Hotel Online  Special Report

>.

Brand Sites Produce 67% of all Major Hotel
Chain Internet Reservations
TravelCLICK Reports eTRAK Results from 28 Major Brands

CHICAGO (Oct. 9, 2003) -- TravelCLICK today released results from the company's 2003 eTRAK report demonstrating that major hotel chains continue to receive the majority of their Internet reservations through their own brand sites. eTRAK analyzes the booking production of central reservation offices (CRO) for 28 major hotel chains. For the first six months of 2003, total Internet reservations showed a growth of 36 percent compared to the same period in 2002.

eTRAK statistics indicate that voice bookings received at reservation offices continue to decline, now representing less than 39% of total reservations processed by CROs. GDS distribution continues to dominate Internet third party distribution totals. GDS reservations represent 35.6% of all CRO reservations, compared to the 8.5% of CRO reservations produced by third party Internet sites.

Results from this study can differ with overall hospitality industry performance on the Internet and GDS because eTRAK reflects only the performance of these 28 brands, and only reflect reservations received through a CRO.

"Compared to last year, for the first six months of 2003 there has been a drop of 11.2% in phone calls to CROs. Because such a large segment of the population checks the Internet before making a phone reservation, more of these calls are booking calls. That is why actual phone reservations only declined 4.6%," said Bruce W. Mainzer, senior vice president of marketing for TravelCLICK. "The entire Internet channel contribution is showing healthy growth, but the GDS still remains the dominant source of electronic reservations for the major chains."
.

YTD 2003 CRO Hotel Bookings
% of 
YTD 2003 Reservations
% of 
YTD 2002 Reservations
Change in Volume of Reservations 2003 vs.over 2002
Third Party Web Sites
8.5%
6.5%
34.1%
Brand Web Sites
17.4%
13.1%
36.8%
Total for Internet
25.9%
19.6%
35.9%
GDS Travel Agent
35.6%
39.0%
-6.2%
Total for Electronic (GDS plus Internet)
61.5%
58.5%
7.9%
Voice
38.5%
41.5%
-4.6%
Total for CROs
100.0%
100.0%
2.7%
.
For the first six months of 2003, the top ten third-party Web sites for hotel bookings to brand CROs were, in order: Priceline, Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotwire, TravelNow, USA Hotelguide, Lodging.com, WorldRes, and Southwest. Some well- known third party Web distributors, such as Hotels.com, did not place in the top ten on this list because these sites usually obtain rates and inventory directly from individual properties rather than a brand or chain CRO.

The eTRAK report covers all central reservation office booking results including GDS, voice, and Internet bookings. The report allows subscribers to compare their own performance versus their direct competitors and the overall industry. The unique information contained in eTRAK is intended to help hotel companies decide 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, contact Rebecca Bodenhamer at [email protected].

About TravelCLICK
TravelCLICK (www.travelclick.net) is the leading provider of solutions that help hotels and other travel industry suppliers maximize net revenue from electronic distribution channels. TravelCLICK's competitive benchmarking reports provide hotels with price and booking performance information unavailable through any other source. The company'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 TravelCLICK Interactive division assists hotels with online strategies to increase consumer direct business. 

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, Carlson Hotels Worldwide, 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, 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. 


 
Contact:
TravelCLICK
Kristina Paider
847.585.5238
[email protected]
www.travelclick.net

Stephanie Seacord
Leading Edge
135 Piscassic Road (PO Box 960)
Newfields NH 03856
T: 603-772-1835
F: 603-772-7066
[email protected]



 
Also See: Hotwire.com Joins TravelCLICK's Consumer Media Network / October 2003
Travel Agents Still Rely on GDS for Hotel Selection; 83% of GDS Terminals Receive Text Messaging/Advertising / Ray Cohen / October 2003
Hilton International Selects TravelCLICK�s RateVIEW / September 2003
TravelCLICK Clients Report High Satisfaction with RateVIEW On-Demand Rate Comparison Tool; Over 1400 Hotels Worldwide Utilize RateVIEW / August 2003
TravelCLICK Interactive Combines With iHotelier / June 2003
TravelCLICK Gives NYU Investment Conference Attendees Real-Time View of Their Properties� Electronic Distribution Performance / May 2003
Worldwide Hotel Electronic Bookings Up 4.6% in Q1; TravelCLICK�s eMonitor Now Includes Third Party Internet Bookings from Pegasus / TravelCLICK eMonitor / May 2003
TravelCLICK Reports Recovery for Hotel Bookings on Internet and GDS since Onset of Iraq War - Company Issues Tips to Hotels: Don't Stay Quiet / April 2003
Strategic Hotel Capital Endorses TravelCLICK Products / April 2003
Cornell�s Center for Hospitality Research Partners with TravelCLICK to Help Hoteliers Improve Revenue Management Strategies / April 2003
Hotels Experienced Considerable Growth in Room Nights Booked Electronically Through the Global Distribution Systems in Q4; Luxury Segment Room Nights Booked Electronically Grow 21% / TravelCLICK eMonitor / Feb 2003
Electronic Bookings for Worldwide Hotel Industry Show Improvement - TravelCLICK Issues Third Quarter eMonitor / November 2002
Report on Electronic Bookings for Worldwide Hotel Industry Shows Luxury Segment Leads the Way to HotelRecovery in Q2 / TravelCLICK Issues Second Quarter eMonitor / Aug 2002
Room Nights Booked Electronically Down 10% from the First Quarter of 2001, Revenue Off 18% / eMonitor / June 2002
Worldwide Hotel Room Nights Booked Electronically Through the Global Distribution Systems Down 12% Versus 4th Qtr Last Year / eMonitor / Feb 2002


To search Hotel Online data base of News and Trends Go to Hotel.Online Search

Home | Welcome! | Hospitality News | Classifieds | Viewpoint Forum | Ideas/Trends
Please contact Hotel.Online with your comments and suggestions.