Return of European Visitors Boosts UK Online Hotel Sales

Cambridge, UK – Active Hotels, the leading provider of online reservations to the European hotel industry, today releases its Q3 Online Booking Survey results which show the number of people using the Internet to secure accommodation online has soared by an average of 80% since September 2002. Growth has been especially strong in the UK’s regions with online booking volumes doubling between September 2002 and September 2003. London and the UK’s major cities have also experienced 60% growth rates over the same period.

Reports* of an increase in the number of European visitors to the United Kingdom are also supported by an upward trend in the volume of online bookings originating from European countries, with September’s monthly figures up to 14.2% from 10.1% in March of this year.

There is further evidence that hotel managers no longer see the Internet as a distressed stock channel but as a valuable revenue source. While there is still substantial rate pressure in London, with average room rates dipping 2% below 2002 levels, elsewhere in the UK, room rates have risen by up to 6% in the regions and 3% in the UK’s other major cities.

Dr Matthew Witt, Operations Director of Active Hotels comments, “Online booking volumes continue to grow dramatically. Even in London, where hoteliers were using the Internet earlier, growth rates remain strong. There is also an increasing number of online bookings from overseas guests.

The volume of bookings made by Europeans represents over a fifth of total bookings delivered to London. The capital continues to be the most popular destination for overseas visitors, with increasing booking volumes originating from Asia and Europe more than compensating for the shortfall in the number of bookings from North America. Confidence in booking accommodation online is increasing across Europe, and it is clear that online inventory distribution is opening up hotels to a global audience that is expanding as confidence grows,” says Witt.

The Active Hotels report was generated using data for 1,000 UK hotels that have been working with Active Hotels since January 2002, with 170 in London, 300 in other major UK cities and 530 outside of both cities and London. Internet reservations are monitored through over 300 Internet partners.

London Cities Regions Overall
Year-on-year Internet Booking Growth 60% 63% 100% 80%
Achieved Room Rate (indexed to Mar 02 = 100) 98 103 106 103
%ge of bookings from UK 56.3% 82.6% 86.5% 75.8%
%ge of bookings from US 12.3% 5.9% 4.7% 6.7%
%ge of bookings from Europe 21.7% 8.8% 6.7% 12.7%
%ge of bookings from Asia 4.3% 1.6% 0.95% 1.8%
Length of stay 2.19 1.56 1.53 1.70

The report also found that on average across the UK, online bookings made for business purposes have slipped from 42% in Q1 to 33% in Q3. Figures for the month of September suggest an immediate recovery from the holiday season with over 40% of bookings originating from business customers.

Guest Type Overall
%ge Leisure (Recorded) 66.20%
%ge Business (Recorded) 23.35%
%ge Both (Recorded) 10.45%

*Source – Office of National Statistics – “Overseas Travel & Tourism August 2003”

About Active Hotels

Active Hotels is one of Europe’s leading online reservation providers to the hotel industry. It is currently processing over €140 million worth of bookings per year. Active Hotels creates mutually beneficial partnerships that enable both hoteliers and distribution partners to participate in the growing market for online hotel reservations.

Active Hotels offers the best choice of hotels and room prices available across Europe. At present, the company has over 4,500 partner hotels, with 2,500 in the UK and over 1,000 in France. It is also actively growing its hotel base across Europe, in Italy, Germany, Spain, Holland, Belgium and many others. The company promotes these hotels across its 1,500 partner websites, making each hotel visible to over a million Internet users each month.

The service Active Hotels offers is easy to integrate and use and provides a reliable source of revenue for hotels and distribution partners.

For further information on Active Hotels please visit: http://www.activehotels.com

Press contacts:
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Gina Blackie
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