Global Leisure Hotel Rates Increase Record +8.3% in December

The global hotel market enjoyed record increases over 2010 in the average daily rates paid by consumers during December 2011, according to Pegasus Solutions.

Data released this week in The Pegasus View indicates leisure hotel rates grew +8.3, while the corporate market realized more moderate rate gains of +3.2% over 2010.

For North America, leisure rates climbed a near-record +6.3%, second only to June’s +6.5% increase, as markets outside North America returned an impressive +7.5% jump above December 2010. Corporate rates in North America beat the global increase with +5.4%, while the rise outside of North America was +1.7%.

“Global bookings were solid in December, though they actually decreased -4.6% from the exceptional gains seen in December 2010, a month when booking volumes exceeded 2009, 2008, and 2007,” said Mike Kistner, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions. “Rates, however, increased at significant levels globally and regionally for both channels.”

North American leisure reservations came within -5.7% of the prior year, which may have been partly due to a general lack of snow and warm temperatures for holiday destination ski resorts. Outside North America, bookings actually rose +3.3%. Global corporate bookings were within -3.4% of 2010, dropping -4.5% in North America, and a slighter -2.7% in other markets combined.

Reservations on the books point to leisure bookings easing in January with rates maintaining, and possible gains for both measures expected over 2011 from February through April. Corporate bookings are also expected to grow during the same period as rates stay ahead of prior year levels from January to the first of second quarter.

Data reported in The Pegasus View comes from billions of transactions processed monthly by Pegasus Solutions, and reflects data drawn from both GDS and ADS transactions, representing the business and leisure markets respectively for approximately 90,000 hotels worldwide.

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