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TravelCLICK Reports eTRAK Results from 28 Major Brands
CHICAGO (Oct. 9, 2003) -- TravelCLICK today released results from
the company's 2003 eTRAK report demonstrating that major hotel
chains continue to receive the majority of their Internet
reservations through their own brand sites. eTRAK analyzes the
booking production of central reservation offices (CRO) for 28
major hotel chains. For the first six months of 2003, total
Internet reservations showed a growth of 36 percent compared to
the same period in 2002.
eTRAK statistics indicate that voice bookings received at
reservation offices continue to decline, now representing less
than 39% of total reservations processed by CROs. GDS
distribution continues to dominate Internet third party
distribution totals. GDS reservations represent 35.6% of all CRO
reservations, compared to the 8.5% of CRO reservations produced
by third party Internet sites.
Results from this study can differ with overall hospitality
industry performance on the Internet and GDS because eTRAK
reflects only the performance of these 28 brands, and only
reflect reservations received through a CRO.
"Compared to last year, for the first six months of 2003 there
has been a drop of 11.2% in phone calls to CROs. Because such a
large segment of the population checks the Internet before making
a phone reservation, more of these calls are booking calls. That
is why actual phone reservations only declined 4.6%," said Bruce
W. Mainzer, senior vice president of marketing for TravelCLICK.
"The entire Internet channel contribution is showing healthy
growth, but the GDS still remains the dominant source of
electronic reservations for the major chains."
For the first six months of 2003, the top ten
third-party Web sites for hotel bookings to brand CROs were, in
order: Priceline, Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotwire,
TravelNow, USA Hotelguide, Lodging.com, WorldRes, and Southwest.
Some well- known third party Web distributors, such as Hotels.com,
did not place in the top ten on this list because these sites
usually obtain rates and inventory directly from individual
properties rather than a brand or chain CRO.
The eTRAK report covers all central reservation office booking
results including GDS, voice, and Internet bookings. The report
allows subscribers to compare their own performance versus their
direct competitors and the overall industry. The unique
information contained in eTRAK is intended to help hotel
companies decide e-commerce priorities such as where to invest
Internet advertising dollars, and which sites create the best
returns. For more information about TravelCLICK's eTRAK report,
contact Rebecca Bodenhamer at
rbodenhamer@travelclick.net.
About TravelCLICK
TravelCLICK (www.travelclick.net)
is the leading provider of solutions that help hotels and other
travel industry suppliers maximize net revenue from electronic
distribution channels. TravelCLICK's competitive benchmarking
reports provide hotels with price and booking performance
information unavailable through any other source. The company's
exclusive electronic marketing networks allow hotels and other
travel related suppliers to target promotional messages to
specific travel agents, consumers, and group meeting planners
when they are booking travel. The TravelCLICK Interactive
division assists hotels with online strategies to increase
consumer direct business.
Established in 1996 and headquartered in the Chicago area,
TravelCLICK operates in more than 140 countries around the world.
The company has over 6,000 clients, including national and
international companies such as Accor, Air France, Avis, Best
Western International, British Airways, Carlson Hotels Worldwide,
Choice Hotels, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Four Seasons Hotels &
Resorts, Grupo Posadas, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Hyatt Hotels &
Resorts, Kempinski Hotels & Resorts, Leading Hotels of the World,
Loews Hotels, Lufthansa, Marriott International, The Peninsula
Group, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, SAS, The Savoy Group,
Shangri-La Hotels, Sol Melia, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Thistle
Hotels, USAirways, Virgin Atlantic and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
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