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Priceline.com Hotel Service Broadens Lineup Of "Palm Tree Properties" With Addition Of Mexico And The Bahamas

NORWALK, Conn., Aug 20, 2001 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Now, save on hotels and resorts in Mexico, the Bahamas, Hawaii, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Arizona, California and Florida There's never been a better time for a second summer vacation - or for locking in savings on next winter's warm-weather getaway. Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) said today that its Name Your Own Price(sm) hotel service has broadened its lineup of "palm tree properties" with the addition of Mexico and the Bahamas. Now, consumers can save on name-brand hotels ranging from economical one-star properties to the most luxurious warm-weather resorts. Priceline.com's hotel service now offers "palm tree properties" in Acapulco, Cancun, Fort Lauderdale, Grand Bahama, Hawaii, Ixtapa, Kauai, Los Cabos, Maui, Mexico City, Miami Beach, Nassau, Oahu, Orlando, Palm Springs, Paradise Island, Puerto Rico, Puerto Vallarta, Phoenix, San Diego, Scottsdale, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In addition to available hotels in one- to four-star categories, priceline.com also offers luxury resorts in all of its "palm tree" destinations. To qualify as a priceline.com resort, a hotel must offer tennis courts, a spa or fitness facility, one or more pools, and multiple food and beverage choices. All priceline.com resorts feature golf on-site or nearby. Resorts in coastal areas feature beachfront access. In the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, a total of more than 6,300 hotels participate in the priceline.com program. Rooms can be purchased at the last-minute - up until 6 p.m. for use that same night - or they can be booked up to a full 11 months in advance. Hotels is one of the fastest growing priceline.com services. In the 2nd quarter 2001, priceline.com's hotel service sold 680,604 room nights, a 57 percent increase over the 1st quarter 2001. Priceline.com is currently beta testing a European hotel service for U.S. residents, which is expected to launch this fall. "The expansion of our hotel service enables us to provide our customers with a wider array of hotel rooms and resorts to satisfy their needs," said Richard S. Braddock, priceline.com's chairman and CEO. "We're pleased that our product continues to deliver significant value to consumers, and to the hotels that derive incremental bookings and revenue through their priceline.com participation." Priceline.com's hotel service is easy to use. Travelers provide the days they'll need rooms, the city and the location in which they want to stay. After determining where they want to stay, travelers choose the type of hotel by entering the star rating they want (1-star, 2-star, 2.5-star, 3-star, 4-star). If they prefer, they can also specify that they want a resort property. Then the traveler enters the price he or she wants to pay for the room per-night. Priceline.com then works with its hotel suppliers to try to find a hotel in that star category willing to accept the traveler's price. About Priceline.com Priceline.com is the Name Your Own Price(sm) Internet service that offers products for sale in four categories: a travel service that offers leisure airline tickets, hotel rooms and rental cars; a personal finance service that offers home mortgages, refinancing and home equity loans through an independent licensee; an automotive service that offers new cars; and a telecommunications service that offers long distance calling services. Priceline.com licenses its business model to independent licensees, including pricelinemortgage and certain international licensees. In these arrangements, priceline.com generally receives royalties for licensing its intellectual property. Priceline.com also holds securities carrying the right to purchase a significant equity stake in the licensees under certain conditions. Unless those rights are exercised, the results of licensee operations will not be included in priceline.com's financial statements. Information About Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict; therefore, actual results may differ materially from those expressed, implied or forecasted in any such forward-looking statements. Expressions of future goals and similar expressions including, without limitation, "may," "will," "should," "could," "expects," "does not currently expect," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "targets," or "continue," reflecting something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: adverse changes in the Company's relationships with airlines and other product and service providers; adverse changes in general market conditions for leisure and other travel products; systems-related failures and/or security breaches; the effects of increased competition; the Company's ability to protect its intellectual property rights; losses by the Company and its licensees; any adverse impact from negative publicity and negative customer reaction to such publicity; legal and regulatory risks and the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel. For a detailed discussion of these and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company's most recent Form 10-Q, Form 10-K and Form 8-K filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Unless required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. CONTACT: Priceline.com Brian Ek, 203/299-8167 brian.ek@priceline.com