Hotwire Reveals May 2012 Travel Savings Indicator

SAN FRANCISCO, May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hotwire.com®, a leading discount travel site, today released the May 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.

"Whether you're looking at hotels or airfare, cities across the South are shaping up to be quite the bargain this month," said Clem Bason, president of the Hotwire Group. "Popular southern destinations, like Cocoa Beach, Birmingham and Little Rock, are all seeing a dip in prices. This is great news for those looking to enjoy all the South has to offer without the sweltering temperatures that are sure to come in the next few months."

Hotel Price Drops

For the third month in a row, Atlantic City tops the hotel list with a 13 percent drop.  The season continues to be slower than normal for this lively city, especially at many 4-star properties. As a result many hotels are discounting heavily to attract travelers.

A golfer's paradise, Augusta, Georgia hosted the Masters Golf Tournament in April, causing hotel prices to rise. But this month, new hotels have increased the number of rooms in this small market, driving down prices for a six percent decrease compared to last year.

Travelers looking to soak up some sun can score a great deal in Cocoa Beach, Florida as well. Hotels in the family-friendly beach town, particularly those in the Cape Canaveral neighborhood, are offering competitive prices which are helping to drive a four percent price drop overall.

Toronto, Ontario and Birmingham, Alabama round out the list, both with a two percent drop. Toronto returns to the top discount list in its peak season. The popular Canadian city is booking fewer conventions and discounting rooms as a result, especially on the weekends.

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

Air Price Drops

Little Rock tops the list with a 16 percent drop, which means there are great deals for those coming to see Riverfest, Arkansas' premiere arts and music festival in late May. San Francisco jumps from third to second this month with a nine percent decrease as low-cost airline carriers continue to create a competitive pricing environment at SFO. Newcomers Birmingham, Akron and Greensboro round out the top five airfare decreases with a seven, seven and six percent drop, respectively.  

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

Car Price Drops

Travelers can rent a car for an average of $30 or less in each of the top five cities this month, which is great news as we enter the busy summer travel season. Boston remains at the top of the discount car list for the second consecutive month with a 61 percent decrease, while Cleveland and Washington, D.C. swap their rankings this month with 52 and 46 percent decreases respectively. Lastly, Las Vegas and Milwaukee rejoin the list with 48 and 47 percent decreases.   

When compared to this time last year, the top five car rental price reductions for May 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