Business travel experienced a temporary slowdown in April 2011, according to a survey by Pegasus Solutions in The Pegasus View. Following the Easter Holiday and previously reported world events, the corporate travel market eased off its March double-digit growth in bookings and revenue to rise only 0.3 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively, in April.

But Pegasus said the dip appears to be temporary as bookings growth could reach double-digit increases over 2010 as early as May, with stronger growth potential in the second half of the year. In addition, average daily rates (ADR) rose, along with length of stay (LOS) and booking lead times for the business travel segment.

“Many factors around the world affected travel markets in April, which translated into a dip for corporate travel and a boon for the leisure sector,” said Mike Kistner, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions. “On the horizon, though, both segments look to experience increases over 2010 for the next several months. The fundamentals driving corporate travel recovery—overall economies, corporate earnings, business trips and meetings/conference travel—are improving and increasing, while pent-up consumer demand and slow room supply growth portend a better summer travel season than last year’s.”

Assisted by the timing of the Easter holiday, leisure bookings grew by 9.8 percent over 2010 while revenue rose 13.2 percent. Globally, ADR increased 2.5 percent above 2010, faster than its year-to-date rate. This rate is expected to continue into the summer, which suggests that bookings growth in 2011 will not come at the cost of hotel rates as in the prior few years. The data shows more trips will be taken in 2011 than in 2010, but LOS suggests trips will be kept short to trim costs.

The April 2011 The Pegasus View is available by free subscription at www.pegs.com. This month’s issue also introduces editor Julie Parodi, senior director, strategic planning and analysis for Pegasus Solutions, who has led compilation of the report for more than a year. Parodi serves as the voice of The Pegasus View, which she will be presenting this summer at the upcoming Global Business Travelers Association National Conference. Data reported in The Pegasus View comes from billions of transactions processed monthly by Pegasus Solutions, the single largest global processor of hotel transactions. It is the only industry report to reflect data drawn from both GDS and ADS transactions, representing the business and leisure markets respectively for approximately 90,000 hotels worldwide. For more information, visit www.pegs.com.