SOLID GAINS FOR HOTELS

Pegasus Solutions reports that global leisure hotel bookings grew by 3.7% in May, setting the stage for a solid summer travel season. And even better, those gains are expected to not only continue, but to also climb along with rates through August. According to Pegasus Solutions, the increased demand was accompanied by growing pricing power for hotels as rates grew 2.6% for the month. For bookings, May performed better than each of the last six years, while rates were higher than every year back to 2009, not quite reaching 2008 and 2007 levels. However, with business on the books through May suggesting continued booking and rate gains, the outlook is still positive for hotels. David Millili, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions, said: “Each June, hoteliers hold their breath in anticipation of what the potentially profitable summer travel season will bring. For the last few years, we’ve seen consumers refuse to sacrifice vacations entirely as they’ve made adjustments to length of stay and hunted for lower rates to accommodate tighter budgets. This summer, we’re seeing the same commitment to holidays coupled with more willingness to book at higher rates than last year.” Pegasus Solutions notes that global corporate bookings rose 2.4% in May over 2012 as rates dipped slightly to 0.2% under last year’s levels. A retrospective of the month’s performance against every year since 2007 placed bookings shy of only 2011 by a slight 1.5% drop, and rates short of only 2008 by an even slighter 0.6% decrease. Looking forward, global corporate bookings should realize continued growth in June, but ease back around prior year levels through the end of summer. Rates will see modest increases through August, with the potential for new momentum as the business travel season resumes in September. Go to http://www.pegs.com for more.