Timing of hotel bookings: not monotonic

ABSTRACT

Room price and availability are important determinants of the timing of hotel bookings. However, their effects over time cannot be viewed as monotonic. Travelers book earlier when their target hotel charges higher prices than others only when their day of arrival is far away. Travelers book earlier when their target hotel is less available than others only if their target arrival day is less than two months away. Travelers also book earlier if they intend to travel with a child or other companions and stay for more nights. Furthermore, traveler booking lead times significantly increase the probability of actual check-in.

KEYWORDS:

• Booking lead time
• price gap
• occupancy gap
• actual check-in

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).