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blog itCHICAGO – June 20, 2006 – Orbitz (www.orbitz.com), celebrating its 5th Anniversary, is today encouraging its customers and online gamers to "Take 5" and enjoy a round of golf. Orbitz is announcing the rollout of its latest online game experience, "Build It and They Will Putt," that allows players not only to play, but also to design their own favorite hole. From now until August 7, 2006, Orbitz gamers can enter a sweepstakes that includes prizes such as free travel and golfing products. Eighteen winning hole designs will be voted on by players and live on the "Build It And They Will Putt" game.
For official sweepstakes rules visit http://www.orbitzgames.com/rules.aspx.
Initially in the form of online pop-unders, Orbitz launched the first of its sixty-five online games in 2002. In September 2005, Orbitz launched OrbitzGames.com (www.orbitzgames.com), a website that aggregated all the most popular games in one place online. OrbitzGames.com allows new and loyal Orbitz gamers to interact with the brand in one easy-to-find Internet destination, and connects consumers with the brand even when they are not thinking about travel.
Since its launch, OrbitzGames.com has proved extremely successful with over 330 thousand registered members and more than 16 million total site visits (9.1 million of which are repeat visits). More than 1.3 million visitors have sent a "tell-a-friend" message to let others know about the Orbitz games.
"Booking travel today has become a game, and we want people to know that Orbitz is the way to win that game," said Randy Wagner, chief marketing officer, Orbitz and CheapTickets. "People tell us they love that Orbitz is innovative and easy to use, so this is just one more way we're making our innovative games easy to find and enjoy."
NEW "Build It and They Will Putt" Golf Game
Created in 2002, Orbitz' first online golf game, "Sink the Putt," is still available in the arcade section of OrbitzGames.com and is one of the most popular games played. Now, Orbitz launches the new "Build It and They Will Putt" game. The new golf game gives players the opportunity to design the mini-golf hole of their dreams, choosing one of several characters to play the course. Characters in the game are actual Orbitz employees -- including Mitch Truwit, president and CEO of Travelport Inc's global consumer travel unit which includes Orbitz.
Players can share their course with other OrbitzGames members who can rate and also play the multiple submitted course combinations. Players can rate each course based on difficulty, creativity and likeability. Every week for six weeks – from now until August 7, 2006 – voters will choose a winning course design and the designer will win airfare for two anywhere in the U.S. and a new driver.
Players can design and submit multiple holes, increasing their chances of winning a prize. The winning designs will be combined to make up the final 18-hole golf course feature on OrbitzGames.com. Individuals who play and vote on their favorite hole can enter for a chance to win the grand prize – a golf vacation to Hawaii for four provided by Orbitz and a custom set of golf clubs from Golfsmith.
After just one day, players have built more than 3,100 holes, and over 60,000 votes have been submitted for the best holes.
For official sweepstakes rules visit http://www.orbitzgames.com/rules.aspx.
Book Your Tee Time Online
Golf enthusiasts who want to test their golf game on a real course can find courses in destinations across the globe and reserve their tee times online on Orbitz through its relationship with TeeBone® Golf.
To find travel deals and book tee time reservations to help you get on the right course at the right price, visit www.golf.orbitz.com.
About Orbitz:
Orbitz (www.Orbitz.com) is a leading online travel company that enables travelers to search for and purchase a broad array of travel products, including airline tickets, lodging, rental cars, cruises and vacation packages. Since launching its website www.Orbitz.com to the general public in June 2001, Orbitz has become the third largest online travel site based on gross travel bookings. On Orbitz, consumers can search more than 455 airlines, tens of thousands of lodging properties worldwide and 16 car rental companies. J.D. Power and Associates noted that Orbitz.com had the highest customer satisfaction for independent travel web sites – hotels in its 2005 Independent Hotel Web Site StudySM. Study based on responses from 3,668 consumers who booked their hotel reservations through an independent travel Web site. www.jdpower.com. Orbitz was acquired by Cendant's Travel Distribution Services division (now Travelport Inc.) in November 2004 and is part of the Consumer Travel Americas group.
Media Contacts:
Contact:
Jeanenne Diefendorf
Orbitz
312-894-4986
jdiefendorf@orbitz.com
Bryan Olender
Brodeur
617-587-2044
bolender@brodeur.com
