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Hotel Rates Fall and Airfare Climbs as Thanksgiving Nears

Dépèche transmise le 17 novembre 2009 par Business Wire

Hotel Rates Fall and Airfare Climbs as Thanksgiving Nears

SOUTHLAKE, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The most recent Thanksgiving data report from Travelocity® shows that while airfare is on the rise for the Thanksgiving holiday, hotel rates are falling fast. When compared to five weeks ago, average domestic airfare rose $10 while domestic hotel rates dropped $16 per night on average.

“Airfare fell last year as Thanksgiving approached, but it seems to have returned to a normal pattern of increasing as day of departure nears,” said Genevieve Shaw Brown, senior editor at Travelocity. “On the other hand, hotel rates continue to decline, positioning hotels as the place for real deals this holiday season.”

Looking ahead to the December holidays, Travelocity data shows average domestic airfare for departures December 20, 2009 – January 3, 2010 is $398 (down 7 percent YOY); average international airfare is $793 (down 11 percent YOY). For hotel stays, domestic hotel rates average $172 per night (down 9 percent YOY) and average international hotel rates average $221 (down 8 percent YOY).

“The good news is -- prices for Thanksgiving and the December holidays are lower than last year’s prices. Even during the peak holiday travel season, excellent deals continue to be available,” Brown said.

Travelocity’s Price and Service Guarantee takes away worries about hotel prices going down as vacations approach. Travelocity customers who find the same hotel booking for less elsewhere online (excluding hotels booked using a name-your-own-price or opaque service) any time prior to the day of check-in can notify Travelocity and receive a refund for the difference in price. Additionally, as a special offer to introduce the hotel price match guarantee, between now and December 31, 2009, customers will also receive a $50 discount toward future travel. Travelocity no longer charges change or cancel fees for hotel bookings or vacation packages (excluding last minute packages) and has reduced its hotel booking fees nationwide on www.travelocity.com. For complete details about Travelocity’s Price and Service Guarantee, including terms and conditions, please visit www.travelocity.com/guarantee.

About Travelocity Global

Travelocity® is committed to being the traveler's champion -- before, during and after the trip – and provides the most comprehensive and proactive guarantee in the industry (www.travelocity.com/guarantee). This customer-driven focus, backed by 24/7 live phone support, competitive prices and powerful shopping technology has made Travelocity one of the largest travel companies in the world with annual gross bookings of more than U.S. $10 billion. Travelocity also owns and operates: Travelocity Business® for corporate travel; igougo.com, a leading online travel community; lastminute.com, a leader in European online travel; and ZUJI, a leader in Asia-Pacific online travel. Travelocity is owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation, a world leader in travel marketing and distribution.