CheapAccommodation.com, sister company of Cheapflights.co.uk, today announces record traffic figures of over 450,000 unique users for October 2004.
CheapAccommodation, like its sister site Cheapflights, is a price comparison site allowing consumers from around the world to compare and contrast the best accommodation deals from a huge range of suppliers.
CheapAccommodation.com displays an unbeatable depth and range of product that spans anything from globally recognised hotel chains and co-operations such as Inter Continental Hotels, SRS-WORLDHOTELS, Thistle Hotels and Moat House Hotels, to household names including lastminute.com, BA Holidays, Hotels.com and Travelocity.com to unique niche providers such as the 5 star South African specialists Mantis Collection, Caribbean Hotels, India Travelite and Bed & Breakfast UK.
The site now boasts over 35,000 deals to an amazing 1,500 destinations, with accommodation available from more than 250 advertisers.
CheapAccommodation.com has seen a massive growth of over 160% year-on-year as users from around the world take advantage of its unparalleled product range and global appeal – with up to 45% of October’s unique users from countries outside the UK.
The site recently reached No. 18 in the Hitwise online travel rankings out of over 3000 in the Hitwise destinations and hotels category, an astonishing achievement for a site that has spent no money whatsoever on offline advertising since it launched a year ago.
Karen Plumb , Head of CheapAccommodation.com, attributes this success to the distinctive approach to this increasingly competitive market sector:
“No other site gives users the opportunity to search such a wide selection of big-name hotel chains, booking companies, and specialist independent hotels, hostels, bed & breakfasts and villas.”
“We cater for those who want to stay in an established hotel and also for people who want to do something completely different off the beaten track. We feature advertisers from everywhere from Peru to Perth, and as a result our customers are able to choose their ideal holiday accommodation wherever they are going – from the comfort of their chair at home or in the office.”
The site has also recently introduced a new last minute section for people wanting to travel within 14 days, and an exclusive ‘Fantasy Nights’ webpage which gives customers the chance to find a truly one-of-a-kind holiday, from arts festivals in Marrakesh to the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Notes to Editors Founded in 1996, and profitable since launch, Cheapflights.co.uk pioneered the travel price comparison model in the UK. Each day, Cheapflights displays over one million fares on flights, holidays, short breaks and accommodation, from over 700 travel partners. This makes Cheapflights the most comprehensive directory of travel deals available and a natural starting point for travel.
Leading online measurement company Hitwise describes Cheapflights.co.uk as ‘the UK’s favourite travel price comparison site’; and the Company's unique user numbers support this, reaching over 2,000,000 unique users in August 2004 (source: WebTrends).
The company estimates that it will generate travel product sales of over £525 million for its more than 700 UK partners this year. And these advertisers read like a Who’s Who of the travel world - ranging from British Airways, Thomson and Lastminute.com to specialist operators like Barwell Travel, Journey Latin America and Serenity Holidays.
Additionally, Cheapflights is one of the few British Internet companies successfully to establish an operation in the USA with Cheapflights.com. Launched in May 2003, it is already in the top 25 US travel sites (source: Hitwise USA, Travel Agents Category) and heading for similar popularity.
The company also operates the highly successful global accommodation website Cheapaccommodation.com and launched a similar site for the package holiday market - Cheapholidaydeals.co.uk - in January 2004. Cheapholidaydeals, the only major UK internet travel site to launch in 2004, won the WebUser Gold Award and was runner-up in the travel category for the New Media Age effectiveness awards.
In 2004 Cheapflights won The National Business Award, South East Region, for the "best growth strategy" category.
