From correspondents in Delhi, India, 11:15 PM IST

Confused about where to stay on your business trip or summer vacation at an international destination? There is help at hand! Expedia, the world’s leading online travel company, has released its annual rankings of the world’s best hotels, making it simpler for the Indian traveler to choose a hotel on a trip abroad. Termed the Expedia Insider’s Select List, it includes hotels that consistently deliver excellent service and a great overall experience at a notable value. It is largely based on traveler reviews with Expedia having registered over 160,000 Traveller Opinions® in 2007 alone.

"The Expedia Insiders' Select list makes it easier for travelers to sort through thousands of hotel options to choose the best hotel for their trip," said Arthur Hoffman, Managing Director, Expedia Asia Pacific. "Expedia has captured the experiences of millions of hotel guests, and combined them with a value rating and local destination expertise to help travelers identify the best hotels in the world for the best value." The Expedia Insider’s Select comprises only about 1 percent of the 80,000 hotels offered on Expedia.co.in.

The full list is available for travelers at www.expedia.com/insiderselect. Highlights include:

• Number 1 overall: Sofitel Chicago Water Tower -- Chicago, Ill.
• Number 1 in Asia: Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel -- Tokyo, Japan
• Number 1 in Europe: The Knight Residence -- Edinburgh, Scotland
• Top Resort Worldwide: JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa -- Cancun, Mexico

There are over 800 hotels in the Expedia Insider’s List representing the variety of hotel types and destinations offered on Expedia. The list comprises of hotels ranging from boutique to chain properties in a variety of small, mid-sized and large destinations. The selected hotels have been recognized by travelers for consistently delivering excellent services.

The Expedia Insiders’ Select list was compiled using a weighted mathematical formula that includes several factors including:

• Expedia’s collection of hundreds of thousands of Traveler Opinions® - hotel reviews created by Expedia travellers who recently stayed at the property;
• A value rating determined by comparing hotels within the same star-rating and geographical region to identify hotels that deliver a notable value for the experience they offer; and
• Local expertise and insight from hundreds of Expedia employees in destinations throughout the world.

For further details, the full list is available at http://www.expedia.com/insiderselect

For more information on Expedia.co.in, please visit http://www.expedia.co.in

Source: Press Release Distribution via India PRwire