• by Tanya Gazdik , August 22, 2011

Orbitz is launching a Facebook promotion that features 50 dream vacations worth up to $15,000.

The vacations include brands such as Marriott, Caribbean Cruise and Radisson. The game, called "Orbitz 50 Faves," runs through Sept. 18.

To play, people can "Like" Orbitz on Facebook and then begin bidding. To start, each new player will receive five bids. Every bid placed represents one entry to win. Players can check out the trips, look at what their friends have bid on, and then place bids on their favorite trips.

Each day, players get an additional bid for every friend playing the game. The more friends the player has, the more bids they get and the greater their chances of winning. To further encourage players to invite more friends to play, six trips have been "locked" and can only be "unlocked" if at least 10 of a player's Facebook friends are playing the game.

"Players who work their social networks the best can end up with enough bids to place on all 50 trips, or increase their odds of winning a particular trip by placing more and more bids on it," said Chris Orton, president of Orbitz.com, in a release.

Some trips offer spending cash, plus activities and amenities such as a guided rain forest tour, relaxing spa treatments and even a personal butler service. Some of the 50 trips include a trip to Hawaii where the winner can stay at their choice of Marriott resorts. Another trip is a Caribbean Carnival Cruise for two. A trip to Rome includes a five-night stay at Radisson Blues.

Orbitz is also promoting its Orbitz Games feature, now available on the Orbitz Facebook page. Orbitz Games originally launched in 2001 and expanded to a standalone Web site, http://www.orbitzgames.com, in 2005.