Out and About: Expedia.com Unveils LGBT Travel Site in Partnership with International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association

'LGBT-Welcoming' Hotels and Destinations Now Simple to Find

News provided by

May 20, 2010, 08:27 ET

BELLEVUE, Wash., May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Expedia.com®, the world's leading online travel agency, announced today that it has opened an LGBT travel site to serve as a resource for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender travelers. Expedia.com developed the store in partnership with the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA), the leading global organization dedicated to connecting businesses in the LGBT tourism industry.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100106/AQ33533LOGO)

Expedia's LGBT site currently features 10 domestic destinations and five international destinations that feature a broad assortment of gay-friendly hotels, events and festivals, and hotspots. North American destinations are Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, New Orleans, Palm Springs, Provincetown, Puerto Vallarta, San Francisco, Toronto and South Florida. International destinations are Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris and London. Hotels are searchable within each destination.

"At Expedia.com, this is in keeping with our mission to be the best place to book travel," said Tim MacDonald, senior vice president and general manager, Expedia.com. "This page will simplify and improve the shopping and booking experience for LGBT customers. It was based on research illustrating the difficulty in finding LGBT-welcoming hotels, and our solution was vetted by a group of LGBT professionals at Expedia® and a roundtable of gay travel community members. IGLTA helped us determine the hotels that populate the store."

During the shopping process, travelers can now search under Hotel Preferences for "LGBT-welcoming" hotels. At kick-off, about 500 hotels currently meet this definition.

Expedia.com customers booking accommodations can save big when booking LGBT-welcoming hotels as a package through Expedia.com. And as always, there are no flight booking fees, nor Expedia change or cancel fees, when booking through Expedia.com.

For more information on LGBT travel options, visit www.expedia.com/daily/gaytravel.

About Expedia.com

Expedia.com is the world's leading online travel site, helping millions of travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia.com (http://www.expedia.com/, 1-800-EXPEDIA) aims to provide personalized service, the latest technology and the widest selection of vacation packages, flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises and in-destination activities, attractions, and services. With the Expedia Best Price Guarantee, Expedia.com promises to offer to its customers the best rates available online for all types of travel. Expedia.com is an operating company of Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE).

Expedia and Expedia.com are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Expedia, Inc. 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.© 2010 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. CST: 2029030-40

ABOUT IGLTA:

IGLTA is the leading global organization dedicated to connecting businesses in the LGBT tourism industry. Our membership spans more than 70 countries and consists of accommodations, airlines, tour operators, travel agents, destinations, media and other key players in the tourism industry. Since 1983, IGLTA has worked to help the tourism industry reach LGBT travelers and learn more about this market. For more on IGLTA, please visit www.iglta.org or www.lgbt.travel.

SOURCE Expedia, Inc.