NORWALK, Conn. and DETROIT, July 1,
2015 /PRNewswire/ -- With the summer road trip season
underway and July 4th as
one of the most popular holidays for car excursions, OnStar, a
provider of connectivity services for Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and
Cadillac vehicles, and priceline.com, a leader in online and mobile
travel and part of The Priceline Group (NASDAQ: PCLN), have
partnered to offer drivers the service of conveniently booking
hotels while traveling.
OnStar Guidance plan subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, in need of a quick and easy way to
reserve hotel accommodations while on-the-go, can now secure a stay
via OnStar's new AtYourService feature. OnStar AtYourService allows
customers to speak with an OnStar advisor by simply pushing the
OnStar blue button inside the vehicle. Advisors can verbally
provide information on hotel availability, cost, amenities and
ratings to the vehicle occupants, allowing drivers to keep their
hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. The advisor can then book
a hotel reservation for the subscriber through priceline.com and
download those directions to the vehicle's navigation system.
"In our vehicles, customers now have the ability to secure hotel
reservations through OnStar AtYourService in time for the busy
summer travel season," said Mark
Lloyd, Director, Online Commerce, OnStar. "The service
provides OnStar subscribers with access, even at the last-minute,
to quality hotels across the country. Combined with our navigation,
safety and security offerings, OnStar continues to deliver a
powerful and highly valuable suite of driver services."
"Whether it's for a spontaneous road trip or an unexpected life
or work event, consumers come to us with hundreds of different
reasons for needing a hotel room at the last minute," said
Brett Keller, Chief Marketing
Officer at priceline.com. "Through our OnStar partnership,
consumers have access to deep discounts across the country with a
single push of a button. And if you're a foodie, a hiker or a music
aficionado, priceline.com and OnStar are perfect partners to make
your summer road trip seamless."
Summer Road Trip Tips from OnStar
- Prepare your car for a warm-weather road trip. Check the
cooling and air conditioning systems to make sure they're full and
functioning properly. Replace wiper blades worn out over the
winter, and make sure tire pressure is at recommended levels.
- Drive smart, drive green. Aggressive driving and
excessive idling reduce gas mileage and increase smog. To consume
less fuel, drive sensibly — follow speed limits and avoid abrupt
acceleration — and avoid peak rush hours (sitting in traffic is fun
for no one). Use the OnStar RemoteLink® mobile app to check your
fuel efficiency and tire pressure.
- Navigate via OnStar. Getting lost should be a
thing of the past once you get used to relying on OnStar's
Turn-by-Turn Navigation.
- Adjust itineraries if kids are on the trip. Try to
break up trips into two- to three-hour chunks, stopping for rest
stops or to check out a local tourist attraction. Leave early in
the morning or late at night when kids are likely to spend a few
hours sleeping. Make up road games everyone can play, like first to
spot a Chevrolet Corvette. When using OnStar to reserve a hotel for
the night from priceline.com, ask your OnStar advisor to pick one
that has a pool for the kids, and maybe offers free breakfast or
free Wi-Fi in the room.
- Put pets in the back seat. Pets can be potentially
injured if a front-seat airbag deploys. Never leave pets unattended
in a car, and don't let them ride with their heads out the
window.
- Make arrangements before getting too exhausted. After a
long drive, everyone dreads stretching those last few miles to
reach the next hotel. Look for a location that provides a little
time to relax, maybe a meal and swim before bed, and ask your
OnStar advisor to reserve your room through
priceline.com.
Priceline.com's Recommended Road Trips for Summer
2015
Road trip hotels were shopped on June 24, 2015. Availability and prices are
subject to change at any time. Gasoline costs were estimated
based on an average per-gallon cost of $2.45/gallon and a vehicle getting 20 mpg.
Foodies Fantasy (Charleston,
SC to New Orleans, LA,
1,135 miles, July
13-20)
Gasoline cost $139.65.
Leg
#1
|
(213 Miles)
Charleston to Greenville. Start with shrimp 'n grits, oysters and
low country specialties in Charleston, then head west from the
coast deep into South Carolina, trying barbecues that use a variety
of tomato, mustard and vinegar-based sauces. Priceline.com
per-night rates range for 4-star hotels in the Greenville area
$179-$209; for 3-star hotels $99-$249.
|
Leg
#2
|
(529 Miles) From
Greenville, continue on to Memphis, winding through Tennessee,
Alabama and Mississippi. In Memphis, the barbecue changes, and can
be "wet" with sauce, or dry-rubbed with no additional accompaniment
necessary. Priceline.com per-night rates range for 4-star
hotels in the Memphis area $179-$215; for 3-star hotels
$69-$189.
|
Leg
#3
|
(393 Miles) Then
begin the trek south to New Orleans, where creole and Cajun dishes
are king. Some will say beginning in Charleston and finishing
in New Orleans brings the food journey full-circle. Priceline.com
per-night rates range for 4-star hotels in the New Orleans area
$98-$400; for 3-star hotels $87-$189.
|
Hikers Heaven (Lake Tahoe-Yosemite-Sequoia, 746 miles,
July 11-19)
Gasoline cost $93.10.
Leg
#1
|
(217 Miles) San
Francisco to Lake Tahoe. Hike around the majestic lake, or take in
the sites around Tahoe National Forest, Castle Peak, Echo Lakes and
Horsetail Falls. Plenty of short hikes available to get muscles and
footwear broken in. Priceline.com per-night rates range for
4-star hotels in the South Lake Tahoe area $292-$514; for 3-star
hotels $144-$374.
|
Leg
#2
|
(210 Miles) Lake
Tahoe to Yosemite (El Portal). On everyone's bucket list, Yosemite
has hikes for every fitness fan's and sightseer's needs. The Tioga
Pass Road offers a condensed panorama of what the park has to
offer. Glacier Point Road has tougher hikes, but with rewarding
rock formations and scenes reminiscent of Ansel Adams famous
photographs. Priceline.com per-night rates range for 3-star hotels
in the Yosemite area $140-$282; for 2-star hotels
$125-$212.
|
Leg
#3
|
(137 Miles) Yosemite
to Sequoia National Park (Visalia). Disappear among the giants and
take in the General Sherman Tree, the largest in the world.
Priceline.com per-night rates range for 3-star hotels in the
Visalia area $85-$159; for 2-star hotels $49-$95.
|
Leg
#4
|
(182 Miles) Sequoia
to Los Angeles. Time to rest those legs for the drive (and plane
ride) home. Priceline.com per-night rates range for 4-star hotels
in the Los Angeles area $151-$922; for 3-star hotels
$79-$576.
|
*According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration,
average summer gasoline prices are expected to be $2.45 a gallon, compared with $3.59 a gallon last summer.
For more information, please
visit www.priceline.com/media or connect with
priceline.com on Facebook and Twitter.
About OnStar, LLC
OnStar, LLC (OnStar) is a wholly owned subsidiary of GM Holdings
LLC ("GM"). Along with its affiliate Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co.
Ltd (a joint venture involving OnStar, Shanghai General Motors Co.,
Ltd (SGM) and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC)),
OnStar serves 7 million subscribers in North America and China. OnStar is a provider of Emergency,
Security, Navigation, Diagnostic and Connectivity services. OnStar
with 4G LTE is now available on more than 30 2015 GM models in the
U.S. and Canada.
About priceline.com
Priceline.com, part of The Priceline Group (NASDAQ: PCLN), 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®, where travelers can take advantage of hotel
discounts without bidding.
For press information:
Flavie Lemarchand-Wood,
priceline.com
flavie.lemarchand-wood@priceline.com
Deana Alicea, General Motors
Deana.alicea@gm.com
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pricelinecom-onstar-partner-to-book-last-minute-hotel-rooms-for-drivers-300107800.html
SOURCE priceline.com