Expedia.com.au Launches in Australia

SYDNEY, Australia, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), the world’s leading online travel company, today announced the launch of its Australian website, Expedia.com.au ( http://expedia.com.au/ ). The new website offers Australian consumers an unprecedented set of features to help them make informed decisions and choose the hotel that best meets their needs from a selection of over 60,000 properties worldwide. Consumers can also choose from a broad range of over 2,000 activities and attractions in more than 250 destinations around the globe.

“Expedia.com.au offers in-depth hotel content to help travellers make informed decisions,” said Arthur Hoffman, managing director of Expedia.com.au. “Our 360-degree virtual tours and extensive hotel photograph library allow customers to visualise a hotel before they arrive, and our detailed property overviews and traveller opinions provide unbiased insight and advice that help consumers compare, contrast and decide.”

“Many Australians already shop on various Expedia-branded websites around the world. With the launch of Expedia.com.au we have now created an Expedia website that is tailored for the needs of the Australian consumer,” continued Hoffman.

In-depth hotel content helps consumers find the perfect hotel Expedia.com.au provides Australian travellers with a range of online tools and resources to help them choose the hotel that is right for them. The new Expedia.com.au website includes:

  -- 360-degree virtual tours of hotels, featuring crisp, rotating images of
     hotel rooms and facilities, allowing travellers to see the hotels they
     are considering before they book
  -- Detailed property overviews written by Expedia editors who evaluate
     properties on an objective, independent basis
  -- Over 75,000 independent traveller reviews of hotels completed by
     Expedia customers after actual paid hotel stays. Expedia's traveller
     opinions provide relevant, timely, unbiased and authentic information
     about properties that you won't find in travel guides. Expedia only
     allows Expedia customers with a verified stay at a particular hotel
     within the last six months to write a review.
  -- Functionality allowing consumers to narrow search results based on
     their specific needs or requirements, such as high-speed Internet
     access, swimming pool, free parking, pet friendly and more.

Expedia’s scale and global reach ensures great selection and value

Around the world consumers used websites in the Expedia family to book over 30 million room nights during the last twelve months. This scale combined with Expedia’s global team of over 350 hotel market managers, whose job it is to work with hotels in their respective regions, ensures that Expedia is able to deliver real depth and breadth of offering while also providing great value.

Activities and attractions

Expedia.com.au also makes it easier for Australian travellers to plan the perfect trip by allowing them to book from a broad range of exciting in-destination activities and attractions including the adventurous (swimming with sharks, mountain biking and sand surfing), the practical (dinner reservations, museum tickets and ground transportation), the family-friendly (city tours, theme park tickets and shows) and the romantic (luxury spa treatments, sunset cruises and even weddings).

Launch sale

To celebrate the launch of its Australian site, Expedia.com.au is offering discounts of up to 25 percent when consumers book three nights or more at selected hotels in a range of top international destinations, including London, Paris, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Bangkok and Singapore. The offer is valid until 31 December.

On the way

Expedia.com.au intends to launch airline ticketing, car rental and dynamic packaging functionality in the future.

About Expedia

Expedia, Inc., the world’s leading online travel company, operates Expedia.com.au ( http://expedia.com.au/ ) in Australia and has localised versions for travellers in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Expedia also operates in China through its controlling investment in eLong. Expedia.com.au provides the tools and ideas to enable Australians to create and book their perfect trip and offers a choice of more than 60,000 hotels and 2,000 activities and attractions worldwide.

NOTES TO EDITORS: Interviews with Arthur Hoffman, managing director of
Expedia.com.au, are available on request.</br/>

SOURCE: Expedia, Inc.

CONTACT: Georgina Murphy, +61-2-8281-3862, or georgina@pulsecom.com.au,
or Alan Parker, +61-2-8281-3861, or alan@pulsecom.com.au, both of Pulse
Communications, for Expedia, Inc.</br/></br/>

Web site: http://expedia.com.au/

Web site: http://www.expedia.com/