CHICAGO (April 18, 2007) � The hotel industry maintains steady growth
as consumers continue an upward trend of shopping for hotels online and
booking electronically, according to TravelCLICK�s 2006 fourth quarter
and consolidated full-year eTRAK results, released today. The data shows
the total Central Reservation System (CRS) reservations for major hotel
brands increased 8.4 percent in 2006, reaching more than 81 million bookings.
Full Year 2006 Overview
The Internet accounted for 38.3 percent of 2006 brand hotel bookings,
driven by a 20.2 percent growth rate compared to 2005. During 2006, the
Global Distribution System (GDS) maintained steady growth of 5.1 percent,
finishing the year generating 35.6 percent of overall transactions, with
29,113,410 bookings. Reflecting the shift of voice callers to other electronic
channels, voice reservations decreased 1.5 percent in 2006, now representing
approximately 26.1 percent of overall bookings.
Fourth Quarter 2006 Overview
The Internet contributed 38.8 percent, or 7,494,662 reservations, of
the total CRS reservations at major hotel brands, a 20.2 percent increase
compared to the same period in 2005. The data also highlights the continuing
importance of GDS e-commerce with 34.7 percent, or 6,689,926 bookings,
of CRS reservations coming through those channels. The eTRAK report shows
that voice represents the remaining 26.5 percent of CRS reservations, down
0.5 percent over the same period last year.
In the fourth quarter of 2006, brand websites grew again and continued
to gain share compared to third-party merchant and opaque websites, which
are increasingly used for hotel rate shopping prior to consumers booking
direct on hotel websites. According to eTRAK, brand websites were the source
of 83.2 percent of the brands� centrally-booked Internet reservations.
eTRAK is a quarterly benchmarking report that enables individual hotels
to track booking trends on the Internet and GDS through CRS performance.
The consolidated results provide industry indications based on performance
trends for 21 major hotel brands and chains.
Observations for the market based on this latest data include:
-
Reservations through the CRS will continue to increase over the next several
years, powered by centralization of distribution and revenue management
functions.
-
The GDS will continue steady performance as a result of recent transitioning
into a hybrid agent-user interface that offers traditional GDS functionality
within a browser-based environment.
-
As hotels continue to shift marketing funds from offline to online, more
bookings will be made directly through hotels� own websites.
-
As more consumers move travel shopping online, the voice channel will continue
to benefit from knowledgeable and qualified customers, thus increasing
conversion rates through this channel.
�The web continues to change consumer buying behavior, and hoteliers are
responding aggressively with a shift of strategy and dollars to the electronic
world,� said Jeff Bzdawka, Chief Operating Officer at TravelCLICK. �We
also expect the evolution of Travel 2.0 to contribute to the growth of
online channels, as consumer-generated content increasingly influences
travel purchasing decisions.�
.
Reservation Sources for Major Hotel Brands
CRS Hotel Bookings
|
Share of CRS
Reservations
Q4 2005
|
Share of CRs
Reservations
Q4 2006
|
Share of CRS
Reservations
Full Year 2006
|
Internet |
35.1%
|
38.8%
|
38.3%
|
GDS Travel Agent |
35.9%
|
34.7%
|
35.6%
|
Total Electronic
|
71.0%
|
73.5%
|
73.9%
|
Voice |
29.0%
|
26.5%
|
26.1%
|
Total for CRSs
|
100%
|
100%
|
100%
|
.
Internet Source Breakdown for Major Hotel
Brands
Internet Bookings
|
Share of Internet
CRS Reservations
Q4 2006 |
Share of Internet
CRS Reservations
Full Year 2006
|
Brand Sites 1 |
83.2% |
81.4%
|
Retail Sites 2 |
5.5% |
6.4%
|
Merchant Sites 3 |
7.3%
|
7.9%
|
Opaque Sites 4 |
4.0%
|
4.3%
|
Total Internet
|
100.0%
|
100.0%
|
.
Reservation Source Growth Rates
CRS Hotel Bookings
|
Percent Growth/Decline
of Reservations
Q4 2005 to Q4 2006
|
Percent Growth/Decline
of Reservations
Full Year 2005 to 2006
|
Internet |
20.2%
|
20.2%
|
GDS Travel Agent |
4.9%
|
5.1%
|
Total Electronic
|
12.5%
|
12.4%
|
Voice |
-0.5%
|
-1.5%
|
Total for CROs
|
8.7%
|
8.4%
|
..
The eTRAK report covers all Central Reservation System booking results,
including Internet, GDS and voice bookings. The report allows subscribers
to compare their own performance to that of their direct competitors and
the industry in general. The unique information contained in eTRAK is intended
to help hotel companies determine e-commerce priorities, such as where
to invest Internet advertising dollars and which sites create the best
returns. For more information about TravelCLICK�s eTRAK report, email [email protected].
Results from this study may differ from overall hospitality industry
trends on the Internet and GDS because eTRAK reflects only the performance
of 21 major brands. The conclusions, however, are directional for the industry
as a whole.
Sign up to receive TravelCLICK news by email or through RSS distribution
at http://travelclick.mediaroom.com/.
About TravelCLICK
TravelCLICK (www.travelclick.net)
is the leading provider of hotel business process management (BPM) solutions
that drive long-term profitability. TravelCLICK helps hotels maximize asset
ROI by combining innovative market analysis and proven industry best practices
with advanced technology to develop and implement high-return strategies.
The company offers a full set of solutions including reservations and distribution
management, market intelligence-based decision support and marketing services.
Serving the hospitality industry since 1996 and headquartered in the Chicago
area, TravelCLICK has more than 12,000 customers in 140 countries.
1 Brand Website: Website where
distribution is operated and managed by the brand (e.g. www.marriott.com).
2 Retail Website: Third-party distributor
where the hotel lists inventory at the same price that it is sold to the
consumer and hotel pays distributor agreed upon commission (e.g. HRS, Bookings,
Venere in Europe).
3 Merchant Website: Third-party distributor
where the hotel provides inventory to the site at a net rate. The merchant
marks up the rate by an agreed upon percentage. The consumer pays the merchant
at the gross rate and the merchant site pays the hotel the net rate (e.g.
Expedia/Hotels.com, Travelocity and Orbitz).
4 Opaque Website: Third-party distributor
that enables customers to chose a fare or rate without knowing the brand
of the supplier until after the item is purchased (e.g. Priceline).
|