Average daily rates paid for leisure hotel stays grew consistently in 2013, ending the year with positive global year-over-year growth for all 12 months, according to The Pegasus View for Q4 2013, released today by Pegasus Solutions. Pegasus, which helps nearly 100,000 hotels worldwide be found, seen and booked, reports 2013 ended on a positive note with volumes and rates up in both the corporate and leisure channels globally.

"This kind of consistent rate growth for leisure bookings means hotels are watching and responding appropriately to growing demand," said David Millili, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions. "Besides the obvious 2014 opportunities for hotels in Winter Olympic or World Cup destinations, all hotels can benefit from more universal opportunities like mobile. We now see that device penetration for smartphones and tablets is being bolstered by higher consumer comfort levels with booking via mobile. That translates to real revenue opportunity for hotels with reliable mobile sites and technology in place."

Global leisure bookings began fourth quarter under 2013 levels by -0.8% in October, but rose through November (+1.9%) to reach +4.3% in December thanks to holiday demand. The solid vacation demand helped hoteliers increase rates throughout the year, including fourth quarter. Rates began the quarter ahead of 2012 by +2.6% in October, reaching +3.3% in November and finishing at +4.8% in December.

Year-over-year global corporate bookings paused in November, but returned to finish the year with a +7.4% bookings jump. Corporate booking growth with steadily improved rates was driven by increases in both transient and group business, including meetings. Rates paid for corporate bookings stayed slightly ahead of 2012 in fourth quarter, moving from a gain of +2.7% in October, then steadying to a margin of +1.7% in both November and December.

Data reported in The Pegasus View by Pegasus Solutions comes from billions of transactions processed monthly by the company, which is the single largest processor of electronic hotel transactions. The Pegasus View, produced quarterly, is the only industry report to reflect data drawn from both GDS and ADS transactions, representing the business and leisure markets respectively. Pegasus' PegasusView Market Performance business intelligence is a monthly reporting product augmenting the global data provided quarterly in The Pegasus View.

About Pegasus

The new Pegasus is a game-changer for hotels, combining innovative technology with five-star support to give hoteliers more control over their revenue and distribution strategy than ever before. Following a recent merger with Travel Tripper, Pegasus now enables hoteliers to better connect with their guests through an innovative and flexible platform of Reservations, E-commerce, Global Sales, and Business Intelligence solutions that help hotels drive demand and increase revenue and profitability.

With more than 30 years of experience in global distribution, Pegasus serves hotels across 120 countries from eight offices worldwide in New York, Scottsdale, Las Vegas, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, and Hyderabad. For more information, visit pegs.com or follow them on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Bill Taysom
Pegasus