Shares for Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ:PCLN) reached a ten-year high during Monday’s stock market trading session, increasing as much as 5 percent in afternoon trading to $572.56 per share. The online travel agency has continued to steadily rise since late 2008, when it was trading at approximately $52 on the NASDAQ.

Priceline.com is a leader in online hotel reservations worldwide and is comprised of four primary brands: Priceline.com, Booking.com, Agoda.com and TravelJigsaw. Although the company could be moderately affected by travel issues surrounding social unrest in Greece this month, most analysts are predicting satisfactory revenue and profit margins when the online firm reports its Fourth Quarter 2011 Earnings on February 27th.

Tonight-Only Deals®

Last week, Priceline.com announced the launch of the Android version of Tonight-Only Deals®, a service that allows last-minute travelers to choose the exact hotel they wish to stay at during the same night with discounts of up to 35% off the published rates. The free app can currently be downloaded for Android, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users.

According to the company’s press release, “Tonight-Only Deals® will be posted on the service at 11:00am local time. Room reservations can be instantly booked up until 11:00 p.m. local time, or until they sell out. The new service will show the names of all the available Tonight-Only Deals® hotels with descriptions, maps and photos, along with the rates and the percentage discounts. Tonight-Only Deals® also will display each hotel’s customer satisfaction score and reviews generated by Priceline.com guests who have stayed there.” The service works as part of the Hotel Negotiator® app.

Third Quarter Results

In Priceline Group’s 3Q 2011 Earning Statement, President and CEO Jeffery H. Boyd stated, “We believe our retail hotel businesses at Booking.com, Agoda and priceline.com continued to take meaningful share in their respective markets during the quarter, though our Name Your Own Price hotel business is challenged by increasing competition in the discount space.”

Boyd added, “Our global rental car days were up 36% compared to last year, and TravelJigsaw days grew well in excess of that. Priceline.com’s airline ticketing business experienced its strongest quarterly growth in the last seven quarters, with ticket sales up 8%.”

Stock Performance Charts

Priceline.com Inc. has skyrocketed since late 2008 as customers seek travel deals online in lieu of visiting brick-and-mortar travel agencies. Shares are up 22% since their 2012 open. Below are the Intraday, Year To Date, and All-Time stock charts for Priceline Group.

Priceline.com Inc. boasts an $18.90 Earnings Per Share with a Price To Earnings Ratio of 30.24 and a Market Capitalization of $28.45 billion.

Future Online Booking Trends

The trend of online booking for travel is likely to increase in upcoming years as more and more customers take advantage of discounted rates and real-time leveraging that sites such as Priceline.com offer. On the other side of the coin, brick-and-mortar travel agencies have been struggling for more than a decade to keep up with fewer customers and lower commission rates.

It is difficult to see a slowdown in online booking worldwide unless fuel prices and other factors related to air travel costs surge unexpectedly.

Online Booking and Your IRA

Keeping up with the latest methods in which travelers book their flights, hotels, cruises and more could be extremely beneficial to the individual investor who has his/her IRA tied to travel-related equities.

Before making any investment decision, it could be wise to consult a Certified Financial Planner who can discuss your short-term and long-term investment goals. Use the following link to Find an Advisor in your area. Once you’re ready to get started saving for retirement, you can Open an IRA for as little as $1 in a matter of minutes through IRA.com.

To find out more about How IRAs Work, visit our sections on the IRA Basics and IRA Rules.