The latest edition of the Pulse Report, which tracks forward-looking hotel performance data from September 2022 and compares it with August 2022, same time last year (STLY) and 2019 figures, shows that Europe is outperforming all four Pulse regions this winter, as exchange rates influence the travel plans of many consumers. Market sentiment shifted in Europe’s favor in early September, around the time the Pound and Euro dropped in value against the US Dollar.
However, there is hope for North America too, as the Thanksgiving and Christmas periods are looking healthy for many city and resort destinations in the region.
Looking at the data on a global level we see that appetite for travel is definitely there, aggregate figures for pick up show strong momentum, and year-over-year on the books (OTB) figures are positive. But, when compared to pre-pandemic levels, it’s clear that some markets still have a way to go.
APAC
APAC continues to lag behind 2019 levels, but compared to 2021, bookings are up for each month through to the end of 2022, which is positive news. Month-over-month booking pace trends continue to suggest that the short-term booking window is very much at play, with bookings up through to the end of 2022, but little activity beyond.
In terms of OTB, when we compare figures from 2019, APAC is the worst-performing region out of North America, Latin America, EMEA, and APAC. August was down by -43% on 2019 figures and September was down by -46%. Looking forward, October is -27%, November -12%, and December -2%.
In August there was a steady rise in web traffic for all stay months, but that interest slowed down significantly by September.
EMEA
EMEA has come out on top in this Pulse Report with pick up, OTB, and web traffic all seeing considerable increases.
September saw strong growth compared to the month before, with an average increase of 127% for stays in October through to the end of January. Growth is still visible beyond that, but the most impressive uptick was for fall and early winter - November bookings were up by 129%, December up by 90%, and January by 101%.
Regarding pace and OTB, EMEA is ahead of 2019 as a region for every month of 2022. In January it drops slightly, but through to the end of the year, it’s up compared to 2019. Two countries that stand out in particular in this Pulse are France and Portugal, both of which are up substantially compared to 2019.
These promising results also show us that the short-term booking window is still prevalent in Europe, but it’s expanding out a little to around 10–12 weeks.
Web traffic clearly shows that there is a lot of interest in traveling to Europe right now. This is particularly true for the North American traveler who - thanks to the exchange rates being in their favor - wants to spend their money in Europe while they can get some extra value.
In total, web searches for October were up by 61%, November up by 45%, and December up by 48%.
LATAM
Overall, this region is continuing to pace ahead of pre-pandemic figures, with Mexico leading the way. Traveler interest in Latin America continues to be strong, and pick up figures for September 2022 are trending ahead of August 2022 throughout 2023, and ahead of STLY through to June.
In terms of OTB, Latin America is now pacing ahead of 2019. It’s up by 6% on 2019 figures in October, 20% in November, and 13% in January. Mexico is leading the way with this and compared to 2019, October is up by 17%, November by 29%, and December by 22%.
Despite this positivity for the region, web traffic is waning and Latin America shows the least amount of search activity of all global regions.
North America
The opening up of international travel, increased transatlantic flight routes and the strengthening of the Dollar against the Euro and Pound has led to a drop in domestic hotel business. However, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year stay dates are showing favorable results in key cities, giving North America some cause for hope.
September stay date bookings dropped -4% compared to August figures but remained just ahead of STLY. However, stay dates from October through to March do see an impressive change of direction, with October stay dates up by 142% against bookings made in August, and November stays up by 93%.
North America is still lagging however when it comes to pace and OTB. Compared to 2019, the region is nowhere near pre-pandemic performance levels, and overall September is down -23%, October is -27%, November -46%, and December -58% compared to 2019.
Despite this, key cities such as Miami and New York are seeing some positivity. For October, New York OTB is up by 39% while November is up by 37% and December by 46%. A lot of this is pent-up demand; people in the Americas have been keen to visit New York and so now that they can, they are!
Looking at web traffic, we can see some shopping interest, but there is a slowdown from August to September for all future stay periods. It seems that people who may have been considering trips in the U.S. have moved their focus to Europe, and from February onwards, web activity is pretty light.
Hannah Weller-Barrise, Duetto’s Director of Hospitality Solutions at Duetto, commented: “....”
“The good news is that the holiday periods continue to look strong. For North America, Thanksgiving is up, and for the Christmas holiday we're seeing some of that pick up and on-the-books data continue to show strength. But aside from those periods, we are seeing that slowdown.
“As we look through the next twelve months for EMEA we see strength across the board. Something particularly interesting, and very different from what we see in North America, is that it is both resort destinations and the major European cities of London, Paris, Rome, and Lisbon that are showing really strong growth year over year in terms of on the books.
The Duetto Pulse Report is a quarterly report available for free to hoteliers from around the world. It tracks key metrics for North America, Latin America, EMEA, and APAC. Download the full report here: https://www.duettocloud.com/pulse