BLUE-SKY PROMISES
With gas prices up and the greenback down, it looks like a bummer summer for the travel industry. For online agencies, that means a promotion-heavy push for customers. Priceline.com offers a "sunshine guarantee" for customers who buy tickets by July 17 and use them by Sept.7 for any of more than 100 destinations, including notoriously rainy Seattle. The promise: a 100% refund if it rains a half-inch a day for half the trip. Orbitz Worldwide says it will notify customers if tickets for a flight they've booked are purchased for a lower price by another Orbitz user--and refund the difference. Expedia joins the long list of companies offering free gas as a premium. And those with 20,000 points on Travelocity's credit-card program get a $400 credit.
Copyright 2008 BusinessWeek
