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Spring 2002         

Fourth Quarter GDS Results

End-of-year Activity Indicates Hotel Industry Recovery


GDS room nights in the first two quarters of 2001 increased 4.5% versus the first half of 2000. Third quarter GDS room nights slipped 7% due entirely to the impact of the September 11th terrorist attacks, since both July and August displayed year over year gains. Fourth quarter GDS room nights dropped 11.7%, with October hotel e-room nights declining 24%. November and December results were more encouraging, with declines of 10% and 9%, respectively.

For 2001, electronic hotel room nights made by travel agents were down only slightly, with a 2.5% decline compared to 2000. Consumer online bookings made over the Internet continued to show rapid growth, with a 45% increase for 2001. Going forward, even with a sluggish economy, TravelCLICK expects travel agent bookings in 2002 to increase, and consumer online bookings to continue its strong growth.

*Source: TravelCLICK's proprietary database containing data from Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre and Worldspan - the exclusive source of hotel industry electronic distribution data from the GDSs.



"Would you like a HOTEL with that?"



Travel Agent Media Network
"a constant reminder of hotels that are available "
DK Travel - Newark, NJ

Recent surveys have shown that over 60% of travel agents read electronic advertising on the GDS, where they learn about hotel offers from both air and hotel availability screens.

Universally, travel agents report that GDS media provides the best information about hotels without a lot of shopping, and they prefer the efficiency of viewing the offer on their desktop screen. Travel agents go on to cite that the GDSs are a better method of advertising than traditional, print-based media, because there is no time to go find hotel information in a printed guide while the client is on the phone, waiting for a recommendation.

Smart hotels are finding the best results from including Air Availability and Air Sell screens in their media buys. This provides the opportunity for a hotel to achieve greater awareness of its offer, and prompts the travel agent to not only ask their client if they need a hotel reservation, but also make a hotel recommendation.





Holiday Inn Wall Street
A 600% Return on Investment in Electronic Media

The Holiday Inn Wall Street, six blocks from Ground Zero in New York, utilized TravelCLICK's electronic media in the weeks following the Sept. 11 disaster to inform travel agents that it was still open for business.

The hotel's $15,000 investment in GDS marketing paid for itself almost immediately. GM Frank Nicholas reports that it was much-needed business, especially in October, when the hotel booked 326 rooms to new clients. In the same period, Nicholas says that only 44 rooms were booked by regular customers - one-tenth its usual bookings from this segment. In tracking the dollar-for-dollar return from this one campaign, Nicholas reports, "we are up to over $110,000 and are making new inroads with new guests and companies."

"Newspapers and magazine ads only reach a fragment of the market," said Nicholas. "In addition to the proven ROI we received with TravelCLICK media, we also have the capability to identify new customers and track the results. It's practically a no-brainer," said Nicholas.





Amadeus Joins Sabre, Galileo, Worldspan...

Starting in Spring, 2002, the TravelCLICK database will include information from Amadeus, making it the industry's most comprehensive source of hotel booking information.

The Hotelligence report, which is derived from this database of more than 48 million bookings, covering 98% of travel agents, is currently used by more than 4,000 hotels worldwide to improve performance in the electronic booking channels.

As the fastest growing GDS for hotels, Amadeus is an important addition to Hotelligence, providing the complete view of all electronic hotel bookings in one report.

"Our hotels in Europe, South America and the Asia/Pacific region are especially pleased," said Christopher Hartley, vice president - marketing and communications for Kempinski Hotels & Resorts. "The ability to use the Amadeus data presents tremendous opportunity for us. With the full picture soon available through Hotelligence, hotels such as ours will be well-positioned to capture more of the global travel market."

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