Resilience and recovery define booking momentum in 2022
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2022 has been a good news story for the global travel industry. In times of disruption, the sector has been resilient, and accommodation businesses worldwide have continued to rebound.
At the start of December, 88% of countries on SiteMinder’s World Hotel Index were in a stronger position than they were in December last year, and more than 8-in-10 now sit above 75% of their 2019 booking levels — many well above them.
With the data of more than 40 countries at our disposal, there are countless aspects of the year in travel to be analysed and relived as 2022 draws to a close. Below are just six topics to get the conversation underway.
November – 2022’s most successful month for bookings, year-on-year.
Throughout November, booking volumes averaged 100.16% of their 2019 levels, making it the first month to outpace 2019’s record-breaking reservation volumes since the World Hotel Index was launched in April of 2020.
Europe’s ‘never-ending’ summer of travel.
The European summer holiday bounced back in full force in 2022, three years on. Spain and Portugal led the way, as locations like Valencia and Porto came to life, while booking volumes to properties in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy, Ireland and the UK all surpassed 2019’s reservation levels at times.
October 16, 2022.
The biggest day for bookings in 2022 (year-on-year) so far has been Sunday, 16 October, when volumes reached 103.01% of 2019’s levels — 21.28% above the highest point of 2021. On that day, reservation numbers were spurred on by locations like Canada, which had recently dropped its final entry restrictions, and Thailand, where international guests were again above 65% of those booking stays.
Asia-Pacific’s reemergence.
With the vast majority of the Asia-Pacific now open for travel, a brief look at how booking momentum has evolved in the region over the past 12 months highlights both the recovery that has taken place, and the potential for further growth.
The following is a summary of how booking volumes on December 1, 2021 and December 1, 2022 compare to 2019’s December 1 levels.
Australia – 81.02% of 2019 levels (Dec 2021) vs 98.16% of 2019 levels (Dec 2022)
Cambodia – 18.48% of 2019 levels (Dec 2021) vs 46.58% of 2019 levels (Dec 2022)
Cook Islands – 93.66% of 2019 levels (Dec 2021) vs 113.93% of 2019 levels (Dec 2022)
Fiji – 49.13% of 2019 levels (Dec 2021) vs 129.56% of 2019 levels (Dec 2022)
Indonesia – 56.35% of 2019 levels (Dec 2021) vs 93.73% of 2019 levels (Dec 2022)
Malaysia – 80.08% of 2019 levels (Dec 2021) vs 92.17% of 2019 levels (Dec 2022)
New Zealand – 49.85% of 2019 levels (Dec 2021) vs 89.87% of 2019 levels (Dec 2022)
Philippines – 52.09% of 2019 levels (Dec 2021) vs 88.04% of 2019 levels (Dec 2022)
Singapore – 28.42% of 2019 levels (Dec 2021) vs 75.87% of 2019 levels (Dec 2022)
Thailand – 52.85% of 2019 levels (Dec 2021) vs 102.78% of 2019 levels (Dec 2022)
Vanuatu – 2.65% of 2019 levels (Dec 2021) vs 87.65% of 2019 levels (Dec 2022)
Vietnam – 10.15% of 2019 levels (Dec 2021) vs 85.25% of 2019 levels (Dec 2022)
Mexico: the most consistent country for hotel bookings.
Mexico has been the most consistent market for bookings on SiteMinder’s World Hotel Index so far in 2022. It is the only country on the Index to have remained above 100% of its 2019 booking volumes each and every day this year.
International travel is strengthening.
In November 2022, the average percentage of bookings from international guests across the countries on SiteMinder’s World Hotel Index was 61%. This is ahead of the average of 49% recorded in November of 2021, highlighting the increase in international movement that’s taken place over the last year.
At a country-specific level, with 99.25% of guests coming from overseas, the Cook Islands has the highest percentage of international bookings currently, while at 15.72%, Australia has the lowest percentage of international bookings.
And that’s a wrap! From the entire team at SiteMinder, we wish you a great final few weeks of the year, and a safe and happy holiday season. We will be back with more from the World Hotel Index in 2023.
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