****PCLN NEWS OUT AFTER THE BELL*****
With the launch of their add campaign this week, I think picking stock up on this market dip will be a profitable idea...
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PRICELINE.COM LAUNCHES ENHANCED HOTEL SERVICE WITH 4,250 BRAND-NAME HOTELS IN 1,100 CITIES, TOWNS AND RESORTS IN ALL 50 STATES BUSINESS EDITORS STAMFORD, CONN.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--APRIL 19, 1999-- 283
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 19, 1999--
283 percent more brand-name hotels, 550 percent more cities now available for travelers who want to name their own price
New "smart-find" technology makes getting a quality hotel room even faster and easier
Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN.O), the patented e-commerce system,
today announced the launch of its enhanced name-your-own-price service
for hotel rooms. The service is now available in more than 1,100
cities, towns and resort destinations in all 50 states. Priceline.com
also announced that 4,250 brand-name hotels have now joined the
program - an increase of 283 percent over December 1998. Meanwhile,
the total number of cities covered has risen 550 percent since
December.
Priceline.com's enhanced hotel room service also features
"smart-find" technology that makes naming your price for a hotel room
quick and easy. Travelers simply type in the city or town where they
want to stay, and the service finds rooms in the city they want and
recommends nearby towns where empty rooms also might be available.
This gives consumers an even better chance of getting rooms at the
prices they want to pay.
By enabling consumers to name their own price, priceline.com
helps both leisure travelers and small businesspersons save money on
quality hotel rooms. At the same time, priceline.com helps brand-name
hotels fill quality rooms that most likely would have gone empty.
Priceline.com offers quality hotel rooms in all star classes from
one-star to the most luxurious five-star hotels.
Priceline.com's hotel service is easy to use and there is never a
charge to make a room request. Travelers start by visiting
priceline.com's Web site (http://www.priceline.com), or by calling the
toll-free 1-800-PRICELINE number, and selecting the cities they want
to visit and the dates of their trips. They then choose the area of
the city they want to stay in and pick the quality star level of hotel
they want (one- to five-star). Last, they name the price they want to
pay per night for a room and guarantee their offer with a major credit
card.
Priceline.com then works to find a brand-name hotel willing to
release a room at the traveler's price. If priceline.com finds an even
more luxurious hotel willing to accept that price, the traveler is
upgraded automatically, free of charge. Travelers receive a yes or no
response to their room request in one hour.
A national advertising campaign supporting the expansion of
priceline.com's hotel service begins this week. The campaign includes
radio spots featuring priceline.com's celebrity spokesperson William
Shatner.
Today, priceline.com also announced other enhancements to its
hotel room service:
-- Resorts and vacation destinations are now a major component of
the program. Hawaii, Orlando, Aspen, the Florida Keys and Myrtle
Beach are just some of the vacation destinations available to
consumers who want to name their own price.
-- Priceline.com's hotel service is now compatible for small
businesspersons whose business trips may involve outlying areas
and smaller cities and towns. Unlike priceline.com's airline
ticket service, which is only for leisure travelers, the hotel
service can be used by both leisure travelers and small
businesses alike.
-- Detailed maps are now available for 121 cities. Travelers can
conveniently select the areas of the city in which they want to
stay.
-- The process to make a room request has been reduced to six
screens - a 14 percent reduction that makes it even easier and
faster to name your price for a quality hotel room.
-- Pull-down menus have been replaced by an easy-to-use, type-in
interface. Travelers simply type in the city or town they want
and the service shows them what star-quality hotels are
available.
-- The hotel service also has an intuitive "smart-find" feature.
When travelers select a city, the service will show not only that
city, but other towns close by where quality hotel rooms may be
available. If no hotel rooms are available in a city, the service
will try to recommend other locations and provide driving
distances.
-- Typical room prices for all cities and star-quality levels are
shown. These prices, which reflect average rates travelers could
expect to pay, are calibrated to reflect seasonality and major
events in town. Of course, priceline.com customers get to name
the price they want to pay for a room.
"Priceline.com's enhanced hotel room service was designed in
response to customers who wanted more coverage, more choice and an
even easier, faster way to name their price for brand-name hotel
rooms," said Rick Braddock, priceline.com's chairman and CEO.
About priceline.com
Priceline.com is the patented e-commerce system that lets buyers
name the price they are willing to pay for a range of products and
services, including leisure airline tickets, hotel rooms, new cars,
home mortgages, refinancing and home equity loans. Priceline.com takes
guaranteed consumer offers and presents them to participating brands.
Participating brands can fill as much of that consumer demand as they
wish at price points determined by buyers. Priceline.com first
introduced its hotel service in 26 markets in October 1998.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements which
are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Expressions of future goals
and similar expressions including, without limitation, "may," "will,"
"believes," "should," "could," "hope," "expects," "expected," "does
not currently expect," "anticipates," "predicts," "potential," and
"forecast," reflecting something other than historical fact are
intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the
exclusive means of identifying such statements. These forward-looking
statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the
timely development and market acceptance of products and technologies
and other factors described in the Company's filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The actual results may differ
materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and
uncertainties. The Company undertakes no obligations to revise or
update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or
circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.
--30--rc/ny*
CONTACT: Priceline.com
Brian Ek, 203/705-3026 (brian.ek@priceline.com)
Connors Communications
Jennifer Carr, 212/807-7500 (jcarr@connors.com)
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