Hotel Bookings Sustained Through Second Quarter, and Promise Solid Performance for Summer and Beyond

Spring delivered solid bookings and rates as June brought further encouragement for summer and early autumn. Business trips surged by +6.2% globally in April before recalibrating to the prior year’s pace in June. Rates held steady against prior year, proving corporate demand remains true.

Leisure travel has exhibited exceptional strength in light of a sluggish global economy. The number of trips taken year-to-date through June has exceeded the prior year by +3.7% globally. These hotel stays were booked at rates higher than prior year by +2.1%, with June rates reaching a new 2013 growth record of +5.1%. Granted, performance varies greatly according to location and market, but consumers are bringing vacations back in terms of both volume and price worldwide.

READ MORE >>>

VIEWthe pegasusSECOND QUARTER 2013

PAGE 2

KEY TAKEAWAYS• Corporate travel delivers dependable bookings and rates.

• Leisure travel has shown impressive booking growth, with June bringing an ease in booking growth but accelerated rate growth.

• Global GDS forward-looking data shows corporate travel will continue on sure footing through the summer, with potential rate gains in autumn.

• Global ADS forward-looking data shows both bookings and rates will continue at or above prior year levels, with potential rate growth of near +4.0% in July and August.

Overall, second quarter 2013 results and future bookings reflect growing corporate and consumer confidence. Certainly, hotel performance remains varied from market to market. Major international cities and resort locations are faring better in general than their secondary or tertiary market counterparts. The travel industry is being helped by the overall state of low room supply growth while demand rebounds. Trends analyzed in The Pegasus View and reported by other industry sources indicate performance will continue to improve, albeit at a slow and uneven pace.

GDS CHANNEL (CORPORATE TRAVEL FOCUS)Global GDS channel results for the second quarter of 2013 reflect continued strong business travel demand. Mimicking the first quarter’s booking patterns, second quarter bookings started off with an encouraging spike and settled into stable performance. April’s bookings rose +6.2% over prior year, leveling off to just ahead of prior year by +0.7% in June. This overall strong reservation volume, which continues to meet or exceed prior year gains, reinforces that corporations are cautiously utilizing more travel to build profits.

Rates demonstrate a similar corporate sentiment of willingness to spend tempered with a results-orientated strategy. Global ADRs (average daily rates) are holding firm, and remained even with prior year throughout the second quarter.

Part of this return-on-spend focus is influencing how both group and transient travel is taken. Conferences still play a fundamental role, but companies are remaining selective about who should attend and for how long. Large internal or client-facing group meetings are also being broken into smaller meetings that can be held in a wider range of venues and locations.

These trends are evident in both length of stay and booking lead times. The average length of stay in June 2013

PAGE 3

was -1.1% under that of June 2012, 2.12 nights versus 2.14 nights. The average reservation lead time in June 2013 was 16.28 versus 16.66 in June 2012. Smaller meetings without advanced registration or special pricing deadlines, allow for shorter stays and booking lead times.

ADS CHANNEL (LEISURE TRAVEL FOCUS)Second quarter 2013 global ADS channel results displayed strong leisure demand. Spring travel finished with substantial booking growth of +6.2% and +3.7% over prior year in April and May, respectively. Booking growth over prior year paused in June, coming within -2.0% of June 2012. This still represents substantial volume: June 2012 increased by +8.5% over 2011, and June 2011 increased by +7.5% over 2010. In general, vacation travel is making real progress at prices that are good for hoteliers. These hoteliers are doing their part by holding or raising rates to capitalize on returning demand and to optimize revenue. Global ADR has remained ahead of prior year, and rose to a new growth record for 2013 of +5.1% over prior year in June.

Consumer confidence is improving in many areas, but there is still divergence as to the pace of improvement and size of vacation budgets. With value as the top priority, travelers are open to more options. This broader, value-driven mindset is helping fuel heightened competition not only among hotels, but also destinations. As booking lead times and length of stay attest, vacations are taken one way or another. The average length

PAGE 4

of stay has not expanded from last year overall; 1.99 nights in June 2013 versus 2.01 in June 2012. However, consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable, committing to travel plans further in advance. Hotels were booked 16.96 days ahead of arrival in June 2013 versus 16.51 days in June 2012.

GDS & ADS CHANNEL PERFORMANCE BY REGIONSolid business travel results were seen on a regional level, staying in close proximity to prior year for the month of June, as well as year-to-date through June for all regions except Africa/Asia/Oceania. This region reflected greater variance from prior year due to a combination of influences such as slower economic growth in China and India, and renewed political instability in the Middle East.

Although leisure booking growth over prior year eased in June for most regions, rates have performed well in each. ADR remained near or above prior year for all regions year-to-date with most showing greater momentum in June. This exceptional rate growth supports that targeting markets with the most potential guests both domestically and internationally is key. Also, appealing to the right audience will enable rates to buoy revenue even if booking growth wanes.

PAGE 5

FORWARD-LOOKING INDUSTRY TRENDSGlobal GDS forward-looking data points to continued steady business travel. Corporate caution will continue and restrain year-over-year booking gains, but volume and rates will remain healthy. Corporate ADR will be at or above prior year through the rest of summer, with greater growth potential in September and October as convention season gets underway. GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) reports also suggest sound corporate travel ahead. The association has upgraded the forecast of 2013 business travel spend to reach $273.3 billion (previously forecasted at $268.5 billion for the year), which represents a 4.3% increase in spend over 2012.

ADS channel forward-looking global data shows consumers will vacation throughout the summer and into autumn. Future stays suggest booking volume will be near or above prior year levels, and that rate growth will continue. July and August suggest ADR may rise by more than +4%, with rates closer to prior year in September and October. On average, trips will be kept at the same or slightly fewer nights than prior year globally during the summer, but will potentially expand compared to prior year for getaways taken in October.

PAGE 6

ABOUT THE PEGASUS VIEW The Pegasus View is a quarterly analysis of global booking trends available online and by free subscription at www.pegs.com. Data reported in The Pegasus View comes from billions of transactions processed monthly by Pegasus Solutions, the world’s single largest global processor of hotel transactions. It is the only industry report to reflect data drawn from both global distribution system (GDS) and alternative distribution system (ADS) transactions, representing the business and leisure markets respectively for approximately 100,000 hotels worldwide. All data is on a date of booking basis unless otherwise stated. Average daily rate (ADR) and revenue percentage changes are calculated from values using a single constant exchange rate to eliminate the effects of currency exchange rate movements.

ABOUT PEGASUS SOLUTIONSPegasus Solutions is the single largest processor of electronic hotel transactions, delivering advanced and affordable connectivity and distribution solutions to nearly 100,000 hotels worldwide. Pegasus connects hotels to crucial sources of business, facilitating almost $16 billion for its clients annually. In addition to foundational global distribution system (GDS) access and online connectivity, Pegasus delivers online, social marketing and booking solutions through its Open Hospitality division, and powerful reservation tools to convert and capture bookings. As a trusted partner in generating guest room demand and sales, Pegasus also offers hotels actionable business intelligence through its PegasusView Market Performance reports to help hotels understand and respond to changing market conditions.

Pegasus has 18 offices in 10 countries, including regional hubs in New York, Dallas, Scottsdale, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Sao Paulo, Tokyo and Singapore. For more information, visit www.pegs.com or www.openhospitality.com.

David MilliliCEO, Pegasus Solutions

Julie ParodiVice President of Sales Operations

and Editor, The Pegasus View