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.

Booking activity during the first quarter decreased versus the same period last year, but there was a recovery from the unprecedented losses in hotel occupancy experienced at the end of 2001. Room nights booked electronically were down almost 10% over the first quarter of 2001, while revenue was off 18% as average rate dropped 9%. Average length of stay declined slightly from 2.15 nights during the first quarter of 2001 to 2.13 nights this year.

Travel agent bookings remained the dominant source of hotel e-business, representing 95% of total GDS room nights. The travel agent component of GDS declined 10% in room nights and 18% in revenue compared to the first quarter of 2001. Despite the overall first quarter trends, the Internet (consumer online) component of the GDS continued to grow. Internet room nights, excluding bookings from auction sites, grew almost 10% during the first quarter of 2002. Average rate was down for GDS powered consumer online bookings by 11%, leading to a 2% decline in revenue versus the first quarter of 2001.

In today's economy, hotels must spend advertising dollars wisely. For Joel Costa, area director of sales and marketing for Flagstone Hospitality's Sheraton San Jose-Milpitas and Beverly Heritage Hotel-Milpitas, spending wisely means buying TravelCLICK's electronic media.

"By placing our advertising dollars in specific areas we need to grow or where we're not getting our fair share, we hit the competition where they live. We research which distribution sources are below capacity share for us and place the hits there," Costa says.

In a recent campaign that cost less than $3,000, the tracked revenues were about $20,000.

"The Sheraton saw double-digit RevPAR growth in the timeframe that our last campaign ran. The range was 10 to 14 percent growth, while our competitive set average was actually a double-digit loss in RevPAR," Costa says.

"The commitment to help educate hoteliers has been invaluable. My experience with TravelCLICK has made marketing to the GDS channels a breeze," Costa says.

TravelCLICK is pleased to announce the opening of its European headquarters in Barcelona, Spain. The new Barcelona office will provide local support to TravelCLICK's rapidly expanding European customer base, as well as serve as the primary point of contact for customers in the Middle East and Africa.

"The impressive growth of hotel electronic distribution in Europe necessitated that we provide local support as we add new products that will benefit European hotel properties," said Jan Tissera, Division Vice President - International for TravelCLICK. "In addition to providing TravelCLICK customers with support in local time zones, our clients will benefit from increased capabilities for training and support in several languages."