Hotwire Reveals April 2012 Travel Savings Indicator

SAN FRANCISCO, April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hotwire.com®, a leading discount travel site, today released the April 2012 Hotwire® Travel Savings Indicator, which features the top five cities in North America where hotel, air and car rental rates have dropped the most compared to this time last year. Using extensive pricing research to cover the three most popular travel products, the report helps guide travelers to the best destinations to maximize their travel dollars each month.

"Travelers may not realize that they can get deep discounts during the busy spring season, but actually many top destinations, like Los Angeles and Las Vegas, are offering low prices," said Clem Bason, president of the Hotwire Group. "We encourage folks to take advantage of these deals before the summer rush sets in and prices inevitably go up in several of these cities."

Hotel Price Drops

Once again, Atlantic City tops the hotel list this month with a 20 percent price drop.  Several new hotels have begun to use more distribution channels causing some stiff pricing competition resulting in rate decreases. Once we move into June, prices will likely increase.

Following Atlantic City is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This town doesn't have the traffic pick-up that they typically experience this time of year when many tourists from nearby towns come to visit. As a result, now is a great time to take advantage of lower rates before demand picks back up.

Victoria has had very soft demand in 2012, making it quite the deal market this spring for travelers looking for a celebration. This year is the city's 150th anniversary, and with events planned throughout this season and summer, travelers can experience the city's big birthday without the big price tag.

Las Vegas and Spokane, Washington both come in with an eight percent drop.  Both are currently experiencing weaker than normal demand so hotels are dropping prices to keep traffic up until the summer.

When compared to this time last year, the top five hotel price reductions for April 2012 include:

Air Price Drops

Folks wanting to visit the Golden State are in luck, because California is a hot deal market for airfare this month as Virgin America continues to keep prices competitive and low in the state's two main hubs. Oakland tops the list with a 15 percent price drop, followed by San Francisco with an 11 percent and Los Angeles with a 10 percent decrease. If you're looking to travel more east, Des Moines comes in at second on the list with a 13 percent drop and Baltimore rounds out the top five air decreases with a seven percent price drop.

When compared to this time last year, the top five airfare price reductions for April 2012 include:

Car Price Drops

Boston and Washington, D.C., two cities that have been regulars on the discount car list since February, continue to duel it out for the number one spot with deep dips in price – 62 and 53 percent decreases. Outside of the top two spots, we welcome a newcomer to the list, St. Louis with an 18 percent drop, as well as the return of Arlington and Cleveland with 48 and 47 percent decreases, respectively.

When compared to this time last year, the top five car rental price reductions for April 2012 include:

For over 10 years, Hotwire has worked with hotels, airlines and car rental companies to fill unsold inventory. As a result, Hotwire offers travelers amazing deals, every day of the year, across a variety of markets. Through Hotwire's deep understanding of the industry and unique relationships, consumers have been able to save millions of dollars on all their travel needs.

About the Hotwire Travel Savings Indicator

The Hotwire Travel Savings Indicator runs results during the second week of each month. Results are calculated by looking at Hotwire booking data for select regions in the current month, and comparing prices in the current month against Hotwire prices in the same month in the prior year. Prices are compared within the same categories (e.g., star rating, class of car) for consistency, and the percent change in price for each region is generated as an overall average of the changes in those categories. The hotel prices in the charts above are examples for a particular Hot Rate® deal within that market. The airfare and car rental prices are average prices based on bookings across all car and seat classes. Actual prices may be higher or lower than the examples that are provided.

About Hotwire

Hotwire.com is a leading discount travel site with low rates on airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, cruises and vacation packages.  Launched in 2000, Hotwire negotiates deep discounts from its travel suppliers to help travelers book unsold airline seats, hotel rooms and rental cars.  Hotwire is an award-winning website and operating company of Expedia, Inc. CST 2053390-50.  NST: 20003-0209.  For more information, visit http://blogshots.org/www.hotwire.com. Hotwire sites operates in 8 countries worldwide: www.hotwire.com, www.hotwire.com/uk, www.hotwire.com/ie, www.hotwire.com/au, www.hotwire.com/nz, www.hotwire.com/se, www.hotwire.com/no and www.hotwire.com/dk.   In addition to Hotwire, The Hotwire Group of websites includes: www.hotwire.com, www.travel-ticker.com, www.carrentals.com.  

Hotwire, Hotwire.com, the Hotwire logo and Hot Rate are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Hotwire, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2012 Hotwire, Inc.  All rights reserved. CST 2053390-40.

Contact:
Andrew Reynolds
Atomic PR
(323) 648-5425
andrew@atomicpr.com