Travelers More Likely to Book Hotels on Day of Arrival Than Any Day Prior

More travelers today book a hotel room the day of their arrival than any other time.

Same-day bookings accounted for 29 percent of all U.S. hotel bookings in the fourth quarter, reports travel marketing firm Sojern. This is based on data from Sojern’s partners.

The second most popular time to book was one to two days before arrival followed, by any time 3 to 7 days prior. Thirty-seven percent of travelers booked less than a week ahead of their stay.

Only 24 percent of travelers booked their hotel more than two weeks before arrival.

The popularity of same-day booking is being driven by new apps like HotelTonight that make it easier to book only once necessary. Other booking sites like Priceline have responded by promoting their own same-day booking features.

Sojern attributes the rise in same-day bookings to customers’ perception of hotel pricing stability.

“The tendency for travelers to book their hotel the same day as their departure is a long-term trend, reports Sojern’s Q4 trends report.

“Instead of grabbing the lowest price by booking ahead of time, travelers seem to consider hotel prices as less fluctuating and therefore lower priority for booking.”

The report also revealed that despite the popularity of same-day bookings, more people book ahead of time when traveling in bigger groups during the holidays.

The percentage of travelers that book more than 30 days in advance doubled from 6 percent to 12 percent in the fourth quarter.

The breakdown of hotel booking lead time for the fourth quarter is below: