14 February, 2005

Wotif.com partners with Multimap to launch new interactive mapping service

Fast mapping tool for travellers simplifies hotel searching

Wotif.com ( www.wotif.com ), the global specialist in last-minute accommodation, is partnering with Multimap, Europe’s leading provider of mapping and location-based services, to launch its new interactive mapping functionality. The new function enables the location of Wotif hotels to be displayed on a map for each destination, and pinpoints individual hotels on zoom-able detailed maps. This fast and effective tool is of benefit to all travellers by further refining accommodation searches.

Destination Maps Displaying Hotels’ Locations

Travellers can now view a destination map with numbered locations of Wotif hotels. This function enables greater ease of use when booking a hotel by delivering more information and allowing travellers to see, for example, how close they are to their next business meeting.

To view prices of each hotel, just click on any Wotif hotel displayed on the map, which will take you to the associated rate matrix and information about your chosen accommodation. The new mapping tool is displayed in the top right hand corner of each search results page, giving users the option to ‘show or hide’ the map displaying Wotif hotels.

Interactive Hotel Maps – Your Hotel’s Exact Location

Travellers interested in a particular hotel can now see the precise location of the hotel in relation to points of interest in the surrounding area including transport facilities, post offices and medical centres. Each interactive hotel map is displayed under ‘Hotel Details’ of the selected hotel information page, giving users the option to ‘show or hide’ the map. The interactive functionalities include zoom in/out, panning in all directions, and the map itself can be printed as a reference in planning the journey to the property.

Matthew Harris, European Manager of Wotif.com comments, “Location is arguably the most important factor when booking the right accommodation, especially for business, but also for the ever more discerning leisure traveller. Our client base is international so with people travelling to unfamiliar places, whether it be London, Paris or Rome, we need to have clear mapping available.

“We are extremely pleased to be working with Multimap as interactive mapping is just another step in our quest to provide customers with the most user-friendly and effective last-minute accommodation website.”

Jeff Kelisky, CEO of Multimap, said, “We have experience providing mapping services to well over 700 business clients across the globe, many of which are in the hospitality sector. They tell us that the addition of our services significantly boosts visitor retention levels and increases customer loyalty, translating to more reservations online. We expect similar results for Wotif.com, and are very pleased to welcome the company on board.”

About Multimap.com

Multimap.com is Europe’s leading provider of mapping and location-based services. The company delivers more online maps, point-to-point driving directions and geo-spatial ("where’s my nearest?") searches to more companies than any other supplier in Europe. All services are offered on WAP, PDA, kiosk, and interactive TV platforms and in multiple languages.

The public web site www.multimap.com provides a range of free, useful services to assist with everyday life. Key features include street-level maps of Europe, USA, Canada and Australia; road maps of the world; door-to-door travel directions; aerial photographs; weather forecasts; links to location information; and services such as hotel, restaurant and entertainment booking. The public site attracts over 7.3 million unique users, registers more than 140 million page impressions every month, and is one of the top 10 most visited web sites in the UK. Multimap recently featured in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 league table of fastest-growing unquoted UK companies across all sectors.

About Wotif.com

Founded in 2000, Wotif.com ( www.wotif.com ) is the global specialist in last-minute accommodation. Its easy-to-use website and booking engine offers travellers value for money, by selling vacant rooms at discounted rates in the next 14 days. Wotif.com’s portfolio includes over 6000 hotels, motels, serviced apartments, resorts, guesthouses and bed & breakfasts in 36 countries.

Wotif.com’s European office is located in London and its properties can be booked online or through its call centre which operates a superior and personable customer service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from its Australian headquarters. International offices of Wotif.com are based in Canada, New Zealand and Singapore.