Priceline outpaces Expedia room night growth, takes $16.1 milliion hotel tax charge

Priceline posted its highest fourth quarter room night growth, 46.2%, over the last three years, outpacing rival Expedia Inc.’s record 33% uptick.

For the fourth quarter, Priceline saw its net income rise 27.8% to $289 million on revenue of  of nearly $1.2 billion, a 20.1% jump.

Priceline’s gross bookings for the quarter rose 32.9% to $6.6 billion. In contrast, Expedia’s gross bookings in the fourth quarter increased just 4%.

An adverse hotel tax issue in Hawaii impacted Priceline’s financials as the online travel agency took a $16.1 million charge.

Priceline indicated that its outlook for 2013 is particularly volatile because of concerns over the sovereign debt issue and the status of the euro.