It’s not rate alone that converts heads to beds. An important element in generating loyalty and profit is value creation. Midscale segments are chipping away at the upper-upscale and luxury segments because they’re offering free continental breakfasts and Wi-Fi. The point is, travellers are looking for value beyond ADR and the hotels getting the best return on investment understand unique value and competitive differentiations.

The top two value creations in any hotel are free broadband Wi-Fi for multiple devices and free meal inclusion. They create strong ROIs. I might be biased due to my condition of founder & CEO of ConnectedtoGo, which is a pioneer company focused precisely on the idea of providing WiFi Everywhere to the traveller, not only at the hotel but throughout the destination, for 5 devices at the same time. But I see crystal clear that including in the price of the room services like those offered byConnectedtoGo are a really profitable way to differentiate and increase the RevPAR.

Based on bookings already registered, TravelClick forecasts in 2013 the top 25 U.S. markets will see an increase of 3.7% in ADR, a 1.9% increase in occupancy and a 5.9% increase in RevPAR. Global markets including Dubai, United Arab Emirates, London, Mexico City, Paris and Shanghai, are not performing as well as the U.S. Nevertheless, at least the top 300 markets are showing stability and minimum growth.

Thus the outlook remains relatively positive for the global regions, as long as hoteliers maintain rate, capitalize on changing channel mixes, create value creation offerings and think of the convergence from online and offline channels. It is not expected either a noticeable shift in channel distribution compared with the same time last year. However, with 9.6% of the revenue, online travel agencies showed the most interesting shift as the switch from a merchant model to a retail model is helping OTAs take their share. it’s almost a rebirth of OTA activity in a new business mode. When an OTA gets in a retail environment, it’s huge. It’s a mover in the industry because it aggregates so many customers.