Utell® Hotels & Resorts Research Indicates Travellers are turning to Independent Hotels

 
Inaugural “Utell US 2007” Survey reveals 92 per cent of UK travellers find the hotel brand least important when choosing accommodation. Utell® Hotels & Resorts, a service of Pegasus Solutions, today announced the findings of its Utell Us 2007 survey.
LONDON (30 April 2007)

The survey, designed to uncover hotel booking habits and trends of the UK’s business and leisure travellers, indicates consumers are turning more to independent hotels for leisure and business trips with 92 per cent of respondents considering the hotel brand to be least important when choosing accommodation.

Peter Fitzgerald, president of Utell Hotels and Resorts, commented: “The Utell Us survey demonstrates that UK consumers want originality and choice in their accommodation as well as flexibility and security in how they book. The results further underline the mission we have always had at Utell to provide consumers with a diverse range of independent hotels, making finding and booking accommodation easy, safe and reliable.”

The Utell Us 2007 study surveyed more than 1,600 business and leisure travellers in the UK. The research was conducted as Utell launched its new Collections programme targeting consumers for the first time. The Collections are a strong portfolio of independent hotels each designed to promote hotels offering similar levels of quality, products, services and activities around the world, making it easy for consumers to find the most suitable hotel for their specific needs.

Additional Utell Us 2007 survey findings include:

Travellers are seeking independence
The Utell Us 2007 survey confirms the increasing trend towards independent hotels, with 92 per cent of respondents stating they are not concerned about a hotel’s brand with 15 per cent actively preferring to stay in independent hotels. Interestingly this is a phenomenon championed by the older generation who are the most likely group to make a reservation with an independent hotel, confirming the appeal of the range of unique, bespoke or boutique hotels and resorts. 19 per cent of the over 55 age group prefers to stay in independent hotels compared to just 11 per cent of 16-24 year olds.

Security fears do not dampen appetite for travel
According to the results, travellers are not deterred by security fears from going on holiday. The research found that only five per cent of all age groups were worried about security when travelling. Surprisingly, the younger generation were the most nervous, with one in ten (11 per cent) finding security the most stressful element of a holiday compared to just 4 per cent of the over 55 age group. The research reminds us that although security threats continue to raise concerns for travellers, they do not seem to significantly change the way we choose to manage our travel. Consumers’ desires to explore new and unique destinations - or revisit familiar ones - are still a key focus.

Online reservations increase
As expected, the British public is continuing to embrace the internet age with more travellers now preferring to reserve their hotels online than through traditional booking methods. Of those polled, more than half (57 per cent) preferred to book their hotel accommodation online, either with the hotel directly or via a travel booking website. The results indicate online bookings were more popular with younger travellers, with 61 per cent of 16-24 year olds preferring to book online compared to just 55 per cent of those over 55 years. In contrast, the over 55 age group is more inclined to book accommodation by telephone (20 per cent) compared with 25-34 year olds (12 per cent). The Utell Collections support this market trend with dedicated websites such as www.UtellGolf.com and www.UtellSpa.com as well as reservation call centres.

Women more cautious when booking online
Women are much more concerned about inaccurate product descriptions online than men, with 31 per cent citing this as a reason for not booking accommodation online, compared to just 19 per cent of men. This skepticism might stem from the fact that women are much more likely than men to book accommodation based on hotel facilities; 61 per cent of women rate it as a key factor, whereas only 43 per cent of men are swayed by hotel facilities. When it came to concerns about security when booking online there was a marked difference between the sexes. The results showed that women were more concerned by online credit card fraud than men, with more than a quarter (27 per cent) of female travellers agreeing that this discourages them from making online bookings, compared to just 20 per cent of men.

“The first online hotel booking ever made used Pegasus technology, and by working with our member hotels worldwide for over 75 years, we have built up expert knowledge in this market. We know we can offer the UK consumer something different, personal, and satisfying” said Peter Fitzgerald.

The ‘Utell Us 2007’ research was conducted as Utell launched its new Collections programme. The first to launch are Utell Golf, Utell Spa, Utell Luxury and Utell Boutique. Each of the Collections has been designed to promote hotels offering similar levels of quality, products, services and activities around the world, making it easy for consumers to find the most suitable hotel for their specific needs.

For further information, please contact:

Utell Press Office
Mango PR Ltd
Tel: +44 (0) 20 74212507
Email: utell@mangopr.co.uk

About Utell Hotels and Resorts
Utell Hotels & Resorts, a service of Pegasus Solutions, has a portfolio of 3,600 hotels in more than 130 countries worldwide, offering diverse products and services to suit every traveler’s accommodation needs, whether they are travelling for business or leisure. Established more than 75 years ago, Utell is regarded by travel agents as ‘the hotel people’ and look to us when organising hotels for their customers.

About Pegasus
Dallas-based Pegasus Solutions, Inc. is a global leader in providing technology and services to hotels and travel distributors. Founded in 1989, Pegasus’ customers include a majority of the world’s travel agencies and more than 78,000 hotel properties around the globe. Pegasus’ services include central reservation systems, electronic distribution services, commission processing and payment services, and marketing representation services, including the consumer Web site, www.hotelbook.com. The company’s representation services, including Utell® Hotels & Resorts and Unirez by Pegasus™, are used by more than 9,300 member hotels in more than 130 countries, making Pegasus the hotel industry’s largest third-party marketing and reservations provider. Pegasus has 16 offices in 11 countries, including regional hubs in London, Singapore and Scottsdale, Arizona. For more information, please visit www.pegs.com.

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