One in Four Brits Will Travel to Get the Perfect Christmas Present

LONDON, November 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Young Brits more likely to travel and this year they can save up to 50% on their accommodations with Hotwire.com

The glittering Christmas lights, the bustling skating rinks and the delicious smell of mince pies means only one thing - Christmas is just around the corner. That also means it's time to get those Christmas shopping lists ready and sorted, but how far will you go for a good deal on the perfect gift? Discount travel site Hotwire.com® today announced a survey about the lengths that Brits take to ensure they find the best presents. And to help these travellers get to their shopping destination this year, Hotwire is also offering hotel rooms at up to 50% off in some of the most popular shopping cities.

A survey of more than 1000 respondents from across the UK showed that one in four Brits (25%) will travel outside of their hometown for Christmas shopping. When asked what convinces respondents to take a shopping trip in the UK and beyond ahead of Christmas, 37% of the respondents pointed to Christmas atmosphere. 26% said that they go to Christmas markets to find things they wouldn't find on the high street.

   
    Top destinations for Christmas shopping from Hotwire.com(*1)
   
      Hotwire's Top         Hotwire's      Hotwire's
      destinations           Average        Average
                             saving          price
      1.  Vienna                50%        102 GBP
      2.  London                30%             91
      3.  Boston                25%             63
      4.  New York City         24%            148
      5.  Berlin                15%             44
     ---  ------               ---             ---

"It is hard to imagine celebrating Christmas without thinking about the giving or receiving of gifts or visiting Christmas markets. It is interesting to note that even in tough economic times like this, the popularity of Christmas markets endures," said Fulvia Montresor, senior director, Hotwire.com. "Younger Brits, in particular, are not prepared to make sacrifices when it comes to the holiday season and will travel to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones."

Travelling for Christmas shopping and to visit Christmas markets is especially popular among the younger age groups. 47% of young Brits (16-34 years old) will travel to get their Christmas shopping done, most citing the atmosphere (43%) and being able to buy something they can't buy at home (30%) as the main reasons for travelling ahead of Christmas. Young Brits will also travel farther, nearly 1 in 20 regularly travel to the US for Christmas shopping. Not surprisingly, 78% selected New York City as the top US shopping destination, with the second choice Boston being way behind at 4%.

"To help shoppers this year, Hotwire.com will be offering Brits up to 50% off on hotels in the UK and abroad throughout the Christmas season. We hope that our 'secret hotel' model will allow more people to travel in the coming weeks - guaranteeing they get to experience all that Christmas has to offer," Montresor added.

Hotwire.com offers up to 50% off in the UK and 2500 destinations abroad. Bringing to the UK 10 years of experience selling deeply-discounted rooms in the US, Hotwire launched in Britain earlier this year. Hotwire has special relationships with over 25,000 leading hotels worldwide. When these hotels have unsold rooms, they use Hotwire to fill them, so consumers can book 4-star hotels at 2-star prices. Hotwire customers are given information about the hotel's star rating, amenities, neighbourhood and customer reviews of the hotel.  Once the room has been booked, the name of the hotel is revealed.

*Adults Who travel for Christmas shopping - survey. On behalf of Hotwire.com, Harris International interviewed 1030 UK adults. The interviews were conducted the week of Nov 8, 2011

(*1) Hotwire savings are based on the lowest published room rates found on leading retail sites for a specific date range against the Hotwire Hot Rate® savings available in a comparable hotel in the same area with the same star rating and calculates the % saving.  Hotwire then ranks the cities according to the % savings on offer. Hotwire's average price is based on the average nightly rate booked for stays between 28/11/11-15/12/11 based on 2 people sharing a standard room.

About Hotwire

Hotwire.com is a leading discount travel site that helps travelers' 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 unique 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) recognized 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 operates in 8 countries worldwide: http://www.hotwire.com, http://www.hotwire.com/uk, http://www.hotwire.com/ie, http://www.hotwire.com/au, http://www.hotwire.com/nz, http://www.hotwire.com/se, http://www.hotwire.com/no and http://www.hotwire.com/dk.  In addition to Hotwire, The Hotwire Group of websites includes: http://www.hotwire.com, http://www.travel-ticker.com, http://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. © 2011 Hotwire, Inc. All rights reserved. CST# 2053390-40.

Contact: Vojtech Horna, +442070257551, hotwireuk@atomicpr.com