VAX VacationAccess has released a new round of enhancements for its 100,000-plus travel agent users, including improvements to VAX Virtual University, a Global Media Library, improved registration and password reset processes, and intuitive airline feature inclusions.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is to soon launch a new website, www.priorityclub.com. The company says the site will be rolled out globally by late April; the only online booking site where members get rewarded with Priority Club points for their hotel stays

Travelocity’s iPhone application, one of the first introduced by an online travel company, now helps on-the-go travelers find discounted hotel rates in the eleventh hour using Top Secret Hotels. The Top Secret Hotels service offers an easy way to shop hotels and find unpublished rates that are up to 55 percent off Travelocity’s regular rates for the same top hotels on the same day.

Expedia.com, the online travel agency, announced the upcoming launch of Expedia Hotels, a free iPhone and iPod touch app developed to give travelers an intuitive, quick way to research, filter and book hotel rooms from their mobile device. This is the first app introduced by Expedia since the company acquired Mobiata, the mobile travel apps powerhouse, in November 2010. Expedia Hotels is the first in a series of mobile initiatives that the company will roll out in 2011.

Online hotel booking website Hotels.com has launched Facebook comments functionality on its US and UK websites. Hotels.com says it is among inaugural travel launch partners for updated Facebook Comments Plug-in.

Flight search engine and destination finder WhichBudget.com has unveiled its user-generated airline rating system, which reveals the airlines travelers rank most highly. The new rating system was adopted after WhichBudget.com survey of 2000 customers revealed that over a third (37 percent) were as likely or more likely to favor the airline they favor over price.