Orbitz Shares Jump After 1Q Results, Hotel Deal

As spending on business and leisure travel has dropped in the global economic downturn, Orbitz and other online travel agencies have taken more aggressive measures to steal business from their rivals.

During the first quarter, the major online travel companies have all eliminated their air booking fees — at least temporarily. Last month, Orbitz also launched a promotion that slashed booking fees on hotels through July 15.

And on Tuesday, Orbitz launched "Hotel Price Assurance," which guarantees that it will refund the difference if another consumer books the same hotel for less at a later date. Orbitz already offers "Price Assurance" for airline bookings.

Orbitz noted that it lowered its marketing costs during the quarter by nearly 25 percent to $64 million. The company also reduced selling, general and administrative expenses by 14 percent to $66 million, driven mostly by staff and contractor cuts in November 2008 and January 2009.