Expedia.com, the world’s leading online travel agency, today announced the upcoming launch of Expedia Hotels, a free iPhone and iPod touch app developed to give travelers an intuitive, quick way to research, filter and book hotel rooms from their mobile device. This is the first app introduced by Expedia since the company acquired Mobiata, the mobile travel apps powerhouse, in November 2010. Expedia Hotels is the first in a series of mobile initiatives that the company will roll out in 2011.
“‘Expedia Everywhere’ is our new strategy with the world’s most wickedly compelling mobile experiences designed to delight the earth’s travelers with their ease of use, speed to book and rich features,” said Scott Durchslag, president, Expedia Worldwide. “Expedia Hotels is the first of what will be many mobile apps developed for iPhone and Android. They will enable customers of the world’s largest online travel agency to easily book any our inventory of more than 130,000 hotel rooms worldwide, putting real time best prices and availability at the tip of their finger in moments.”
Expedia Hotels is simple, streamlined and graphically slick. Expedia Hotels automatically uses GPS to find available hotels within walking distance of the traveler. In addition the traveler can easily research and book hotels anywhere in the world.
Key features include:
An interactive map view shows all hotels in the area. Hotel choices can be narrowed by price, rating, popularity or distance.
The hotel ratings are provided by TripAdvisor; the highest rated hotels are clearly marked.
For each hotel, amenities and details have been beautifully summarized, complete with a gorgeous hotel slideshow.
Just four taps are required for a traveler move from research to purchase.
Once booked, travelers can tap for directions to the hotel, share their confirmation via email, and add the reservation directly to their iPhone calendar.
The app is being released worldwide, with 20 local currencies supported.
In recent months, Expedia has expanded its full mobile website to users globally. Mobile booking of hotels, flights, cars, and activities is now possible through the Expedia website from five countries around the world. Expedia partners with more than 130,000 hotel properties globally. Those properties can now all be reached with a simple series of taps.
Expedia Hotels will be available for free from the App Store at www.itunes.com/appstore.
