News for the Hospitality Executive |
DALLAS (May 1, 2013) –
The leisure travel market delivered a promising first quarter for
hoteliers globally as bookings grew +5.1% through the end of March,
according to data released today by Pegasus
Solutions in The Pegasus View. As first
quarter volumes in the business and leisure sectors climbed past 2012
levels, rates also delivered, rising +1.7% in the corporate market and
+1.4% for leisure.
Leisure travel bookings grew over prior year in general, helped by an early Easter holiday, and despite a shorter February. March volumes increased +5.9% over last year globally as rates grew +0.5% for the month. Length of stay and booking lead times were either on par with or gaining on prior year worldwide, indicating a promising consumer trend towards more international and long-haul travel. “The stabilizing or improved performance evident in leisure market indicators suggests hotels should emerge from daily survival mode to actually focus on the future,” said David Millili, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions. “When volume grows with rates, it means hotels aren’t pandering to win bookings by discounting. Instead, they are implementing and maintaining solid rate strategies with an eye to the future, making sure they are both available and bookable to seize a portion of growing demand.” Corporate travelers booked +2.4% more reservations globally during the first quarter of 2013 than last year, staying within -0.3% of prior year in March. Rates for the channel also sustained, increasing by +1.7% for the quarter, and still growing slightly in March by +0.6%. Again, average length of stay and reservation lead times exhibited marginal increases overall, which have held steady year-to-date. Data reported by Pegasus Solutions comes from billions of transactions processed monthly for nearly 100,000 hotels, facilitating more than $16 billion a year. The Pegasus View, produced quarterly, is the only industry report to reflect data drawn from both GDS and ADS transactions, representing the business and leisure markets respectively. Pegasus’ recently introduced PegasusView Market Performance business intelligence is a monthly reporting product augmenting the global data provided quarterly in The Pegasus View. About Pegasus Solutions Pegasus Solutions is the single largest processor of electronic hotel transactions, delivering advanced and affordable connectivity and distribution solutions to nearly 100,000 hotels worldwide. Pegasus connects hotels to crucial sources of business, facilitating almost $16 billion for its clients annually. In additional to foundational global distribution system (GDS) access and online connectivity, Pegasus delivers online, social marketing and booking solutions through its Open Hospitality division, and powerful reservation tools to convert and capture bookings. As a trusted partner in generating guest room demand and sales, Pegasus also offers hotels actionable business intelligence through its PegasusView Market Performance reports to help hotels understand and respond to changing market conditions. Pegasus has 18 offices in 10 countries, including regional hubs in Dallas, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, New York, Sao Paulo, Singapore and Scottsdale. For more information, visit www.pegs.com or www.openhospitality.com. |
Contact: Ariel Herr 214-234-4286 [email protected] |