NORWALK, Conn., Aug. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Priceline.com's (Nasdaq: PCLN) annual list of top Labor Day destinations is out, and this year there are some surprises for Summer's last long weekend (September 1-3). After finishing runner-up to New York's Midtown West on last year's Labor Day list, Chicago's North Michigan Ave./River North neighborhood was the #1 most popular destination for 2012. Midtown West slipped to #2, while the Las Vegas North Strip area was #3, the same spot it was in last year.

Philadelphia was probably the biggest surprise. It failed to make the list for Labor Day 2011. This year, four Philly neighborhoods appeared on the list. Hawaii was another destination that didn't appear last year. For Labor Day 2012, Waikiki Beach and Ka'anapali/Lahaina were among the top 50 Labor Day destinations.

Priceline's Top 50 Labor Day list is based on a combination of thousands of hotel room booking requests made on priceline.com's Name Your Own Price® hotel service and bookings made through priceline.com's new Express Deals(sm) hotel service for the upcoming holiday. Because the survey is based on actual bookings and booking requests, and not on consumer preference polls or votes, priceline.com believes its annual survey is one of the more accurate predictors of Labor Day travel trends.

Express Deals is priceline.com's family-friendly hotel booking option for guests who need specific amenities, like a pool or certain bed type, along with that famous priceline.com discount of up to 45%. Unlike Name Your Own Price, customers using Express Deals see their amenities up-front and don't have to bid to get their discount. The name of the hotel is revealed after the transaction is completed. Priceline.com www.priceline.com said it still has plenty of last-minute airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages, tours and attractions, and cruises available for Labor Day getaways. Last-minute travelers also can book hotel rooms and rental cars using the Priceline Hotel Negotiator app for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android. The app can be downloaded for free from the Android market https://market.android.com/details?id=com.priceline.android.negotiator. It can also be downloaded for free from the iTunes store http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/priceline-hotel-car-negotiator/id336381998?mt=8&uo=4

This year, no European cities made Priceline's Top 50 Labor Day list. "It appears that the Olympics hype and favorable exchange rates didn't do enough to offset high international airfares for the holiday," said Brian Ek, Priceline's in-house Travel Ekspert. "Major U.S. cities, however, are going to be crowded over the long weekend, as visitors get in their back-to-school and Fall shopping, and enjoy the restaurants, theaters and museums."

Priceline's Top 50 Destinations for Labor Day 2012

Booking.com is the number one online hotel reservation service in the world, offering over 235,000 hotels (as of August 7, 2012), and is available in 41 languages. More recent hotel counts are available on the Booking.com website. Priceline.com gives leisure travelers multiple ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises. In addition to getting compelling published prices, travelers can take advantage of priceline.com's famous Name Your Own Price® service, which can deliver the lowest prices available, or the recently added Express Deals(SM), where travelers can take advantage of hotel discounts without bidding. Agoda.com is an Asia-based online hotel reservation service that is available in 37 languages. Rentalcars.com is a multinational car hire service, offering its reservation services in over 6,000 locations. Customer support is provided in 38 languages.

SOURCE Priceline.com

The Priceline Group (Nasdaq: PCLN) is a leader in global online hotel reservations, with over 260,000 participating hotels worldwide. The Group is composed of four primary brands – Booking.com, priceline.com, Agoda.com and Rentalcars.com – and several ancillary brands. The Priceline Group provides online travel services in over 180 countries in Europe, North America, South America, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa.