Orbitz.com, the flagship brand of Orbitz Worldwide, is a travel fare aggregator website and travel metasearch engine. Customers using Orbitz.com can book their travels from start to finish, thanks to the state-of-the-art search engine and booking services for flights, hotels, vacation packages, car rentals, and cruises.
History
Orbitz.com was launched in June 2001 by a group of major airlines including Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines, and American Airlines. These airlines created a dedicated online portal through which customers could book airline tickets according to their preferences.
Orbitz.com was an immediate success, armed with the fastest search engine in the world, designed at MIT. Orbitz was also popular due to its promise to provide real-time notifications of flight cancellations and delays to customers.
Orbitz.com has gradually added new services beyond flight bookings. Now, they offer booking services for hotels, car rentals, and cruises, as well as vacation packages from many different providers. These comprehensive services make Orbitz.com a one-stop-shop through which customers can plan and book their travels with ease.
Orbitz.com was the first company to launch a mobile app selling flights and vacation packages. This award-winning app made the entire booking process very simple for customers with smartphones. Orbitz is also known for their loyalty program, Orbitz Rewards, through which customers can earn Orbucks and benefit from deals and discounts on hotel bookings.
In 2015, Orbitz.com was acquired by travel company Expedia Inc.
The service
To list your property with Orbitz.com, you’ll need to apply through Expedia Partner Central (EPC). Signup is easy, quick, and free. It will give you exposure across more than 200 Expedia travel booking sites, including the Orbitz.com brand. This opens more doors for bookings through multiple channels.
Once you’ve signed up, a sales expert will send you a tailored offer and ask for some details. You’ll send photos of your property, as well as rates and availability. Within a few days, your property will be featured on Orbitz.com, and other Expedia group websites.
You can then manage the property online – adjusting arrivals, rates, and inventory as necessary. There are also a host of online marketing tools to assist with maximizing your profits and developing a successful marketing strategy.
In a world where many travelers are using the web to make bookings, online reviews are crucial to building your brand’s reputation. Through the EPC mobile app, you can see guest reviews as soon as they are written, and respond to them on-the-go. You can look at real-time market insights and confirm reservations, too. The app also offers multiple options for optimizing bookings, extending promotions, creating targeted promotions, and viewing competitor promotions.
Overall, EPC services are an invaluable way to increase bookings all year round and get the most online exposure.
Orbitz.com statistics (as part of Expedia Inc.)
- 60 million unique visitors per month
- 260,000+ bookable properties
- 400+ affiliated airlines
- 150 websites in 70+ countries
- 39.4 billion dollars gross bookings (2013)
- Exposure in over 75 countries, in over 35 languages
Partnership perks
As Orbitz.com is part of leading travel company Expedia Inc., listing your hotel with the Expedia group gives you the chance to be seen by a huge, global audience of more than 53 million global travelers. Your listing will be featured across all Expedia sites including Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, Travelocity, and Hotels.com.
Other booking engines
Want to learn about other booking engines? Read about Expedia, Kayak, Booking.com, and Travelocity.
