itsyBiD's New Travel Auction Website Offers Significantly Discounted Luxury Vacations and Destination Experiences

Online, September 22, 2010 (Newswire.com) - itsyBiD (www.itsybid.com) is a unique new travel auction website that offers luxury hotel rooms, vacation packages and destination experiences to winning bidders at an average discount of 75-95 percent.

itsyBiD was formed by two Portland, Oregon-based social entrepreneurs as a way to make travel more accessible and affordable to a broader segment of vacationers, while generating a sustainable revenue stream to fund an ongoing charitable giving program.

The site focuses exclusively on auctions for high-end hotels, resort destinations, and a variety of travel-related packages. Initial itsyBiD travel partners include The Benson Hotel (Portland, OR), Napa River Inn (Napa), The Canyons Resort (Park City) and the Atlantic Hotel (Ft. Lauderdale).

"itsyBiD is unlike anything else in the travel industry," said Graham Keavney, itsyBiD's co-founder. "By putting our own twist on the traditional auction concept, we have created a model that will place dozens of dream vacations within reach of the average vacationer. We aim to change the way travelers book their vacations-one bid at a time."

How itsyBiD Works

• Each auction starts at an opening bid of one penny.
• Each time a bid is placed, the price only goes up by a penny.
• Auction participants pay for the opportunity to place a bid.
• The cost is 75¢ per bid-which are purchased on the site in bundles of 20, 50, 100, 250, and 500.
• Each auction is scheduled to last 24 hours.
• During the final seconds of the auction, each bid extends the length of the auction by 20 seconds, which allows the auction to continue as long as there is interest in the auction item.
• Active participation in bidding is required-there is no option for automatic or proxy bidding.
The winning bidder pays the final auction price and receives a gift certificate good for a pre-determined dollar amount redeemable at the location (or locations) specified in the auction description. The gift certificates are treated as cash by the travel partners-giving the auction winners unlimited flexibility in how and when the certificates are used.

The bidders who did not win the auction can apply the money they spent on credits for any given auction to purchase an identical room or vacation package. itsyBiD travel partners will also provide bidders additional discounts ranging from 10 to 20 percent. Ultimately, everyone who bids during any auction benefits.

Proceeds from each auction will be given to a charitable giving program that provides funding to a different organization each month. The first nonprofit recipient will be Our Children's Homestead. The sponsored charity receives 5¢ from each bid. At 5¢ per bid, a travel package worth $1,000 that sells for $100 will generate $500 for the charity.

More information about itsyBiD and how to participate in the auctions is available at www.itsybid.com. Follow the company on Twitter at @itsyBiD or like it at Facebook.