Expedia appoints Chris Hann as Retail Manager

Expedia appoints Chris Hann as Retail Manager, Australia & New Zealand

Auckland, 5 July 2010 – Expedia, Inc, the world's largest online travel company and operator of the Expedia.com.auTM and Expedia.co.nz websites in Australasia, has announced the appointment of Chris Hann as Retail Manager, Australia and New Zealand. In this newly-created role, Mr Hann will manage the company’s extensive product line while seeking new product opportunities to respond to Expedia’s strong local and regional growth.

His appointment follows the recent appointments of Dan Lynn as Managing Director, Expedia Asia Pacific and Nicolas Chu as General Manager, Australia and New Zealand.

With 10 years’ experience as a website manager and producer, including stints at Columbia Publishing and Time Incorporated, Mr Hann brings significant experience to this new position. Mr Hann has been with Expedia for three years and prior to this new role, he was Head of Content and Merchandising for Expedia Asia Pacific, a position he held for over two years.

Mr Hann is an expert in analysing and predicting travel trends. Before joining Expedia Australia in 2007, he was a Senior Producer and Web Developer at Time Inc Magazines. In his new role, he studies Expedia’s rich historical data and current product offerings to better determine how Expedia can provide its consumers with additional product and as many flight, hotel, car and dynamic packing options as possible.

“Hotel transactions on Expedia.co.nz for various European destinations have already grown by at least 180 per cent in the first four months of 2010, compared to the same period last year. We have seen a significant growth in bookings particularly for Mediterranean destinations, and as we continue to track which areas receive exceptional interest, we will look to partner with even more companies to provide our consumers with as many booking options as possible,” said Mr Hann.

The biggest rise in hotel bookings over the first four months of the year was posted by destinations bordering the Mediterranean such as Greece, Italy and Spain. Other European destinations that grew by at least 180 per cent include Istanbul, Turkey, and Manchester, England.

Expedia.co.nz already offers flights with more than 170 airlines around the world, and bookings for more than 120,000 hotels globally – the largest array of hotel options in the online travel industry.

Born and raised in Western Australia, Mr Hann attended Edith Cowan University in Perth.

ENDS

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