TravelCLICK`s eMonitor results for the first quarter of 2003 show that worldwide hotel room nights booked electronically through the Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) and key Internet sites increased 4.6% versus the same period last year.
Revenue for the first quarter of 2003 was up 3.6%, and average rate declined 0.9%. “The growth in room nights was largely driven by room nights booked by consumers over Internet sites,” said Bruce W. Mainzer, senior vice president of marketing for TravelCLICK.
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. Effective with this first quarter report, TravelCLICK’s eMonitor now also includes hotel bookings made through third party travel Internet Web sites powered by Pegasus Solutions.

Travel Agent Component :
Travel agent bookings remained the dominant source of GDS and Pegasus hotel e-business, representing 76% of total room nights. The travel agent component of GDS bookings had a 1.8% increase in ADR versus the first quarter of 2002. The average rate for room nights booked through travel agents is 70% higher than the average rate for room nights booked via the Internet.

Internet Component :
Internet (consumer online) room nights displayed growth of 25.3% above the first quarter of 2002. However, average rate was down for GDS powered Internet bookings by 5.0% compared to the first quarter of last year. The ADR of Internet bookings through the GDSs was $73.72. Starting with this first quarter report, eMonitor results are compiled from a larger database that includes Internet bookings made through both GDS and Pegasus powered travel Web sites. The high proportion of wholesale or net rate transactions made through auction or opaque Web sites, such as Priceline and Hotwire, therefore strongly influence these results.

Summary of Electronic Bookings - First Quarter, 2003
Room Nights % Growth vs. Q1-2002 ADR Growth vs. Q1-2002
Total GDS and Pegasus Hotel e-Commerce 26,552,537 4.6% $113.14 -0.9%
Travel Agent Component 20,157,159 -0.7% $125.64 1.8%
Consumer Internet Component 6,395,378 25.3% $ 73.72 -5.0%

“With the addition of the Pegasus data to our GDS information, we are seeing a different trend in electronic bookings made by travel agents versus consumer online transactions made on third party Web sites,” said Mainzer. “While the growth of Internet hotel room nights has been impressive, the difference in average rates for Internet versus travel agent bookings is startling.”

GDS Performance by Market Segment :
Results for the first quarter of 2003 by industry market segment are shown below for GDS bookings only. The luxury category outperformed all the other categories in both room night and ADR growth.

GDS Performance by Market Segment - First Quarter, 2003
Market Segment Room Nights % Growth
vs. Q1-2002 ADR % Growth
vs. Q1-2002
Luxury 509,612 2.6% $280.38 5.0%
Upscale 8,636,771 0.8% $137.28 -2.3%
Mid-scale 9,329,162 0.3% $93.13 1.7%
Economy 1,761,269 -1.0% $64.59 -0.3%

Top Destination Markets
The top five worldwide destination markets for total GDS and Pegasus third party powered Web room nights during the first quarter of 2003 were:

Top Destination Markets - Q1-2002 Room Nights % Growth
vs. Q1-2002 ADR % Growth
vs. Q1-2002
New York 2,249,959 -3.4% $175.39 -3.8%
Los Angeles 1,988,523 2.4% $117.81 -2.2%
SF/San Jose/Oak 1,736,589 -6.9% $131.64 -8.7%
Wash., D.C./Baltimore 1,614,920 -0.8% $130.52 0.9%
Chicago 1,364,905 -0.5% $112.39 -3.9%

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