Findings from over 125 million reservations
Generating over 235 hotel bookings every minute, and 125 million a year, SiteMinder’s distribution and revenue platform is home to the most comprehensive hotel booking data set in the world.
With this, we bring you SiteMinder’s Hotel Booking Trends – the authority on hotel bookings across 20 of the world’s most established destinations.
Top Booking Sources
The Top 12 hotel booking revenue-makers of 2024.
Newcomer
A channel appearing in that country’s Top 12 for the first time.
One to Watch
A channel important to keep an eye on in 2025.
High Riser
The channel/s that jumped the most spots since last year.
Re-entrant
A channel back in that country’s Top 12, after being absent for at least a year.
What was new in booking sources?
What’s the trend?
SiteMinder’s Changing Traveller Report 2025 highlighted the strong intent among travellers from China, India, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand to travel internationally in the coming year, and this is mirrored in the impressive performance of channels popular with Asian guests on SiteMinder’s Top 12 lists. China’s Trip.com climbed, re-entered or appeared for the first time on 40% of lists globally, while Asia Pacific’s Agoda rose in 35%.
What does it mean?
Asian travel is now experiencing a meaningful rebound, and SiteMinder’s data indicates that these travellers will increasingly influence the global accommodation industry in 2025. Particularly as the region’s middle class rises, hotels will need to look to data to understand and adapt to these shifts as they happen, so they can anticipate incoming volumes and better position themselves to attract this fast-growing, digital-first segment.
What’s the trend?
Seventeen booking sources made their Top 12 debut in 2024, compared to 11 the year prior, representing growth of 55%. Notably, Klook became a top revenue-generator in both Malaysia and Thailand for the first time, HyperGuest made its Top 12 debut in Colombia, Hopper joined Canada’s list, and WebBeds arrived in both Indonesia and Mexico.
What does it mean?
The uptick in newcomers in 2024 highlights not only the benefit of connecting with channels like Klook and Hopper, which cater to experience and deal-driven travellers directly, but also the growing trend of bookers using varied channels, many of which source inventory from B2B or B2B2C partners. The clock is ticking for hotels ignoring the increasing and critical role of B2B players if they want to drive incremental reservations. Gone are the days of travellers relying solely on traditional consumer-facing platforms; they’re now much more complex and dynamic.
What’s the trend?
For the first time ever, direct bookings made via hotel websites didn’t lose ground in any market in 2024, maintaining their position in 19 countries and jumping one spot to third in Thailand. Direct bookings finished in the top 3 in 90% of markets, and earned a top 2 finish in Ireland, Portugal, South Africa and Spain.
What does it mean?
Travellers have increasingly turned to hotel websites in recent years, seeking personalised offers and exclusive deals – a trend that continues even as international travel grows. Hoteliers driving traffic to their website effectively and making sure they’re easily bookable are being rewarded with a deeper connection to their guests.
Average Booking Value
The typical spend for a hotel stay, by booking channel.
OTAs
Global distribution systems
Wholesalers, DMCs and tour operators
Hotel websites (direct bookings)
Hotel websites generated 60% more revenue per booking than OTAs in 2024
What’s the trend?
Thanks to travellers booking higher-value rooms and the second-longest length of stays, plus extras, hotel websites generated an average of US$519 per booking in 2024, well above OTAs (US$320), global distribution systems (US$380), and wholesalers, DMCs and tour operators combined (US$446), despite the latter attracting the longest stays. Notably, the value through hotel websites increased by 8.5% from the prior year, the fastest growth among all channels.
What does it mean?
This rise of direct website bookings emphasises not only their importance to hotels, but the benefits of driving traffic through metasearch and offering travellers a pain-free booking experience that includes seamless payment methods and built-in security measures. However, as highlighted by the rise of newcomers within the lists of Top 12 channels, the finding doesn’t suggest hoteliers should focus exclusively on this channel in 2025, nor overlook the valuable reach and ease offered by third-party channels, or the costs associated with attracting guests directly.
Global Snapshot
A rooftop view of the traveller behaviours behind the bookings in 2024.
The big trends
What’s the trend?
2024 was a record-breaking year for travel, marked by both continued strong domestic volumes and a rise in international guests, who made up a larger share of check-ins in more than half of countries. Austrian hotels led with 79% international guests, while Australians welcomed the highest proportion of local guests at 87%. The Philippines experienced the biggest increase in international check-ins, with a 6.5 percentage point growth, reaching 54%.
What does it mean?
As international guests account for a growing share of arrivals, it’s important hoteliers deepen their understanding of both the makeup and dynamic nature of these travellers, and leverage insights that alert them to not just where they’re coming from, how they’re booking and when they’re likely to travel, but what they expect from their stay.
What’s the trend?
ADR maintained its steady upward trajectory in 2024, with 13 of the 20 markets posting gains. Thailand led the way with a US$19.50 average increase, driven by a busy December period, while Portugal followed with a US$12 rise, peaking during its record-breaking August.
What does it mean?
SiteMinder’s Changing Traveller Report 2025 shows that while travellers are cost-conscious, they continue to prioritise meaningful accommodation experiences and are willing to pay more for them, when incentivised. To maximise revenues and loyalty, it’s vital that hoteliers not only exploit real-time insights to refine their pricing and distribution strategies, but create stays that are special for their guests.
What’s the trend?
Travellers continued the pattern of booking further in advance and cancelling less in 2024, with the average booking window extending slightly to 32 days and cancellations again dropping to less than 20%. The longest lead time was in Ireland, bolstered by a strong year of international arrivals, while travellers booking at Indonesian hotels cancelled the least.
What does it mean?
Confidence in travel, at all stages, is well and truly back. For hotels, this translates to greater arrival predictability, enabling more effective inventory and pricing strategies, fewer last-minute disruptions and smoother operations.
Daily Price Changes
How average daily rate (ADR) fluctuated by day of the week in 2024.
2023
2024
ADR peaked Friday, was lowest Sunday
What’s the trend?
In 85% of markets, Friday was the most expensive night to stay at a hotel in 2024, with Sunday the cheapest in 65% of cases. The three countries with the greatest variance between the highest and lowest ADR during the week were Ireland (US$86), the US (US$67) and Australia (US$54), while the countries with the least variance were the Philippines (US$6), Thailand (US$8), Colombia (US$11) and Malaysia (US$11).
What does it mean?
With minimal ADR fluctuations throughout the week in many top destinations, hoteliers have a prime opportunity to embrace more dynamic pricing strategies in 2025. This will help minimise both room vacancies and the risk of selling rooms below their true value, proportionate to the supply and demand in the market.
Length of Stay
A zoomed out look at travellers’ itineraries in 2024.
Nearly 4-in-5 travellers stayed for one night only
What’s the trend?
An average of 78% of stays were for only one night in 2024, with just 11% of check-ins for three nights or more—which remained on par with 2023. The longest-staying guests were in Portugal, where 34% booked for two or more nights, and the shortest-staying guests were in Taiwan, where almost 9-in-10 stayed for just one night.
What does it mean?
Travellers are showing all signs of confidence when it comes to their trips, but they’re still largely transient. While short stays suit some properties, there are benefits to encouraging longer stays as they typically increase revenue per guest and hotels can enjoy more predictable occupancy. Strategies to achieve this include implementing minimum-stay rules, offering package deals, and sending automated messages to encourage extensions.
Seasonality Map
The percentage of total guest arrivals by month in 2024.
2023
2024
Ever-smoother seasonality didn’t neutralise peak periods
What’s the trend?
Bookings in 2024 were more evenly spread throughout the year compared to 2023, with a notable increase in demand during the Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Despite guests arriving more evenly year-round, the busiest month in 50% of markets was more concentrated than the year prior, including in destinations like Spain, Portugal, Canada in August, and South Africa in December.
What does it mean?
Although seasonality smoothed overall, every country still experienced high and low periods in 2024, and in 45% of markets the busiest month shifted, year-on-year. To maximise revenue, hotel pricing strategies must adapt to constant fluctuations in demand, as they happen.
