Travel bookings have never been this fast and convenient. Thanks to the internet technology, travelers are no longer too stressed out in making preparations for their vacations or business trips. You just need to visit your desired web sites and right there and then, you can already book for your flights and accommodations.

Online bookings for hotel rooms on average daily rates have actually increased
compared to the total average for the industry. Data gathered by PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that rates for internet bookings soared by 8.7 percent in 2006 in comparison to an estimated 6.8 percent rise for overall room rates. Bookings not done on the internet increased by 6.5 percent. For three straight years from 2003 to 2006, internet-booking rates outpaced hotel bookings not utilizing the internet.

The biggest overall increase of 10 percent was for bookings directly from hotels using their central reservation systems. For internet bookings, the biggest rise of 8.9 percent was among opaque distribution channels-reservation sources. Bookings through the global distribution system had the lowest rate of increase at 3.7 percent.

Hotel-branded websites earned the biggest percentage increase in the number of reservations through distribution channels. The factors include high occupancy, quality websites, price guarantees, new brands and improved loyalty programs.

Tags: Leisure, Travel // Add Comment »