Greenlight Research: UK - More Than Twice as Many Searches Made for Hotels at Home Than Abroad

LONDON, April 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Airports are braced for the Easter holiday rush as folks head home or take a flight of fancy elsewhere. More than 370,000 passengers are expected to leave Heathrow Airport between Good Friday and Easter Monday, and 200,000 will pass through Gatwick - all of which surely bodes well for the hotel trade. In fact, the latest research from leading independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight, found that in January, the number of hotel-related searches made online by UK searchers totalled 2 million. Interestingly however, the majority of their hotel queries pertained to the UK.

Based on an analysis of online search-related data sourced from Hydra's One Platform, a leading provider of SaaS tools for digital marketers, Greenlight's research, 'Hotels Sector Report - Issue 11'found generic terms such as 'Hotels', 'Cheap hotels' and 'Bed and breakfast', were used for the majority (765,622) of hotel-related searches,and accounted for a 38% share.

UK online hotel-related searches pertaining to domestic locations were more than double those abroad. Queries totalled 723,642 accounting for a 36% share of hotel-related searches overall, compared to just 14% (277,896) for hotel searches in short haul destinations and 13% (267,911) in long haul destinations.

City-wise, on the domestic front, queries for hotels in London made up 39% of hotel-related searches. Edinburgh followed with 9%, then Manchester with 6%.

Greenlight's research also reveals the most visible hotel websites in natural search and paid media.

According to Greenlight's league table, Late Rooms was the most visible website for domestic hotel-related searches, achieving a dominant 96% share of voice. Lastminute followed in second place with 83%, then Superbreak with 46%.

For short haul destination hotel-related searches, things changed. Trip Advisor ruled the roost, achieving a 71% share of visibility. In at second was Expedia with 65% then Lastminute with 57%. It was likewise for long haul destinations where these players also dominated the rankings taking first, second and third place, respectively, in natural search.

However, with more than a quarter of Britons having apparently made plans to avoid London 2012, according to a survey by Travelex, perhaps short haul and long haul destinations will see the hotel search-related balance, re-addressed.

About Greenlight:

Greenlight is a leading independent digital marketing agency, the largest of its kind in Europe and the fastest growing. With over 100 blue-chip clients including Santander, New Look, Sky and ghd, Greenlight is a leader in the digital marketing space, and is recognized worldwide for its commitment to delivering record ROI for its clients and investing in the future.

Greenlight is considered the premier thought leader in the sector, publishing widely read industry reports, original research, speaking at trade events, and delivering a highly respected digital marketing training programme via the Greenlight Academy. Founded in 2001, Greenlight is headquartered in London, with offices in New York. http://www.greenlightsearch.com