Hotel Revenue Glossary · Demand
Booking Window (Lead Time)
The number of days between when a reservation is made and the actual stay date. A booking made 30 days before arrival has a 30-day booking window.
Why it matters: Understanding your booking window patterns helps set pricing strategy. If most bookings come within 7 days, aggressive far-out pricing can be risky. If bookings come 30-60 days out, you have more time to adjust rates based on pace.
Worked example: Bucket last October's arrivals by lead time: 41% booked inside 7 days, 33% between 8 and 30 days, 26% beyond 30. On a 118-room Thursday that means about 48 rooms will still be unsold at day 7 whatever you do at day 45. Cutting that Thursday's rate six weeks out mostly hands a discount to the 26% who were coming regardless.
Common mistake: Averaging the booking window across every segment and pricing off the single number. A 21-day average built from crew contracts at 90 days and OTA leisure at four days describes no reservation that has ever been made. Bucket by segment first, and leave the contracted nights out entirely - they are already fixed.