The Pegasus View April 2010: Global GDS Revenue Rises 34.3% Over 2009

Thanks in part to a spike in reservations from the Icelandic volcano, Pegasus Solutions is reporting a +34.3% global year-on-year increase in April 2010 revenue for bookings made through the global distribution systems (GDS). Sourcing data from billions of GDS and alternative distribution system (ADS) transactions for nearly 100,000 global hotels, April's The Pegasus View further evidences a business travel recovery, citing GDS growth in both booking volumes (+27.4%) and average daily rate (+5.5%) year-on-year.

Combined, GDS and ADS bookings for the month were up +11.1% year to date, with future bookings made through September showing double-digit growth. This ongoing rise in booking volumes for both channels was again accompanied by a +30% jump in ADS availability requests and look-to-book ratios.

"This is what we were hoping for – travelers on the leisure and corporate sides are shopping again. Eyjafjallajokull, for the most part, helped the hotel industry enjoy a significant increase in corporate bookings, ADR and revenue for the month; but ADR for leisure travel continues to lag behind last year," said Mike Kistner, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions. "We're seeing encouraging rises in demand with sustained positive booking and revenue growth for leisure travel. However, the average of approximately +30% increases in availability requests since last year reinforces the importance of advanced hardware, applications and delivery models for hotels of all sizes to manage the onslaught of demand we're experiencing."

ADS data for April still indicated a +12.3% average increase in booking volumes, and a +5.3% increase in revenue year to date. Globally, GDS bookings were up +10.7% year to date, which, with an accompanying increase of +3.2% in ADR for the same period, allowed revenue to also increase 12.6% year-to-date.

The Pegasus View for April 2010 is available in its entirety with expert analysis online and by free subscription at www.pegs.com. Data reported in The Pegasus View comes from Pegasus Solutions, the world's single largest global processor of hotel transactions through the four GDS (Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, and Worldspan) and ADS channels.