Orbitz to Cut Hotel-Booking Fee | wsj.com

Orbitz Worldwide Inc. plans to announce Wednesday that it will reduce the service fee it charges travelers to book hotel rooms on its Web site through July 15, upping the ante after recent online travel-agency moves to cut the fee on airline-ticket bookings. Booking a hotel room on Orbitz.com will be cheaper than it will be on competitor sites like Travelocity.com and Expedia Inc.'s Expedia.com about 80% of the time, says Barney Harford, president and chief executive of Orbitz. When Orbitz is cheaper, the average savings will be $7 a night, says spokesman Brian Hoyt. The company declined to say what the average hotel booking fee will be.