Emily Kaufman Shows Family Travelers Some OrbitzTLC

CHICAGO, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Orbitz.com and Emily Kaufman, noted author and broadcast contributor, are answering the call to meet the challenges of family travel.

Orbitz (http://www.orbitz.com/) announced today the launch of its Family Travel store (http://family.orbitz.com/), featuring content from noted travel expert, Travel Mom Emily Kaufman. The new Family Travel store takes into account the wishes and needs of moms, dads, toddlers, teens and even grandparents. Recognizing this group has unique needs and interests as travelers, Orbitz has created a one-stop destination for families to plan and book everything from a weekend road trip through a National Park to a week-long European vacation.

Whether looking for a resort that has all the amenities your family desires or insider tips on finding strollers in the airport, the Orbitz Family Travel store is a comprehensive, family-focused resource. The Orbitz Family Travel store offers unbiased destination information, expert advice and useful reviews compiled by parents themselves -- the valuable insight every parent needs to plan a successful family trip.

"As a parent of three, I understand the challenges and unique considerations involved in planning a family vacation," said Steve Barnhart, president of Orbitz Worldwide, a brand of Travelport, Inc. "Orbitz has taken the lead to provide a family travel guide with a broad range of resources and vacation options, tailored specifically to the needs of families."

Motherly Advice

Who knows family travel better than parents themselves? To give families advice that is relevant to how they travel, Orbitz has partnered with renowned family travel expert and author, Emily Kaufman, to serve as the "Orbitz Travel Mom". Kaufman began her career as a parenting expert and shifted her focus to family travel. She offers parents family travel tips and practical pointers from the perspective of a mom who has traveled the world with her own family.

Kaufman is featured on the Orbitz Family Travel store, offering parents information and expert advice on every aspect of family travel, from the latest airline guidelines for traveling with children to recommendations on the resorts with the best kid's programs. Kaufman will also blog on various topics related to family travel and answer questions that families can submit to her via email at orbitztravelmom@orbitz.com.

"Moms are the family CEO when it comes to organizing and planning travel. I'm proud to be the Orbitz Travel Mom because of the exciting way Orbitz.com is taking leadership and designing a special family travel experience on their site," said Emily Kaufman, noted family travel expert. "The new Orbitz Family Travel store is one of the best planned, most comprehensive and well executed family travel resources I've seen from an online travel agency. I'm looking forward to contributing my insights and advice, as well as interacting with parents to help them book a great family trip."

"Having our own Orbitz Travel Mom is a sign of our dedication to give families the rich information, insider tips, real family reviews and OrbitzTLC they won't find anywhere else to have a memorable, relaxing holiday," said Randy Susan Wagner, Chief Marketing Officer, Orbitz Worldwide.

In addition to Emily's expert advice, Orbitz' Hotel Scorecard gives families all the relevant information they need to know about a hotel property - from reviews written by other families. User reviews are solicited from Orbitz customers that have actually booked and stayed at the hotel, and include individual scores on amenities, maintenance, hotel staff, room comfort, location and overall value. Customers give the hotel an overall numeric rating when asked, "Based on your recent stay, please rate your overall satisfaction with this hotel." Additionally, reviewers can post editorial comments about their hotel stay to give other customers more descriptive and colorful information about the property and things to do during their trip (shopping, dining, local attractions, money saving opportunities, etc).

No matter where the family travels, they can easily stay on top of their plans with OrbitzTLC Mobile Access (http://mobile.orbitz.com/) and other OrbitzTLC services. Travelers can check Orbitz travel itineraries, flight status and real-time, last-minute hotel availability in 20 U.S. markets right from their mobile phone or other wireless device. Customers can learn more about these and other OrbitzTLC services -- including OrbitzTLC Alerts - by going to http://www.orbitzandgo.com/tlc or by clicking on the "TLC" tab on the Orbitz.com homepage.

Apart from her work with Orbitz, Emily Kaufman appears on various news and entertainment programs as a family travel expert on national and local radio and television stations throughout the country. She has written for a variety of publications, including Woman's Day and Parents magazines, and is the author of The Travel Mom's Ultimate Book Of Family Travel.

About Orbitz

Orbitz (http://www.orbitz.com/) is a leading online travel company that enables travelers to search for and purchase a broad array of travel products, including airline tickets, lodging, rental cars, cruises and vacation packages. Since launching its website http://www.orbitz.com/ to the general public in June 2001, Orbitz has become the third largest online travel site based on gross travel bookings. On Orbitz, consumers can search more than 400 airlines, more than 65,000 lodging properties worldwide and 13 car rental companies. Orbitz is a Travelport Inc. brand. Travelport (http://www.travelport.com/) is one of the largest and most geographically diverse travel companies, dedicated to creating the exceptional travel experiences the world demands.