Booking Window / Lead Time
Booking Window (also called Lead Time) is the number of days between when a reservation is made and the guest's arrival date. It is one of the most important demand-pattern metrics in revenue management because it shows how far in advance guests are planning their stays.
Why it matters
The booking window shapes pricing strategy:
- Short booking windows mean less time to forecast and react — usually higher last-minute mobile bookings, often associated with leisure city breaks and unmanaged business travel
- Long booking windows give the revenue manager more visibility into pace and let them adjust rates incrementally over time
- Shifting windows are early signals of demand changes — if bookings start coming in earlier than usual, demand for that date is strong; if they shrink, demand is softening
Typical patterns
- Resorts and family destinations — 60–120 day booking windows
- Urban business hotels — 7–21 day booking windows
- Last-minute leisure / mobile — 0–3 day booking windows
How it affects channel strategy
Some OTAs and tools (Hopper, Hotel Tonight, mobile-app deal channels) specialize in short booking windows. Hotels can use these channels to fill late distressed inventory without disrupting their main BAR.