Orbitz Worldwide is a leading global online travel company that enables leisure and business travelers, through the use of their innovative technology, to search for, plan, and book a wide range of travel products and services. These include airline tickets, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and vacation packages.

A number of consumer brands are also owned by Orbitz: CheapTickets, ebookers, and HotelClub. Orbitz Partner Network delivers private label travel solutions to a range of partners including many of the world’s largest airlines, and Orbitz for Business delivers managed travel solutions for enterprises.

History

In 1999, a group of leading U.S. airlines – American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United – formed Orbitz to participate in the rapidly growing online travel industry. With their website launched in 2001, Orbitz was acquired by Cendant in 2004. They took on responsibility for their domestic online travel business, CheapTickets, and Sydney, Australia-based Flairview Travel, which operates the international online hotel websites, HotelClub and RatesToGo. In February 2005, Cendant acquired ebookers, with an online presence in 13 countries in Europe. Orbitz Worldwide became a public company in July 2007.

The Service

In a recent review of the top 10 travel sites by Top Ten Reviews, a leading consumer comparison site, Orbitz swept the board gaining 9.50 out of a possible 10 points against the other nine contenders for the top spot. One of the main reasons for its ranking was its flexibility in mixing and matching to find the best times, methods of travel, and destinations by working directly with hotels, airlines, and other travel businesses to develop packages combining multiple reservation options.

• Orbitz enables advanced flight filtering by the number of stops, departure and arrival times, flight class, and flexible days. This looks for tickets up to three days before or after the preferred date.

• Hotel searches display results based on distance from a city’s center by default. Results can be adjusted based on lowest price, star rating, and reviewer score. Within the hotel’s profile is a list of nearby attractions allowing choices based on personal interests.
• Orbitz can book inexpensive rental cars and finds the best vehicle and price for your budget.
• Cruises can also be booked online with Orbitz. Cruise searches are based on destination, and a preferred cruise line and departure date can be booked up to two years in advance.
• It is also possible to reserve tickets for pre-selected events through Orbitz.

One step at a time, Orbitz guides you through the booking process and immediately sends email confirmations with all the necessary details about your reservation.

Orbitz also offers alerts about flight delays, cancellations, gate changes, and airport advisories. You can set preferences for these alerts to notify you three to five hours before departure and even opt for a wakeup call if you have an early morning flight.

Orbucks, Orbitz’s loyalty rewards program, enables you to automatically save up to 5 percent off hotels, 2 percent off flights, and 1 percent off package deals.

Affiliates and Partners

Becoming an Orbitz affiliate is a relatively easy process, with no joining fees involved. It only requires placing an Orbitz ad on the affiliate’s website. Commission is earned for each transaction generated when a customer clicks through tracked links.

Orbitz Partner Network delivers private label travel solutions to a broad range of partners, including many of the world’s leading airlines, financial institutions, hotels, travel sites, associations, and travel agent networks. Filling in an application form starts the process to becoming a partner.

Statistics

• By the end of 2014, the company reported a net revenue of $909 million
• Orbitz has 1,400 employees worldwide
• Hundreds of airlines work with Orbitz
• More than 110,000 hotels are working with Orbitz in 180 countries and 15,000 cities
• 20 car rental firms work with Orbitz
• Orbitz sells millions of travel packages every year
• Orbitz for Business has more than 700 corporate clients