BANGKOK, 27 January 2025: A new report by SiteMinder, a leading hotel distribution and revenue platform, reveals Thailand as a global standout in 2024, with a strong surge in rates and revenue.
Thailand’s hotel room rates were over 15% higher than the previous year — the only country with double-digit growth.
The report, SiteMinder’s Hotel Booking Trends, based on over 125 million reservations, shows that Thailand’s average daily rate (ADR) grew to THB 5,377 in 2024, up from THB 4,648 in 2023. Rates peaked in December, reaching THB 6,460 per occupied room, marking an 11% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.
SiteMinder’s report shows the country’s hotels led Asia in international arrivals, with foreign guests accounting for 77% of total check-ins, well above the global average of 48%. This figure saw Thailand rank second globally, surpassed only by Austria.
Data takeaways — Thai hotels
Travellers who stayed at Thai properties booked their stays further in advance, with the average lead time reaching 27 days — the longest in Asia and approaching the 29-day booking window observed in 2019.
Strengthening Thailand’s status as a premier leisure destination, local properties ranked fifth globally for the longest stays, with over 15% of bookings lasting three nights or more. This is higher than the 11% global average, following counterparts in Portugal (21%), Colombia, Mexico, and Spain (18%).
While December remained Thailand’s busiest month, Thai properties relied less on the last month of the year for annual arrivals. Guest volumes during the cool months of 2024 rose compared to the same period the previous year, reflecting a more balanced distribution of visitors during the country’s peak period.
“The rise in the average room rates in Thailand, coupled with the strong resurgence of international guests, suggests not only a lucrative year for Thai properties but a local hotel industry that is thriving amid bolstered confidence to travel in the country. To stay competitive and relevant, hotels need to be dynamic and what our data shows is that hotels in Thailand both recognised and achieved this in 2024,” SiteMinder Thailand Country Manager Supakrit Phansomboon explained.
Top 12 booking sources for Thai hotels
The Top 12 hotel booking sources for Thai properties, based on the total gross revenue they generated via SiteMinder’s platform in 2024, were:
- Booking.com
- Agoda
- Hotel websites (direct bookings)
- Expedia Group
- Trip.com
- Hotelbeds
- Tiket.com
- Goibibo & MakeMyTrip
- Traveloka
- WebBeds
- Klook
- TBOHolidays
The growth in international check-ins, led predominantly by Asian guests, propelled Klook – popular among travellers from markets such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines – to debut as a top revenue-generating channel in Thailand. Meanwhile, Trip.com’s consistent performance underscores China’s position as Thailand’s largest source market, further buoyed by the introduction of visa exemptions for Chinese travellers in early 2024.
Notably, hotel websites reclaimed their place in the top three, surpassing Expedia Group after being overtaken the previous year. This coincides with the global finding in SiteMinder’s report, which found that hotel websites performed strongly last year, generating an average of US$519 per booking for hotels – 8.5% higher than the prior year and outpacing the average booking value generated by OTAs by more than 60% at US$320.
“Travellers who book directly typically choose higher-value rooms, stay longer, and add extras. Each of these factors represents a significant opportunity for hotels to provide those exclusive deals travellers are looking for, and our findings show that many hotels are doing this effectively,” Phansomboon noted
