Expedia, Inc., the world’s largest online travel company and one of the most important partners for the Caribbean, released data today showing an increase in the number of consumers choosing to travel to the Caribbean islands over the past year. In all, more than 1.2 million consumers booked travel into the Caribbean during 2010 on the more than 100 Expedia® and Hotels.com® travel sites available worldwide. The majority of demand for travel into the Caribbean came from consumers in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France and Italy.
“This recent influx of travelers is good news for the Caribbean region and is a prime example of the value Expedia can deliver to hotels seeking to maintain consistent occupancy in their properties,” said Demetrius Canton, Expedia director of lodging for the Caribbean. “By showcasing their properties on Expedia sites in 70 countries, our Caribbean hotel partners have been able to reach an entirely new global audience of travelers and subsequently grow their business, which is what we’re seeing now.”
The company also shared insights showing that package offerings continue to be a popular option for travelers, representing half of all bookings made into the Caribbean on Expedia sites over the past year. Not only are package bookings convenient for travelers, but they also represent an opportunity for hotels to secure bookings farther out and with an extended stay period. In fact, the average booking window for travel packages booked on Expedia sites into the Caribbean is 65 days – nearly double that of a standalone booking. Travelers booking packages into the Caribbean also stayed an average of 5.55 days, whereas travelers with a standalone hotel booking stayed only 3.24 days.
In addition to operating as an efficient marketing and distribution channel for the nearly 140,000 hotels Expedia works with on a global basis, the company also employs hundreds of highly-skilled market experts to act as consultants for hotels in the destinations Expedia serves. This counsel includes providing hotels with market level data and insights to develop an effective channel distribution strategy in accordance with the individual needs and characteristics of each property; as well as working closely with hotels to identify opportunities to participate in targeted marketing and promotional campaigns throughout the year to assist the property in achieving their desired revenue and occupancy goals.
About Expedia, Inc.
Expedia, Inc. is the largest online travel company in the world, with an extensive brand portfolio that includes more than 100 localized Expedia.com®- and Hotels.com®-branded sites; leading U.S. discount travel site Hotwire®; leading agency hotel company Venere.comâ„¢; Egencia®, the world’s fifth largest corporate travel management company; the world’s largest travel community TripAdvisor® Media Group; destination activities provider ExpediaLocalExpert®; luxury travel specialist Classic Vacations®; and China’s second largest booking site eLongâ„¢. The company delivers consumers value in leisure and business travel, drives incremental demand and direct bookings to travel suppliers, and provides advertisers vast opportunity to reach the most valuable audience of in-market travel consumers anywhere through TripAdvisor Media Group and 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.
