On Wednesday, March 11, Expedia announced their "Free Nights and No Fee Flights" promotion, offering travelers their last night free on stays of three, four or five nights at over 700 participating hotels worldwide. As part of this promotion, Expedia is also waiving booking fees on all flights booked on or before May 31, 2009. In response to this news, PhoCusWright's Carroll Rheem relates the news to past growth patterns of online travel agencies in travel industry down-cycles and discusses what the future holds for this segment.

PhoCusWright analysts continually monitor the travel industry for news and trends that impact how travel suppliers and intermediaries connect with consumers.