Increases in bookings and technology sales show hotel industry gearing for growth

Madrid, Spain, 03. March 2008: Amadeus, a global leader in technology and distribution solutions for the travel and tourism industry, saw hotel bookings increase by 7.5% in 2007. Half of Amadeus’ hotel bookings come from a different country from the hotel which is being booked so the rise in bookings reflects a global growth in international guests. Similarly, trends in Amadeus’ IT business indicate hotels are preparing for international expansion; sales of Amadeus’ multi-property Property Management System increased by 33.4% in 2007. These two trends show that hotel chains are gearing up for welcoming foreign guests and opening properties in new countries.

Hotel occupancy during 2007 increased in every region of the world, according to a survey by Deloitte (Asia Pacific, Central and South America, Middle East and Europe). Unlike previous periods of high occupancy, in 2007 hotels invested more in Revenue Management technology, which helps hotels increase occupancy and revenue per available room (revPAR), a standard performance measure in the industry; over 1,000 properties now use Amadeus Revenue Management Solution. Deloitte also reported that average room rates and revenue per available room increased by at least 10% in all regions of the world.

Offering direct access to 90,000 travel agency offices through over 400.000 points of sale in 217 countries, Amadeus’ GDS distribution brings the most value to a hotel targeting mainly international guests. Now, 77,000 hotels are listed in the system, an increase of close to 30% in two years. The average stay booked through Amadeus has increased to two nights. Such growth shows the increasing importance of the GDS in a hotel’s distribution strategy as it seeks to target guests from an ever-growing list of new, emerging economies. At the same time, over 115 top chains provide their Best Available Rate (BAR) through Amadeus. This combination of property choice and confidence in rates provided offers to Travel Agencies the guarantee that Amadeus is the best and most efficient place to shop and book hotels meeting the increasing demands of their customers.

In 2007, Amadeus re-engineered its hotel distribution platform, doubling the flexibility with which a travel agent can search for hotels. The new platform paves the way for richer, multi-lingual information to be stored in the system: a key consideration for hotels attracting guests from fast-expanding economies like China. Amadeus also introduced a new way to deliver revenue- and property management technology as on-demand services which hotels can access over the internet as and when they need them. All maintenance and software upgrades are carried out transparently by Amadeus at its datacentre in Germany leaving the hotel to concentrate on maximising their revenue and offering the best guest experience.

Antoine Medawar, Managing Director, Amadeus Hospitality Business Group, said: “Growth in emerging markets represents two big opportunities for our hotel partners: attracting guests from these new markets or opening properties in them. Our technology solutions, born and bred in a multi-cultural environment, help hotels make the most of both these opportunities. And now is the ideal time for hotels to invest in solutions which keep cost down and revenue high, as global demand for hotel rooms outstrips supply.”

Hotels which bought Amadeus RMS in 2007 include Delaware North Hotels, Taj Hotels, Grand Hotel Berlin, Paris Hotel Capital Group, Le Richemond & Charles Hotel (both Rocco Forte Hotels).

-ends-

Notes to the editors:

Amadeus offers a full range of technology and distribution solutions to the hotel industry. Over 1,000 properties in 35 countries increase their revenue by 4 – 8% using Amadeus Revenue Management System. 6,700 hotel properties in 75 countries use Amadeus Property Management System and more than 77,000 hotels distribute their rooms to a global travel-buying market though Amadeus’ distribution solutions.

Amadeus is the chosen technology partner for providers, sellers, and buyers of travel. The company provides distribution, IT and point-of-sale solutions to help its customers adapt, grow and succeed in the fast changing travel industry. Customer groups include travel providers (airlines, hotels, car rental companies, railway companies, ferry lines, cruise lines, insurance companies and tour operators), travel sellers (travel agencies) and travel buyers (corporations and travellers).

Amadeus has central sites in Madrid (corporate headquarters & marketing), Nice (development) and Erding (Operations – data processing centre) and various regional offices, including in Miami, Buenos Aires, Bangkok and Sidney. At market level, Amadeus maintains customer operations in 76 countries covering more than 215 markets. The company is majority owned by WAM Acquisition, whose shareholders are BC Partners, Cinven, Air France, Iberia and Lufthansa. Amadeus employs over 7,600 employees worldwide, representing 95 nationalities. Amadeus’ revenue for the six months year ended 30 June 2007 was EUR 1,534.1 million.

More information about Amadeus hospitality solutions are available at: www.amadeus.com/hotels

Contact details

Amadeus Media Relations
Corporate & Marketing Communication
tel : +34 91 582 0160
e-mail : mediarelations@amadeus.com