Q1 2013 Global Leisure Bookings Climb +5.1%

According to data released by Pegasus Solutions, the leisure travel market delivered a promising first quarter for hoteliers globally as bookings grew +5.1% through the end of March.

As first quarter volumes in the business and leisure sectors climbed past 2012 levels, rates also delivered, rising +1.7% in the corporate market and +1.4% for leisure.

Leisure travel bookings grew over the prior year in general, helped by an early Easter holiday, and despite a shorter February. March volumes increased +5.9% over last year globally as rates grew +0.5% for the month. The Length of stay and booking lead times were either on par with or gaining on prior year worldwide, indicating a promising consumer trend towards more international and long-haul travel.

“The stabilizing or improved performance evident in leisure market indicators suggests hotels should emerge from daily survival mode to actually focus on the future,” said David Millili, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions. “When volume grows with rates, it means hotels aren’t pandering to win bookings by discounting. Instead, they are implementing and maintaining solid rate strategies with an eye to the future, making sure they are both available and bookable to seize a portion of growing demand.”

Corporate travelers booked +2.4% more reservations globally during the first quarter of 2013 than last year, staying within - .3% of prior year in March. Rates for the channel also sustained, increasing by +1.7% for the quarter, and still growing slightly in March by +0.6%. Again, average length of stay and reservation lead times exhibited marginal increases overall, which have held steady year-to-date.

Data reported by Pegasus Solutions comes from billions of transactions processed monthly for nearly 100,000 hotels, facilitating more than $16 billion a year. The Pegasus View reflects data drawn from both GDS and ADS transactions, representing the business and leisure markets respectively.