Data from the third quarter 2011 TravelClick North American Distribution Review (NADR) reveals hotel websites, referred to as brand.com, were the fastest growing booking channel, increasing 6.1% from last year. One out of four room nights are booked through a hotel’s website, a trend that increased during every quarter of 2011.
In the third quarter, online travel agencies (OTAs) like Expedia, Priceline and Travelocity accounted for 12% of all hotel rooms booked; global distribution system (GDS) bookings used by travel agents accounted for 18%; and direct bookings – calling, emailing or walking into a hotel – accounted for 27%.
According to the NADR, OTA average daily rates (ADR) grew faster, relative to the prior year, than any other means of booking during the third quarter of 2011. The ADR of rooms booked through an OTA increased by 11% year-over-year, compared to a 3.4% gain for brand.com.
However, the percentage of bookings on the OTA channel declined. Stronger demand is leading to less discounting, which has a significant effect on the OTA channel, which almost exclusively offers discounted rates.
2011 North America Hotel Industry Channel Contribution
(% Share of Room Nights)
|
Channel |
Q1 2011 |
Q2 2011 |
Q3 2011 |
Q4 2011 * |
Full Year 2011 * |
|
Voice (800#) |
16.3% |
16.8% |
17.2% |
18.0% |
16.9% |
|
GDS |
21.4% |
19.5% |
18.0% |
16.4% |
19.3% |
|
OTA |
10.1% |
11.7% |
12.4% |
8.8% |
11.2% |
|
Brand.com (web) |
24.3% |
25.2% |
25.4% |
30.5% |
25.5% |
* Estimate based on business on the books