"NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 31, 2006--Priceline.com(R) (Nasdaq: PCLN) announced today the launch of a new, enhanced Name Your Own Price(R) hotel reservation service full of new features requested by priceline.com customers."

"Priceline.com listened to customers' suggestions for how to make our Name Your Own Price(R) hotel service even better and is pleased to respond today the addition of several frequently requested enhancements," said priceline.com's Senior Vice President, Hotels, Tim Gordon. "In addition to offering the best deals on or off the Web, priceline.com's Name Your Own Price(R) hotel service now provides significantly enhanced speed and convenience."

New Name Your Own Price(R) hotel service features announced today include:

Faster, Easier Web Site. Priceline Hotels' new, shorter two-page Name Your Own Price offer form gets customers in and out in a jiffy. Customers select their preferred geographic area(s) and hotel star level on the same page, which makes it easier than ever to pick the combinations that work best for them.

Best-Deal Recommendations. Every day, priceline.com reviews recent customer offers and hotel responses to those offers, and provides customers with updated guidance as to which geographic areas and star levels provide the best deals.

Last-Minute Booking Option. It's a fact - many priceline.com hotel customers make their plans at the last minute. Now, for those really last-minute travelers, priceline.com will accept Name Your Own Price(R) hotel offers up until 11:00 p.m. ET for check-in that same evening. Offers are typically answered in seconds through priceline.com's automated fulfillment system.

Hotel Stay Extensions. Priceline.com knows that most customers are delighted by the high quality hotel they got at such a great price. Now, customers can extend their hotel stays (and their savings) up to the same number of days as their original request for their same per-day offer price. Extensions can be purchased up until 11:00 a.m. on checkout day, and are subject to availability.

Re-Bid After 1 Day. No bites on your first Name Your Own Price(R) hotel offer? Not to worry. Priceline Hotels has shortened its re-bid waiting period from 3 days to 1, so customers can resubmit an offer for their exact same itinerary (check-in and check-out dates, preferred geographic zone or zones, specific hotel star level) at any price they choose. Or, customers can immediately submit a new offer by changing, adding or deleting a date, zone or hotel star level.

Priceline.com's Name Your Own Price(R) hotel service is easy to use. Start by filling in your desired destination, dates and the number of rooms. Then select your desired area of the city and the hotel star level or category you want. (Priceline.com works with hotels in all of the most popular star categories from one- to four-stars, as well as resorts). Name the per-night price you want to pay for a room. You'll know almost instantly whether your offer was accepted and which hotel accepted your offer. Priceline.com's Name Your Own Price(R) hotel option is unique and different from other major travel reservation services. With Priceline's Name Your Own Price(R) reservation service, the exact hotel is shown only after purchase. Name Your Own Price(R) customers can save up to 50% off the published prices shown on other major online travel reservation services.

Priceline.com's Name Your Own Price hotel service customers also are protected by priceline.com's Best Price Guarantee and Quality Experience Guarantee. If, with 24 hours of making a priceline.com Name Your Own Price hotel purchase, a customer finds a better publicly available price, the customer can call priceline.com and receive a refund for 100% of the price difference. Under priceline.com's Quality Experience Guarantee, priceline.com guarantees that all Name Your Own Price hotel purchases will be confirmed for the dates, area and star level that the customer agreed to (or higher star level). Reservations will be immediately entered into the hotel's own central reservation system. The hotel will be star-rated by priceline.com according to priceline.com's rigorous star rating system and quality standards. Hotel rooms will accommodate two adults. All credit card purchases will be secure. And personal information will remain confidential according to priceline.com's privacy policy.

For customers who want specific accommodations, or a specific brand, priceline.com also offers a traditional hotel reservation service where customers choose the exact hotel and accommodations they want, based on photos, descriptions, maps and customer reviews, and pay the published price.

About Priceline.com

Priceline.com is the leading travel service for value-conscious leisure travelers. No other travel service gives customers more ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises. In addition to getting all the best published prices, leisure travelers can narrow their searches using priceline.com's TripFilter(TM) advanced search technology, create packages to save even more money, and take advantage of priceline.com's famous Name Your Own Price(R) service, which delivers the lowest prices available.

Priceline.com believes that it is the 2nd largest online seller of hotel rooms globally and the largest online hotel reservation service in Europe through its Booking.com network of European hotel reservation services, Activehotels.com and priceline.co.uk. The company also operates the following travel web sites: Travelweb.com, Lowestfare.com, RentalCars.com and BreezeNet.com.

Priceline.com also has a personal finance service that offers home mortgages, refinancing and home equity loans through an independent licensee. Priceline.com licenses its business model to independent licensees, including priceline mortgage and certain international licensees.

Source: Priceline.com Investor Relations

tags: business, priceline.com, name-your-own-price, hospitality, hotels, airlines, online-bookings