Consumer Reports WebWatch to Release Groundbreaking Research at First-Ever Conference on Trust and Credibility in Online Travel

YONKERS, N.Y., Top executives from Hotels.com, Kayak.com, Mobissimo, Orbitz, SideStep, and Travelocity join Consumer Reports WebWatch, the leader in investigative reporting on trust and credibility in the online marketplace, for its first conference of 2005.

"Trust or Consequence: Why Credibility is the Killer App for Online Travel," first of a series of national conferences on Web credibility issues, will be held Tuesday, March 1, at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas. Click http://www.ersvp.com/rsvp/ reply.htm?evtr(equal)bbifd&cacheid(equa l)1105159903.6936&cobrandid(equalersvp to learn more about the conference, speakers and agenda.

New Research on First- and Business-Class Travel

At the one-day conference, WebWatch will discuss, exclusive to this conference, results of new research on booking first- and business-class airfares online; present conclusions for consumers from more than two years of analysis of the online travel marketplace; and discuss its joint research with international consumer organizations on the European market.

Don't miss the opportunity to meet:

• Brian Barth -- CEO, SideStep
• Steve Hafner -- CEO, Kayak.com
• Shafiq Khan -- SVP of eCommerce, Marriott International
• Kevin Krone -- VP of Interactive Marketing, Southwest Airlines
• Cheryl Rosner -- President, Hotels.com
• Michael D. Sands -- President, Orbitz, Inc.
• Beatrice Tarka -- CEO, Mobissimo
• Tracey Weber -- SVP of Air, Car and Last-Minute Deals, Travelocity
• Brad Elbein -- Regional Director, Southwest Regional Office, U.S. Federal Trade Commission
• Perry Perfors -- Head of Research, Consumentenbond of the Netherlands
• Robert Mayer, Ph.D. -- Professor of Family and Consumer Studies, University of Utah
• John Hawks -- President, Association of Retail Travel Agents
• Michele McDonald -- Editor & Publisher, AMC Communications International, Inc.
• Bill McGee -- Consultant, Consumer Reports WebWatch
• Beau Brendler -- Director, Consumer Reports WebWatch

"The Consumer Reports WebWatch 2003 Summit on Web Credibility inspired us to begin this year's series of 'Trust or Consequence' conferences around the country," said Beau Brendler, director of WebWatch. "We encourage travel professionals, academics and media who want to understand the future of online travel and Web credibility to attend this conference."

Conference participants will learn about:

• Future trends in online travel, the biggest market force on the Web
• The impact of "zillion-dollar" marketing competition among the 10 leading independent sites
• Suppliers, such as hotel chains, "buying back" distribution systems and promising exclusive deals
• Online marketing practices that are confusing at best, deceptive at worst
• The latest on WebWatch's joint research venture with European consumer groups in the U.K., France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Denmark
• How five Web site guidelines can make a big difference in consumer trust

About Consumer Reports WebWatch: - Consumer Reports WebWatch is the leader in investigative reporting on trust and credibility in the online marketplace. Consumer WebWatch uses the proven methods of Consumer Reports to produce comprehensive research, breakthrough conferences and serves as a daily resource of unbiased and trustworthy information. Its research agenda includes entire online marketplaces, such as travel, search, health, financial services and more. Consumer WebWatch is a project of Consumers Union and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Open Society Institute. WebWatch's investigative reports, articles and news are available to the general public and Consumer Reports' five million on- and offline subscribers and at .

Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, is an expert, independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. To achieve this mission, we test, inform, and protect. To maintain our independence and impartiality, CU accepts no outside advertising, no free test samples, and has no agenda other than the interests of consumers. CU supports itself through the sale of our information products and services, individual contributions, and a few noncommercial grants. Consumer Reports content can be found online at http:// www.ConsumerReports.org. Consumers Union's public policy work can be found online at .

Related Document