Expedia eliminates travel booking fees. Sunday, 22nd November 2009 Source : Expedia.com

Expedia has eliminated all phone-based booking fees and will not charge phone booking fees for any flight, car rental, hotel or cruise reservation booked by phone. The change to Expedia.com's service policy is immediate.

This is the latest example of the meaningful steps Expedia.com is taking to drive down the cost of travel and to put travelers first in everything the company does. Expedia.com is now the only major online travel agency to offer fee-free telephone booking for air travel. By comparison, some online travel agencies charge as much as $25 per ticket to book via phone. Many airlines also apply as much as $25 in fees, per ticket, to book by phone.

The company eliminated online air booking fees and change fees and cancel fees on all hotel and car rental reservations in May 2009. Cruise change and cancel fees were also eliminated in May 2009 and cruise booking fees were eliminated in October 2009.

"Expedia.com is proud to stand up for the rights of phone-using Americans," said Tim MacDonald, senior vice president and general manager, Expedia.com. "In recent years, travel fees -- for baggage, gas, parking and the like -- have had a tendency to rise in unexpected and unpleasant ways. Expedia.com has chosen to move in a different direction. We expect that this decision will be well received by the millions of travelers we serve."

More travelers trust Expedia.com than any other travel site. Expedia.com delivers the most travel options in the world, which allows travelers to mix and match those options to book the trip they desire for a great price. Expedia.com also provides an easy and convenient booking experience with features including the Fare Alert tool that delivers bargain fares for flights directly to a computer desktop, a Seat Guru service offering expert advice on the best airplane seats, the Deal Finder tool that delivers attractive destination deals to a Google home page, and a Traveler Opinions feature that provides the inside scoop and user ratings on hotels from people who have actually stayed there, and more.