Hotwire Reveals January 2012 Travel Savings Indicator

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hotwire.com®, a leading discount travel site, today released the January 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 with the same 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 are in luck, because 2012 is starting out with price drops in some of the most popular cities in North America," said Clem Bason, president of the Hotwire Group. "A recovering travel industry hasn't prevented pockets of discounted inventory from popping up. Now all the people who made 'travel more' a resolution for 2012 can make good on their promise without needing a big travel budget. Using tools like the Travel Savings Indicator and discount sites like Hotwire.com can also help any eager traveler find those low prices."

Hotel Price Drops

Many new markets are emerging as deal destinations in the early days of 2012, with most of the cities on this month's list of top hotel price drops making their Travel Savings Indicator debut.

Cincinnati, Ohio comes in at number one this month with a nine percent decrease. 2012 is shaping up to be a slower convention year for this big Midwestern destination.  With fewer citywide events, hotels in the area are reacting by offering great rates to attract more leisure guests instead. Cincinnati is likely to see lower rates throughout the rest of the year.

Due to a relatively mild winter compared to 2011, both Philadelphia and Minneapolis haven't seen the same number of distressed airline passengers staying at hotels in the area. Last year's storms drove up prices and 2012 is simply showing more normalization in seasonal rates.

Montreal, Quebec rounds out the list with a four percent decrease. Several new hotel openings in the area are making pricing more competitive. In addition, a lack of city-wide events is also causing prices to fall in this beautiful city. Montreal is just one of many Canadian destinations that will become a good value for travelers in 2012. With an expected 3,000 new rooms to be added per year for the next three years throughout Canada, travelers should keep an eye north of the border to score some really strong deals.

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

Air Price Drops

California is definitely a hot market for airfare this month, with Palm Springs, Oakland and San Jose all appearing on the list for top air price drops. Making its Travel Savings Indicator debut in first place with an eight percent drop, Palm Springs is a great destination for a relaxing long-weekend getaway. Not to be outdone, South Carolina also continues to offer low fares as one of America's favorite cities, Charleston, comes in at second place this month with a seven percent drop. Oakland remains a great budget option for travelers to the Bay Area with a four percent decrease, and San Jose also stakes a claim while showing a three percent drop. Rounding out the top 5 is Hawaii, which has made several appearances on past months' lists. This month, the Garden Isle, Kauai, has a two percent airfare price drop as compared to last year.

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

Car Price Drops

The northeast is seeing particularly low rates for car rentals this month, as excess car rentals from 2011 continue to drive prices down. This year, several of the discount car rental providers have become more aggressive about gaining market share. They have plenty of cars to rent and more flexibility with pricing, and their low rates are driving down regional prices across the board. However, Arlington, Las Vegas, Washington D.C. and Atlanta, which have all shown up as top deals markets recently, continue to see significant price drops of over 50 percent.  

When compared to the same time last year, the top five car rental price reductions for January 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://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
[email protected]

SOURCE Hotwire.com