SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- With the election now behind us and Barack Obama being elected to serve a second term as the President of the United States, Americans have also weighed in on presidential travel partner preferences, and the results were in line with the election. According to the second annual Hotwire® American Travel Behavior Survey, conducted by Harris Interactive among over 2,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, if they had to choose, the majority of Americans (60 percent) would rather spend their vacation time with President Barack Obama over defeated presidential candidate Mitt Romney (40 percent). In addition, the survey further found that Americans would like to spend Thanksgiving with the POTUS over any other holiday.  

"This was a close election, and now that the ballots are in, it's clear that Americans also have very distinct ideas about who would make a better travel friend," said Clem Bason, president of the Hotwire Group. "However, regardless of companion preferences between candidates, at Hotwire one thing is certain:  travelers don't have to pay presidential prices to visit favorite First Family destinations like Martha's Vineyard, Santa Barbara and Hawaii." 

The survey also found that, of the 60 percent of U.S. adults who would prefer to vacation with President Barack Obama:

• 41 percent would most want to spend their Thanksgiving vacation with him
• 19 percent would most want to ring in the New Year with him
• 13 percent would most want to spend Christmas with him
• Eight percent would most want to spend Halloween with him
• And, 18 percent would most want to spend some other holiday with him

Conversely, of the 40 percent of U.S. adults who would prefer to travel with presidential candidate Mitt Romney:

• 38 percent stated they would want to spend their Thanksgiving vacation with him
• 15 percent would most want to ring in the New Year with him
• 13 percent would most want to spend Christmas with him
• Eight percent would most want to spend Halloween with him
• And, 26 percent indicated that they'd most want to spend some other holiday with him

To celebrate election fever, Hotwire has compiled a list of five popular holiday destinations for presidents past and present where Americans can experience deep savings this holiday season. These destinations include:

Hotel sample rates are based on Hotwire searches made on 11/05/12 for travel dates of 11/21/12 – 11/25/12. All hotel sample rates are Hotwire Hot Rates.                             

*Survey Methodology
Harris Interactive® fielded the study on behalf of Hotwire from October 15-17, 2012 via its QuickQuery^SM online omnibus service, interviewing 2,133 U.S. adults aged 18 years and older. This data were weighted to reflect the composition of the general adult population. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Monica Caires at Monica@atomicpr.com or (323) 648-5426.

About Hotwire
Hotwire.com® is a leading discount travel site with low rates on airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, cruises and vacation packages.  Launched in 2000, Hotwire, Inc. obtains deep discounts from its travel suppliers to help travelers book unsold airline seats, hotel rooms and rental cars.  Hotwire.com is an award-winning website and Hotwire, Inc. is an operating company of Expedia, Inc. CST # 2029030-50.  NST: 20003-0209.  For more information, visit http://www.hotwire.com. Hotwire.com operates sites in 8 countries worldwide:  www.hotwire.com, www.hotwire.com/uk,www.hotwire.com/ie, www.hotwire.com/au, www.hotwire.com/nz, www.hotwire.com/se, www.hotwire.com/no and www.hotwire.com/dk.   In addition to Hotwire, The Hotwire Group of websites includes: www.hotwire.com and www.carrentals.com.  

Hotwire, Hotwire.com, the Hotwire logo and Hot Rate are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Hotwire, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2012 Hotwire, Inc.  All rights reserved. CST# 2053390-50.

Contact:
Monica Caires
Atomic PR
(323) 648-5426 
Monica@atomicpr.com  

SOURCE Hotwire.com