Average hotel daily rates paid for global corporate travel in August were within 1% of those paid pre-recession in August 2007 and 2008 globally, according to data released today by Pegasus Solutions. The corporate market continued to rebound last month, narrowing a 10% drop from last year for bookings in June to just -0.7%. Rates were down just 0.6% from August 2008, and up 0.3% compared to August 2007.
For the global leisure market, rates sustained an ascent over 2011, but still remained off 2007 and 2008 levels by approximately 15%. Bookings for leisure travel, however, have increased more than 30% against both pre-recession years, according Pegasus CEO David Milli.
The leisure market ended the summer with global bookings up approximately 9% over 2011. Rates for the channel were up 1.1% in August over prior year, growing slightly slower over the summer than the 3.4% year-to-date growth pace.
Looking forward, Pegasus expects reservations to level off before picking up momentum heading into the holiday season as rates remain steady. Conversely, corporate booking growth will likely ease over this period as rates stay firm through December.