Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), which boasts 359 hotels in nearly 60 countries, announced that it finished 2005 with a 10% increase in reservations revenue over the previous year.

A 26% increase in online bookings year-on-year via SLH’s award-winning website, slh, is seen as a key contributor to the growth in total reservations revenue. With the ease of booking and the wealth of up-to-date information provided on slh.com, combined with an increasing confidence among guests to book accommodation on-line, SLH expects this upward trend to continue.

“There is no arguing that luxury travel is on the rise,” commented SLH Joint Managing Director Paul Kerr. “As illustrated by our consistent growth throughout 2005, there is high demand for the very best accommodation. Not only will we continue to offer the best properties globally, we will strive to make the booking process much easier and more efficient through our online advancements – always delivering to our guests exactly what they want,” he added.

Overall, arrivals to SLH hotels in Europe were once again strong in 2005 with an increase of over 10% in revenue for travel to both France and Spain. Elevated demand for SLH properties in Paris and the Cote D’Azur in the South of France helped to fuel the growth in France; while the addition of four new member hotels contributed to the reservations growth in Spain. For 2005, America remained SLH’s number one source market making up 60% of the total global business, followed by the United Kingdom in second place.

Reservations for properties in Australia and New Zealand also grew as several new SLH hotels opened in the region and the popularity of the region continued to grow throughout the year. The increased demand led the SLH New Zealand hotels to deliver the highest global average room rate compared to the brand-wide global average.

Other 2005 SLH Year-End Reservation Statistics:

• Travel originating out of Germany increased by 33%



• Travel originating out of Italy increased by 13%



• Reservations for Greek hotels through SLH increased 65%



• 90% of bookings at US hotels originate from within the US



• 48% of UK hotel bookings originate from the US and 22% from within the UK



• 40% of French bookings come from US and 20% from the UK