SideStep, Inc., the travel search engine, today introduced SideStep Hotels, a new Web-based version of its popular hotel search offering.
SideStep has traditionally made its innovative travel search engine
available to consumers via a downloadable toolbar. More than five million
people have downloaded the SideStep toolbar to help them discover flight,
hotel and rental car bargains. Now, SideStep will also offer its hotel
search service via the Web—no download required.

SideStep Hotels searches dozens of Web sites to find outstanding hotel
values. By checking online agencies, consolidators, and the sites of the
hoteliers themselves, SideStep Hotels not only tracks down the best
bargains worldwide, it also helps consumers to find rooms at the hotels
they want most—even when other sites are sold out. The search engine
transfers travelers to the sites of SideStep partners when they are ready
to book their reservations. With SideStep Hotels, consumers buy directly
from brands they know and trust, such as Holiday Inn, Fairmont Hotels &
Resorts, Ramada, Hotels.com and Howard Johnson.

For those who want to comparison shop, SideStep continues to offer the
SideStep toolbar. With the toolbar, savvy shoppers can view SideStep’s
results right alongside those from other popular travel sites. This
side-by-side comparison helps consumers to feel confident they’ve found
the best options.

“We aim to dramatically improve the travel shopping experience for the
average consumer,” said SideStep CEO Brian Barth. “Extending our reach to
the Web—beginning with hotel search—allows us to bring SideStep’s
benefits to a broader audience. Consumers who want a simple yet powerful
travel search experience will turn to our Web offerings, available both
via SideStep and through a few select distribution partners,” Barth
continued. “Those who value the confidence that comes from comparison
shopping will get the SideStep toolbar. We will serve both segments well
—and our business will grow all the faster as a result.”
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