Orbitz Data Base Has 90,000 "Authentic" Hotel Customer Reviews

Also Adds New Hotel Neighborhood Matrix for Top European Cities and Over 6,500 New Merchant Hotels i

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. October 14, 2008

CHICAGO, IL, June 7, 2006. Orbitz (orbitz.com), a pioneer of many of the online travel industry's "firsts" in booking air travel, continues to build on its heritage of innovation in hotel booking. Today, Orbitz announced the launch of its hotel neighborhood matrix for top European cities and added hotel inventory for customers seeking lodging for the perfect European vacation. Orbitz also now offers travelers over 90,000 authentic customer hotel reviews from customers who actually stayed at those properties around the world.

As part of the "Take 5" anniversary celebration, Orbitz is encouraging its customers to take time out of their busy lives to enjoy life by traveling with friends and family. To help promote this, Orbitz is giving its customers the opportunity to enter for a chance to win free travel every hour when searching for hotels, starting today through June 11. For official sweepstakes rules, visit http://www.orbitz.com/take5.

In 2001, Orbitz was founded by the world's leading airlines and was known for having the most low fares online. Five years later, Orbitz also gains high marks from customers for its hotel business. In the first study of its kind, J.D. Power and Associates noted in November 2005 that Orbitz.com had the highest customer satisfaction for independent travel web sites -- hotels, in its 2005 Independent Hotel Web Site Study(SM).

The 5th Anniversary Take 5 celebration also marks the start of the next phase of innovation at Orbitz in its hotel business. One reason, among many, for being a favorite with travelers is because of OrbitzTLC's hotel low rate guarantee that helps customers obtain the lowest online rate for a hotel. With new hotel photos and virtual tours, the entire booking experience ensures customers get the right hotel and the right price.

"We've enjoyed five great years of exceeding customers' expectations by delighting them with great deals, an easy intuitive user interface, and superior technology and customer service," said Jeff Grant, vice president of hotels for Orbitz. "Through OrbitzTLC, we continue to deliver innovative technology and bring even more amazing hotel properties to our customers."

NEW Euro Hotel Neighborhood Matrix

The U.S. version of the Hotel Neighborhood Matrix, which gives customers the ability to view hotel locations in relation to city landmarks and specific neighborhoods, launched on Orbitz in February 2005. Based on positive customer feedback since the launch, Orbitz has expanded the matrix to include some of its most popular and widely traveled European destinations. This week, Orbitz launched Hotel Neighborhood Matrix displays for London, Paris, Rome and Venice, and will be adding other popular cities including Dublin, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Madrid, Amsterdam, and Florence in the coming months. With the new Euro Hotel Neighborhood Matrix, users can quickly and easily get map overviews of specific neighborhoods (descriptive), search for available hotels in a specific neighborhood and sort search results for easy reference.

MORE Hotels in Europe

In addition to making it even easier to find the right hotel in Europe, Orbitz continues to give its customers even more choices and great prices at hotels around the world. Orbitz has added more than 6,500 merchant hotel properties in Europe, expanding its already broad international inventory to give travelers even more reason to book their European vacation on Orbitz.

NEW Hotel Scorecard / Hotel Customer Reviews

Orbitz also recently introduced a new Hotel Scorecard, giving travelers all the relevant information they need to know about a hotel property in one convenient place.

The Hotel Scorecard includes individual customer review numeric (1 to 5) scores on amenities, maintenance, hotel staff, room comfort, location and overall value. In addition to the scores, travelers can also add their own personal tips for staying at the hotel or knowledge about the area.

Travelers can now take advantage of the first-hand knowledge of over 90,000 authentic hotel customer reviews solicited only from Orbitz customers who have actually booked and stayed at the hotel. Making Orbitz hotel searches even more relevant for the customer, these reviews can be sorted based on the type of traveler to find the right hotel that fits travelers' specific needs: business travelers, leisure vacationers, couples and families.

In addition to customer scores and reviews, travelers can read commentary from Frommer's, one of the most trusted names in travel today, offering a discerning expert opinion on over 16,000 hotel properties.