 markets based on Hotwire.com searches. The findings are based on three sets of equally weighted data from January – March 2012: Twitter mentions of top travel destinations (measured using Sysomos analytics), Google searches and searches on Hotwire.com. The cities highlighted in this report include travel destinations that have been historically popular with Hotwire travellers, but in the first three months of 2012 have not generated as much activity (searches and conversations) on Twitter, Google and Hotwire.com.

About Hotwire

Hotwire.com is a leading discount travel site that helps holidaymakers book hotel rooms at significant savings you can't find on many other travel sites. Launched in the U.S. in 2000 and in the U.K. and Ireland in 2011, Hotwire's partnerships with hotels worldwide offers holidaymakers deeply discounted hotel rooms that would typically go unsold. J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Independent Travel Web Site Satisfaction Study(SM) recognised Hotwire for ranking "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Independent Travel Web Sites, Three Years in a Row." Hotwire is an operating company of Expedia, Inc. CST: 2053390-40. NST: 20003-0209. For more information, visit http://www.hotwire.com/. Hotwire sites operate 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. The Hotwire Group of websites includes: www.hotwire.com, www.travel-ticker.com, www.carrentals.com.

Hotwire, Hotwire.com the Hotwire logo and Hot Rate 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. © 2012 Hotwire, Inc. All rights reserved. CST# 2053390-40.

Media contact:
Vojtech Horna
Atomic PR
+44-20-7478-7801
hotwireuk@atomicpr.com