More and more people are booking hotel roomnights through branded hotel websites, according to the latest data from electronic marketing firm Travelclick.
Travelclick's Etrak report shows that most hotel nights booked via the internet come through major hotel chains' own branded sites.
Nearly 17.5% of internet reservations were made from hotel-branded websites in the first six months of 2003, compared with 8.5% from third-party websites such as Expedia and Travelocity.
The figures also reveal a decline in telephone calls to central reservations offices. Voice calls to reservations centres now represent just 38.5% of all bookings, compared with more than 41% a year ago.
Global distribution systems remain the most popular electronic form of hotel room booking, making up almost 36% of all hotel reservations.