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The average lead time for accommodation bookings has increased 13% year-on-year to 83 days for the coming London Marathon weekend, according to data from SiteMinder.
The lead time for the upcoming weekend is also 46% longer than the weekend immediately prior. According to SiteMinder’s vice president of ecosystem and strategic partnerships, James Bishop, the rise in lead time reflects “growing confidence and increasingly-proactive planning by ever-savvier travellers, which offers strategic opportunities for the capital’s hoteliers”.
The longer lead time prior to this year’s London Marathon, up 10 days from 73 days in 2023, is not an isolated case. According to SiteMinder’s Hotel Booking Trends, the average lead time for UK hotel bookings grew by 7% in 2023, when compared with 2022, and by 12% when compared with 2019.
While this was in part due to increased international arrivals, which grew by 17% as a proportion of all UK check-ins, Bishop believes this also reflects a change in guest behaviour that hotels must recognise in order to adopt a more dynamic approach to their revenue management strategies, especially in the lead up to significant events that drive demand.
Bishop said: “Undoubtedly, more travellers than ever before are framing their trips around major events, and hotels are adapting to keep pace. As travellers book further in advance, hoteliers are in a stronger position to forecast occupancy and optimise their revenue management, allowing them to fully leverage events like the London Marathon.
“Alarmingly, the average daily rate at London hotels has decreased slightly by 6.5% year-on-year. While this suggests the capital’s hotels may be adopting more competitive pricing strategies compared to last year, to entice marathon runners and spectators, it also suggests that London hotels aren’t adopting a dynamic pricing strategy which is based on real-time demand.”
In addition to a longer lead time, the figures from SiteMinder show that London hotel bookings are up 2% compared with last year’s Marathon weekend, while length of stay remains stable at approximately two days.
