Travelers are shifting away from last minute hotel bookings and taking longer advance booking times, according to Great Hotels Organization (GHO).
Research conducted by GHO found that one-fifth or 20 percent of hotel bookings made on GHO’s consumer website were booked less than two weeks before departure, a sharp drop in comparison to the same period last year, where almost two-thirds of hotel bookings were booked less than two weeks before departure.
“That shows a shift in booking trends in favor of early booking discounts,” the site says.
Last year, because of the unstable economic outlook and unsettling job prospects, travelers favored last minute booking deals.
“However, as the economy slowly starts to emerge from recession, consumers are looking to travel in more cost effective ways, fueling a rise in early bookings as this is when savings can be made,” the report says.
In order to maximize revenue and profit hoteliers need to ensure they adjust their pricing strategies and costs according to booking trends.
“If booking lead time is increasing, hoteliers need to ensure they have plenty of early booking discounts with the right restrictions in place. An early booking offer can be used to build occupancy and can also have a minimum length stay imposed to justify the discounted rates,” said Vanesha Ramsamy, strategic revenue manager at GHO.
By David Wilkening
