Priceline
has become the first Singapore travel company to feature on MSN`s local travel channel.

The partnership aims to bring affordable travel to MSN users, plus the convenience of a one-stop Internet shop for travel information, tips and bookings. It follows a new regional alliance between Priceline and MSN. MSN is currently hosting Priceline`s Name Your Own Price booking engine for quality air tickets and hotel rooms around the world, meaning travellers can book their trips directly through MSN`s travel channel.

MSN and Priceline plan to upgrade the service next month by launching an Expert Zone forum for travellers to share their Priceline experiences. Both companies will support the new partnership with a range of promotional activities, making travel even more affordable. The MSN-Priceline alliance also embraces MSN`s Chinese-language website in Hong Kong.

Said MSN`s Regional Business Development Director Rajesh Sambwani: “This agreement underlines the confidence of both companies in the extraordinary growth of e-travel in the region. We believe Priceline will be a great boost to our Singapore travel offerings, presenting our Singapore customers with the opportunity to get the best deals from the travel industry. Priceline`s customers are smart, professional and independent, while MSN`s community-building services provide a wide range of information with direct benefits for the independent traveller.”

Added Hutchison-Priceline CEO Alfredo Gangotena: “This is exactly what Singapore`s leisure travellers have always wanted: an integrated site with comprehensive travel information plus the significant savings that Priceline`s Name Your Own Price service provides. MSN is a great new distribution channel for Priceline - it`s hard to beat for sheer convenience.”

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Mr Gangotena said Priceline always encourages it customers to do some homework about pricing and destinations before they make an offer through Priceline. “Now, with just one stop on the Internet, MSN users can save both time and money by getting information and booking their trips,” he said.

 

Priceline already has added seven new airline and more than 850 hotel partners since its May 29 launch in Singapore. Mr Gangotena said this underlines the efficacy of the Priceline model, which provides incremental revenue for airlines and hotel by being the only sales channel for their excess inventories. Priceline`s 32 airline and 8,000-plus hotel partners allow travellers to make offers for air fares to Asia, Europe, North America, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, and for hotel rooms in more than 1,300 cities around the world.

Related stories on ITN:

(24/07/2002) Priceline and Yahoo! in Asia Join Forces

(30/05/2002) Priceline Launches `Name Your Own Price` in Singapore.

(14/03/2002) Priceline to Operate in Hong Kong

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