Booking lead time

What it is

Lead time = check-in date − booking date, in days. Report it as a median and a distribution, by stay month, home type, and channel.

Why operators track it

• Pricing. Last-minute and early demand respond to price differently.
• Reading pace. If guests book later this year, pace looks behind even when final demand is the same.
• Minimum stay rules. Gap nights close to arrival are often opened to shorter stays.
• Channel mix. Channels can differ in lead time.

How it is calculated

Lead time (days) = check-in date − booking created date

• One value per reservation. Exclude cancelled reservations, or report them separately.
• Aggregate by stay month (when they stayed) or booking month (when they booked). Pick one.
• Optionally weight by nights.

Worked example

Example data The same made-up portfolio is used on every hospitality page: a manager with 120 homes, four of them shown in detail.

The four example homes had 22 stays in October. Lead times ranged from 2 to 150 days. The average is 40.7 days and the median is 26.5 days. Five stays were booked within a week of arrival.

How to read it

• Use the median. A few early bookings pull the average up.
• Compare by stay month. Seasons can book on different timelines. Check your own data.
• Shortening lead time can mean softer demand or a shift to last-minute channels.
• We do not publish a benchmark. Levels vary by market, season, and property type.

Definitional choices and common pitfalls

• Average or median. Median, with the distribution.
• Weighting. Per reservation or per night.
• Cancellations. Exclude, or measure separately.
• Modified bookings. Use the original created date, not the last modified date.

How different roles use it

Questions it answers

• How far ahead do guests book each season?
• Is lead time getting shorter?
• Which channels bring last-minute bookings?

How to present it in a report

• Histogram of lead time buckets by stay month.
• Median lead time trend by month.
• Split by channel.

Data you need

Fields

What the raw data looks like

Example data A few rows as they might come out of the source system.

Where this data usually lives

• Property management system (PMS) holds units, the calendar with block types, reservations, rates, fees, and often owner statements and trust accounting. For example: Guesty, Hostaway, OwnerRez, Track, Streamline, and Escapia. Some larger managers run their own in-house PMS.
• OTAs and booking channels (Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and partner distribution sites) hold payout reports, host fees, reviews, and cancellations. Payouts are usually net of host fees.

The same field can live in more than one system. Agree with the customer which one is the source of truth.

Common data gaps and traps

• Created date replaced on modification.
• Imported reservations carry the import date instead of the booking date.
• Time zones. Bookings near midnight shift a day.

Related metrics

• Booking pace
• Cancellation rate

FAQ

Why use the median lead time?

Lead time is skewed by a few very early bookings, so the average overstates the typical booking window.

Does lead time differ by channel?

It can. Measure it in your own data rather than assuming.

Should cancelled bookings count?

Usually not in the main figure. Track their lead time separately.

lead_time_days = check_in_date - DATE(created_at)
median over confirmed reservations by stay month

SELECT DATE_TRUNC('month', check_in) AS stay_month,
       PERCENTILE_CONT(0.5) WITHIN GROUP (ORDER BY check_in - created_at::date) AS median_lead_days,
       AVG(check_in - created_at::date) AS avg_lead_days
FROM reservations WHERE status='confirmed'
GROUP BY 1;

metric: hospitality.booking_lead_time
grain: one row per reservation
inputs:
  - created_at
  - check_in
  - status
  - channel
logic:
  - lead = check_in - created date
  - median and buckets by stay month
edge_cases:
  - negative lead (data error): exclude and flag
  - imports: use source created date
  - cancelled: separate

Version 1.0 · Last reviewed 2026-10-20 · Machine-readable definition