The 'BBB-' corporate credit rating reflects Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' expectation that Priceline.com Inc. will be able to maintain its market-leading position in European hotel reservation services (especially in secondary and tertiary markets), increase its presence in Asia, and sustain its modest financial risk policy by keeping debt leverage below 2x. Because of its good market position, the company's growth rate decelerated only slightly during the recent recession while some of Priceline.com's peers were experiencing revenue declines. With the global economy on sounder footing, we expect revenue and EBITDA growth in 2011 will be very healthy and profitability measures should remain consistently strong. We also believe the company's overall competitive position could strengthen as well. We view Priceline.com's business
