Online Hotel Bookings Climb a Solid 20 Percent

Consumers continue a three-year upward trend of shopping for hotels online and booking electronically, according to TravelCLICK’s consolidated second-quarter eTRAK results.

The data shows the Internet contributed 37.3 percent, or 7,605,440 reservations, of the total Central Reservation Office (CRO) reservations at major hotel brands, a 19.9 percent increase compared to the same period in 2005.

The data also highlights the continuing importance of Global Distribution System (GDS) e-commerce with 36.4 percent, or 7,425,301 bookings, of CRO reservations coming through those channels, a 4 percent increase over Q1 2006.

This is the first quarter that Internet reservations surpassed GDS reservations, or bookings made through the travel agent-focused Global Distribution System (GDS).

The eTRAK report shows that voice represents the remaining 26.3 percent of CRO reservations, down 1.2 percent over the same time last year. Phone reservations continue to lose share as consumers migrate to the web, but still offer an alternative for the older population demographic and those with limited or no Internet access.