The number of room nights booked electronically was up 3.3% from the third quarter of 2001. Revenue was up 1%, as average rate declined by 2.2%. A key factor in driving this year-over-year increase was the results of last year�s third quarter, which were affected by reduced booking activity for the 19 days following September 11, 2001.

Electronic room nights year-to-date through the third quarter are down by 3.6% from the same time period last year, while ADR is down 5.4%. This fueled a 9% decline in electronic revenue compared to the same period in 2001. Average length of stay for the 2002 year-to-date period was 2.13 nights, down nominally from last year�s 2.14 nights.

eMonitor results are compiled from TravelCLICK's comprehensive database, which is the exclusive source of hotel industry electronic distribution data from the Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan GDSs. TravelCLICK's data also includes consumer online hotel bookings made through GDS powered Internet travel sites.

Travel Agent Component

Travel agent bookings remained the dominant source of hotel e-business, representing 94% of total GDS room nights. The travel agent component of GDS increased at a 3.3% rate in room nights, but declined 2.2% in ADR versus the third quarter of 2001. On a year-to-date basis, travel agent room nights were off 4.0% from 2001, and average rate was also down 5.3%

Internet Component

Internet (consumer online) room nights, excluding bookings from auction sites, displayed growth of 2.1% above the third quarter of 2001. However, average rate was down for GDS powered Internet bookings by 3.7% compared to the third quarter of last year. The ADR of Internet bookings through the GDSs was $91.39, which was 22% lower than the ADR for travel agent bookings.

While the Internet component displayed a 3% growth in room nights over the first nine months of the year, average rate was down by 6.9%, which led to a 4% decline in revenue year-over-year.
 

"For the first time, GDS room nights booked by travel agents increased at a higher rate than GDS powered Internet bookings," said Bruce W. Mainzer, senior vice president of marketing for TravelCLICK. "These trends demonstrate that travel agents remain a strong source of hotel distribution. Third quarter results also indicate that the majority of the growth of Internet distribution is now taking place on non-GDS powered Web sites; either brand/chain Web sites, or net rate Web sites like Expedia and hotels.com." 

Performance by Market Segment

Results for the third quarter by industry market segment are shown below. All segments except Economy posted an increase in room nights over the third quarter of 2001. The Economy category was the only segment to show an increase in average rate. Because of strong room night growth, the Luxury segment was the only category that posted an increase on a revenue basis, with revenues up 11% from the third quarter of last year. 

Top Destination Markets

The top five worldwide destination markets for total GDS room nights during the third quarter were:
 

To receive a free listing of second quarter results by top 50 cities worldwide in electronic bookings, please e-mail [email protected].

About TravelCLICK 
TravelCLICK (www.travelclick.net) is the leading provider of solutions that help hotels and other travel industry suppliers improve revenue from electronic distribution channels. TravelCLICK's exclusive electronic marketing networks allow hotels and other travel related suppliers to target promotional messages to specific travel agents, consumers, and group meeting planners when they are booking travel. The company's competitive benchmarking reports provide hotels with price and booking performance information unavailable through any other source. Established in 1996 and headquartered in the Chicago area, TravelCLICK operates in more than 140 countries around the world. The company has over 6,000 clients, including national and international companies such as Accor, Air France, Avis, Best Western International, British Airways, Choice Hotels, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Grupo Posadas, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Kempinski Hotels & Resorts, Leading Hotels of the World, Loews Hotels, Lufthansa, Marriott International, The Peninsula Group, Radisson, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, SAS, The Savoy Group, Shangri-La Hotels, Sol Melia, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Thistle Hotels, USAirways, Virgin Atlantic and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.