Expedia Strengthens Travel Leadership in Asia-Pacific Region
HONG KONG and BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct. 16 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Online Travel Leader Grows Regional Presence, Signs Agreements with Multiple Supply Partners Across
Region
Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE), the world's leading online travel company, has announced new
agreements with several key supply partners in the Asia-Pacific region, underscoring Expedia's commitment
and growing presence in Asia-Pacific and building upon the company's global momentum. By partnering with
Expedia(R) these partners, which span the airline and lodging industries, join the world's largest online travel
marketplace and stand to benefit from Expedia's unmatched global reach to travelers worldwide.
"Asia-Pacific represents the greatest growth opportunity for the travel industry as a whole in terms of
inbound and outbound travelers, and Expedia's ability to reach 60 million unique users online each month
worldwide makes us an ideal marketing and distribution partner," said Paul Brown, president of Expedia
North America and Expedia Partner Services Group. "Growth in the number of supply partnerships we have
in the Asia-Pacific region is a testament to the unique way Expedia works with regional travel suppliers to
address their specific needs."
has also expanded support of its growing number of supply partners in the region, with a total of 10 offices,
including newly opened operations in Singapore, Bangkok and Seoul.
New and Expanded Hotel Partnerships
Expedia has signed new partnerships with several regional hotel chains, under which the properties of
each chain will now be available on all Expedia- and hotels.com-branded points of sale globally. The new
partnerships collectively account for the addition of more than 1000 hotel properties to Expedia's
marketplace, and they include: Mirvac Hotels and Resorts, with more than 35 hotels and resorts across
Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific; Australian-owned Rydges Hotels and Resorts, with more than
30 properties in Australia, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom; Toga Hospitality,
operating 46 Medina Apartment Hotels, Vibe Hotels, Travelodge Hotels (in Australia and New Zealand) and
Adina Apartment Hotels (in Europe); and Stamford Hotels and Resorts, with properties throughout Australia
and New Zealand; China-based GreenTree Inn Hotel Group; Singapore's Fragrance Hotels and Hong Kong-
based Marco Polo Hotels; and luxury chain Anantara Resorts & Spas.
Additionally, Expedia has renewed its global partnership agreement with Asian chain The Peninsula
Hotels, and continues its long-standing relationship with Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. Japan-based
RIHGA Royal Hotels and Hotel Monterey Group have also renewed their agreements to offer their properties
on Expedia sites worldwide, the latter having also selected Expedia's World Wide Travel Exchange
(WWTE(R)) technology to power travel bookings on its own site.
Finally, Expedia and hotels.com travelers across the globe who are searching for hotels in Asia will soon
see the addition of nearly 400 branded properties through Expedia's existing global agreements with Accor
Hotels and InterContinental Hotels Group.
Technology for Hotels
As Expedia's worldwide footprint expands, the company continues to invest in tools to make it easier for
suppliers to navigate the global marketplace. To date, more than 200 Asia-Pacific hotels in five countries
have implemented Expedia QuickConnect(TM), which enables independent hotels and small- to medium-
size hotel chains to exchange rates, availability and booking information with Expedia sites in real time.
Further, Expedia has launched www.JoinExpedia.com in 39 languages, enabling hotels throughout the world
to quickly and easily sign up to sell their product on Expedia sites worldwide.
"The expansion of our point of sale portfolio with the launch of Expedia India as well as multiple localized
Hotels.com sites in Asia offer a larger audience for our Asia-Pacific partners to market their product
regionally, and for our supply partners outside the region to reach millions and millions of Asian travelers,"
said Cyril Ranque, vice president, Expedia Partner Services Group, Asia-Pacific. "Our commitment to both
local suppliers and travelers visiting Asia is demonstrated in our efforts to establish regional offices and roll
out new supplier technology."
Expedia also announced today it is partnering with Hainan Airlines, a rapidly growing Chinese carrier, for
global distribution and private-label services, allowing Hainan Airlines travelers to book Expedia hotels and
packages on its own Web site.
About Expedia Partner Services Group
Expedia Partner Services Group (PSG) is the central point of contact for travel suppliers to access the
global Expedia marketplace of leading travel brands comprising more than 60 points of sale worldwide. With
hundreds of employees in local markets throughout the world, Expedia PSG makes it easy for suppliers to
meet their global distribution objectives, and delivers a portfolio of innovative connectivity solutions, rate and
inventory management tools, business intelligence reports, and online marketing expertise.
About Expedia, Inc.
Expedia, Inc. is the world's leading online travel company, empowering business and leisure travelers with
the tools and information they need to easily research, plan, book and experience travel. Expedia, Inc. also
provides in-destination concierge service and activity desks for travelers. The Expedia, Inc. portfolio of
brands includes: Expedia.com, hotels.com, Hotwire, Egencia (formerly Expedia Corporate Travel),
TripAdvisor, Expedia Local Expert, Classic Vacations and eLong. Expedia, Inc.'s companies operate more
than 70 global points of sale in more than 40 countries, with sites in North America, South America, Latin
America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. Expedia, Inc. is a component of the S&P 500 index.
Expedia and Expedia QuickConnect are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia, Inc. in the
U.S. and/or other countries. hotels.com is either a trademark or registered trademark of hotels.com, L.P., a
subsidiary of hotels.com in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names
mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners.
(C) 2008 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. CST: 2029030-40
Contact: Katie Deines
Expedia, Inc.
+1-425-679-4317
press@expedia.com
SOURCE: Expedia, Inc.
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