Generating over 245 hotel bookings every minute, and 130 million a year, SiteMinder’s guest acquisition 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 2025.
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 2026.
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’s new in booking sources?
What’s the trend?
Preliminary data shows outbound travel from China and India exceeded pre-pandemic levels for the first time in 2025, with China generating roughly 40 million more trips than the second-largest source market, the USA. Asia is reshaping global travel, with projections showing the region will account for 3.5 billion middle-class consumers by 2030 — nearly two-thirds of the global total.
What does it mean?
Channels favoured by Asian travellers gained ground in 2025. Regional favourite Agoda climbed in 40% of SiteMinder’s Top 12 lists and claimed the top spot in the Philippines and Taiwan, while Chinese OTA Trip.com rose in 20% of lists and debuted as a Newcomer in Germany, Spain and the US. Meanwhile, India’s Goibibo and MakeMyTrip advanced in Thailand and re-entered Malaysia.
What’s the trend?
Direct bookings remained remarkably stable in 2025, despite predictions that AI would either erode or amplify the channel. Revenue share stayed within 1.5 percentage points of the prior year in 95% of markets analysed, with rankings unchanged across all 20 countries. Direct bookings again finished in the top three in 90% of markets and earned a top two position in Ireland, Portugal, South Africa and Spain.
What does it mean?
Traveller search patterns are evolving, with AI and OTAs gaining research share, but direct bookings remain stable. Hotels that continue to invest in website optimisation, metasearch visibility and frictionless booking experiences continue to see deeper guest connections and higher-value bookings. The key is maintaining these fundamentals while staying alert to emerging shifts.
What’s the trend?
Expedia Group now leads across the US, Canada and Mexico—marking the first time it’s held the number one position across all three North American markets since 2020, and its first time leading in the US since 2021. This coincided with domestic travellers accounting for a growing share of US arrivals, rising 3.22 percentage points to 77%, a segment where Expedia Group has particularly strong appeal.
What does it mean?
Hotels across North America should maintain strong OTA relationships while pursuing balanced revenue strategies. Success requires diversifying guest acquisition across multiple channels, including OTAs, global distribution systems, wholesalers, DMCs, tour operators, hotel websites and metasearch, to avoid over-reliance on any single source.
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 the highest value bookings as GDSs led growth
What’s the trend?
Thanks to travellers booking higher-value rooms, longer stays and extras, hotel websites generated an average of US$516 per booking in 2025, well above wholesalers (US$445), global distribution systems (US$392) and OTAs (US$312), despite wholesalers attracting the longest-staying guests. Global distribution systems recorded the fastest growth at 6.6%, outpacing direct bookings, which grew 4.3%.
What does it mean?
Direct bookings’ strong performance highlights the value of investing in a quality booking engine, metasearch and seamless payment experiences. Fast growth from global distribution systems, along with new entrants in the Top 12, confirms that success requires a balanced approach, however.
Global Snapshot
A rooftop view of the traveller behaviours behind the bookings in 2025.
ADR continued its upward trajectory in 2025, with 14 of the 20 markets SiteMinder analysed posting gains. Austria led with a US$15 average increase, followed by Portugal and Spain, both up US$11. The global average reached US$194, maintaining the growth trend seen since 2020.
What does it mean?
SiteMinder’s Changing Traveller Report 2026 shows travellers are trading up, with 58% now choosing Superior or luxury rooms. While cost-conscious, they remain willing to pay for elevated experiences. Hoteliers should leverage dynamic pricing to capture this demand while investing in memorable service that keeps guests coming back.
What’s the trend?
The multi-year pattern of longer planning horizons and fewer cancellations continued in 2025. The average booking window reached 32.15 days, while cancellations fell to 19.15%. Ireland had the longest lead time at 46 days, and Indonesia recorded the lowest cancellation rate at 11%.
What does it mean?
Longer lead times give hotels more opportunity to optimise pricing and inventory, while lower cancellations reduce revenue leakage. Properties can capitalise on this through early-booking incentives and packages that reward advance commitment, using the extended window to refine pricing and distribution and personalise pre-arrival engagement.
What’s the trend?
In 2025, nearly all Asia Pacific markets saw international guest share grow, with Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia welcoming the highest proportion of international travellers in the region. By contrast, after years of international recovery, many markets in the Americas and Europe saw domestic travel gain importance, particularly in Canada and the US, where domestic share rose by 7.6 and 3.2 percentage points respectively.
What does it mean?
As international arrivals rise in some markets and domestic travel strengthens in others, using insights on traveller origin and booking patterns has never been more important, enabling hotels to optimise distribution and proactively capture more demand.
Daily Price Changes
How average daily rate (ADR) fluctuated by day of the week in 2025.
Day-of-week pricing was most dynamic in Ireland, the US and Australia
What’s the trend?
Hotels in Ireland, the US and Australia showed the most dynamic day-of-week pricing in 2025, with gaps between their highest and lowest average days of US$87, $63, and $51 respectively. By contrast, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia maintained near-flat pricing, with gaps of under $10. Friday was the most expensive night in 90% of markets, while Sunday was the cheapest in 40%.
What does it mean?
Minimal ADR fluctuations throughout the week in many markets, particularly in Asia and Latin America, present an opportunity for hotels to adopt more dynamic day-of-week pricing strategies in 2026. Adjusting rates according to demand helps minimise room vacancies and ensures rooms are sold closer to their true value.
Length of Stay
A zoomed out look at travellers’ itineraries in 2025.
Stays lengthened, yet most travellers still checked out next day
What’s the trend?
In 2025, 27% of bookings were for two nights or more, up only slightly year-on-year. The longest-staying guests were in Colombia, where 43% booked for two or more nights, followed by Portugal, Spain and Mexico. The shortest stays were in Malaysia, where 84% of guests checked out the next day.
What does it mean?
Travellers remained largely transient, but stays lengthened in 2025. While short stays suit some properties, particularly business hotels in high-turnover urban markets, longer bookings typically increase revenue per guest and provide more predictable occupancy. Hotels can encourage extended stays through minimum-stay requirements, package deals, and targeted messaging that promotes booking extensions.
Seasonality Map
The percentage of total guest arrivals by month in 2025.
Seasonality continued to smooth as demand spread more evenly
What’s the trend?
Check-ins spread more evenly in 2025, with 65% of markets seeing their busiest month become less dominant. July in Italy, August in Spain and Portugal, and December in Thailand all accounted for a smaller share of annual check-ins as shoulder seasons strengthened. On average, the gap between the quietest and busiest months narrowed from 2.91 percentage points globally in 2024 to 2.66 in 2025.
What does it mean?
Travellers spread their stays more evenly throughout the year, seeking better value and fewer crowds. While peak periods continued to attract higher arrivals in many markets, they accounted for a smaller share of total annual check-ins in 2025. Hotels need dynamic strategies that adapt to each season – capturing shoulder period growth while managing the concentrated demand of peak periods.
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