Expedia Data Continues to Show Growth Trends for the Caribbean at the Closing of 2011

Bellevue, Washington - March 2nd, 2012 - Expedia, Inc., the largest online travel company in the world, released data today showing a 12 percent increase in room nights booked to the Caribbean during the fourth quarter of 2011 on its more than 100 Expedia® and Hotels.com®-branded travel booking sites worldwide. 

The online travel leader formed new partnerships throughout the Caribbean region during 2011, adding nearly 120 Caribbean properties to its portfolio throughout the year, thereby advancing the company’s commitment to driving tourism growth in the region. By working with Expedia, hotels in the Caribbean gain exposure to the nearly 60 million travelers that visit Expedia, Inc. travel sites each month, which includes Expedia-branded sites in 30 countries; Hotels.com sites in more than 60 countries; Egencia® corporate travel serving business travelers in 47 countries; leading discount travel site Hotwire®; as well as Expedia® Affiliate Network, which powers travel bookings for more than ten thousand affiliate websites.

“It is highly beneficial for our hotel partners in the Caribbean to participate in vacation package offerings as a strategic merchandising tool, which is one of the most solid value propositions the company has to offer,” said Demetrius Canton, Director of Market Management for the Caribbean. “Expedia vacation packages enables hotels to bundle their rates with flights or car rentals, allowing hotels to maintain rate integrity, while attracting travelers who typically have extended booking windows and longer lengths of stay. It’s truly a win-win proposition for hotels and consumers, who benefit with a completely customized vacation package that best fits their travel needs.”

Through Expedia, Caribbean hotels achieved growth in bookings during the fourth quarter of 2011 from several key international markets:

• 12 percent increase in bookings to Caribbean from the U.S.
• 31 percent increase in bookings from the U.K.
• 22 percent increase in bookings from Italy
• 37 percent increase in bookings from Germany
• 44 percent increase in bookings from Brazil

Destinations in the Caribbean with the most significant year over year bookings growth across all Expedia, Inc. travel sites worldwide:

• Trinidad & Tobago, with a 46 percent increase in bookings
• Dominican Republic, 40 percent increase
• Bahamas, 25 percent increase
• Curacao, 21 percent increase
• Turks & Caicos, 18 percent increase
• St. Lucia, 15 percent increase 

For more on how Expedia helps destinations and hotel partners reach a global audience, watch the International Travel Trends video here: http://press.expediainc.com/index.php?s=98

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About Expedia, Inc. 
Expedia, Inc. is the largest online travel company in the world, with an extensive brand portfolio that includes some of the world’s leading online travel brands, including:

• Expedia.com®, the world’s largest full service online travel agency, with localized sites in more than 25 countries
• Hotels.com®, the hotel specialist with sites in more than 60 countries
• Leading discount travel site Hotwire®, which offers opaque hotel deals from hotel in nine countries on its eight sites in North America and Europe
• Egencia®, the world's fifth largest corporate travel management company; 
• China's second largest booking site eLong™ 
• Leading agency hotel company Venere.com™
• Destination services and activities provider Expedia Local Expert®; and 
• Luxury travel specialist Classic Vacations®.

The company delivers consumers value in leisure and business travel, drives incremental demand and direct bookings to travel suppliers, and provides advertisers the opportunity to reach a highly valuable audience of in-market travel consumers through Expedia Media Solutions. Expedia also powers bookings for some of the world’s leading airlines and hotels, top consumer brands, high traffic websites, and thousands of active affiliates through Expedia® Affiliate Network. (NASDAQ: EXPE) For corporate and industry news and views, visit us at www.expediainc.com or follow us on Twitter @expediainc.

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