Corporate hotel bookings see record growth
Global corporate hotel bookings increased at a record rate in April 2013.
According to the latest report from travel technology company Pegasus Solutions, corporate hotel transactions increase 8% last month, compared with April 2012, marking the highest year-on-year increase in reservation volumes through the global distribution systems (GDS) since August 2011.
Previously, January 2013 had the strongest growth this year, when hotel bookings increased 7.9% over the same month in 2012. April’s solid performance also secured a growth rate of 4.0% in GDS bookings for the first four months of the year. Average room rates were almost the same as in 2012, rising just 0.1%.
“When we last reported this kind of year-over-year increase in 2011, we were quoted as saying the hotel industry is strongly influenced by the economy, but does not take marching orders from it’,” said David Millili, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions. “At that time, we were dealing with the US and European economic debt and credit crises. Today, we’re hearing one positive economic indicator after another, which is definitely inciting business and leisure travellers to book. And, we expect them to book for the foreseeable future.”
Hotel leisure bookings also saw strong growth in April 2013, increasing 6.2% compared with the same month last year. This came despite the fact that Easter weekend fell in April 2012, compared to March this year. Year-to-date hotel leisure bookings increased 1.2%.
Looking forward, Pegasus forecast that global corporate booking volumes are expected to stay close to 2012 levels through the summer months, while leisure bookings are expected to see strong growth, with “potential for double-digit gains in July and August”.