NEW YORK—In the first quarter (Q1) 2015, digital channels — which include hotel websites (Brand.com) and Online Travel Agents (OTA) and Global Distribution Systems (GDS) — grew in popularity among individual business and leisure travelers, according to data from the TravelClick North American Distribution Review (NADR; Second Quarter 2015). The TravelClick NADR aggregates hotel bookings by channel for the transient segment (individual leisure and business travelers).
In Q1, 2015, the OTA channel (which includes Expedia, Hotels.com, Bookings.com, etc.) experienced the largest jump in bookings, with a 15.1 percent increase compared to last year. Brand.com room night bookings (reservations made directly through a hotel’s website) increased year-over-year by 7.1 percent. GDS room nights were up 1.1 percent. Hotel Direct (calls directly to the property and walk-in customers) and calls to a hotel’s 800-number, the CRO channel, decreased by -8.4 percent and -6.1 percent, respectively.
“As we enter the peak travel season, the distribution outlook continues to remain consistent from last quarter with travelers continuing to gravitate towards digital booking engines,” said John Hach, senior industry analyst at TravelClick. “It is evident that hotels are focusing on average daily rate (ADR) to drive revenue per available room (RevPAR) as they ramp up for summer.”
All distribution channels will continue to see strong ADR growth in Q2 and Q3 2015, which is tracking at 4.3 percent and 5.9 percent respectively, based off of reservations currently on the books. Breaking it down by channels, ADR for the second quarter is up 5.1 percent for the GDS channel, 3.8 percent for the hotel direct channel, 4.5 percent for Brand.com, and 1.8 percent for OTA.
Hach continued “As occupancy continues to flatten, utilizing distribution partners is becoming a key part of a hotelier’s strategy, making channels like the GDS even more attractive as it provides higher ADR than third party options.”
