SideStep Steers Consumers to Accurate Rental Car Price Comparisons

    SANTA CLARA, Calif.--May 9, 2001--SideStep (www.sidestep.com), a leading online travel service, today announced enhancements to the company's rental car pricing feature, making SideStep the first and only Internet travel search service to deliver full rental car pricing information to travelers.
    SideStep's car rental feature allows travelers to accurately and easily compare the total base price for rentals to obtain the lowest cost and most convenient option for their travel needs.
    SideStep's unique technology searches, prioritizes and displays the best rates across a broad range of travel suppliers. With the new rental car pricing display, SideStep will show the total base price for a car rental, before taxes and fees. Details of the base price will also be displayed, allowing the consumer to see the daily, weekly, hourly or other applicable rates that make up their total price. This allows travelers to compare rental car options on an apples-to-apples basis, and it also lets them see the total base price for their rental prior to booking. Once a consumer makes their travel decision, they are then routed directly to the supplier's Web site where booking is completed.
    "Unlike other major online travel players, SideStep is the first and only online search service to offer consumers the total base rate for car rentals, presenting the clearest and most straightforward basis for price comparison," said Brian Barth, CEO of SideStep. "SideStep's car rental feature exemplifies our commitment to providing consumers with the most accurate and easy-to-use resources to simplify the process of booking travel plans online."
    Currently, SideStep's service features pricing and availability for 10 different rental car agencies, in addition to searching 26 airlines and 54 hotel chains.