Priceline 2010 Annual Report Download - page 85

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the United States, Europe and Asia. This data is increasingly subject to legislation and regulations in numerous
jurisdictions around the world, including the Commission of the European Union through its Data Protection
Directive and variations of that directive in the member states of the European Union. Such government action is
typically intended to protect the privacy of personal data that is collected, processed and transmitted in or from the
governing jurisdiction.
All of our services are subject to federal and state consumer protection laws and regulations prohibiting
unfair and deceptive trade practices.
We are also subject to regulations applicable to businesses conducting online commerce. Presently, there
are relatively few laws specifically directed toward online services. However, due to the increasing popularity and
use of the Internet and online services, it is possible that laws and regulations will be adopted with respect to the
Internet or online services. These laws and regulations could cover issues such as online contracts, user privacy,
freedom of expression, pricing, fraud, content and quality of services, taxation, advertising, intellectual property
rights and information security. Applicability to the Internet of existing laws governing issues such as property
ownership, copyrights and other intellectual property issues, taxation, libel, obscenity and personal privacy is
developing, but any such new legislation could have significant implications on how we conduct online business. In
addition, some states may require us to qualify in that state to do business as a foreign corporation because our
service is available in that state over the Internet. Although we are qualified to do business in a number of states,
failure to meet the qualifications of certain states, or a determination that we are required to qualify in additional
states, could subject us to taxes and penalties. See “Risk Factors – Regulatory and legal uncertainties could harm
our business,” and “Uncertainty regarding state and local taxes.”
Our international operations are subject to various foreign regulations and governing bodies that might
limit their services. They may be affected by unexpected changes in regulatory requirements and various tariffs and
trade barriers in connection with online commerce. Any failure by our international operations to comply may have
an adverse effect on our business.
Seasonality
Our Name Your Own Price® services are non-refundable in nature, and accordingly, we recognize travel
revenue at the time a booking is generated. However, we recognize revenue generated from our retail hotel services,
including our international operations, at the time that the customer checks out of the hotel. As a result, a
meaningful amount of retail hotel bookings generated earlier in the year, as customers plan and reserve their spring
and summer vacations, will not be recognized until future quarters. From a cost perspective, however, we expense
the substantial majority of our advertising activities as they are incurred, which is typically in the quarter in which
bookings are generated. Therefore, as our retail hotel business continues to grow, we expect our quarterly results to
become increasingly impacted by these seasonal factors.
Employees
As of January 31, 2011, we employed approximately 3,400 full-time employees, of which approximately
750 are based in the United States and approximately 2,650 are based in our international offices. We also retain
independent contractors to support our customer service, website content translation and system support functions.
We have never had a work stoppage and our employees are not represented by any collective bargaining
unit. We consider our relations with our employees to be good. Our future success will depend, in part, on our
ability to continue to attract, integrate, retain and motivate highly qualified technical and managerial personnel, for
whom competition is intense.
The Priceline Group Websites
We maintain websites with the addresses www.booking.com, www.priceline.com, www.agoda.com and
www.carhire3000.com, among others. We are not including the information contained on our websites as a part of,
or incorporating it by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We make available free of charge through
the www.priceline.com website our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current
Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as soon as reasonably practicable after we
electronically file such material with, or furnish such material to, the SEC. These reports and other information are