When Do Your Guests Actually Book? Lead Time by Source Market Explained

There is a question few hoteliers have answered with data: when, exactly, does the average guest from Germany make a reservation? And when does the equivalent guest from Greece book?

The difference is often between 10 days and 150 days. If you do not know that difference, you are pricing into the wrong window and advertising at the wrong moment.

What Lead Time by Source Market Means

Lead time by source market is the average number of days between booking date and arrival date, calculated separately for each country of origin.

Typical patterns in Greek hotels:

Guests from Germany, Austria, and Scandinavia book 90 to 180 days in advance. They plan holidays months ahead and begin searching in January for the summer season.

Guests from the United States and Australia visiting boutique hotels in Greece frequently book 90 to 150 days out.

Guests from Greece, Italy, and the Balkans tend to book 7 to 30 days ahead.

These patterns vary by property type, location, and booking channel — which is precisely why it matters to analyse your own data.

Why This Information Changes Your Strategy

Pricing by booking window — If Germany books primarily 120 days out, you can hold firm rates for that window without early bird discounts. The demand will arrive.

Timing of marketing campaigns — If your primary source market books 90 days out and you run campaigns 30 days before the season, you are reaching people after they have already booked elsewhere.

Last-minute availability management — Holding a few rooms for segments that book close to arrival rather than selling everything early can improve both occupancy and ADR.

When They Arrive vs When They Decide: Two Different Questions

A German guest arriving in July may have booked in February. A Greek guest arriving the same week may have booked in late June.

RevBuddy displays two separate charts for each source market: "When Do They Book" and "When Do They Arrive". Together, these give a complete picture of each market's booking behaviour.

A Practical Example: Two Markets, Two Strategies

For Germany at a Santorini boutique hotel: high lead time, almost no last-minute bookings, low cancellation rate. Hold stable or rising rates from January. Avoid early bird discounts.

For Greece: low lead time, high proportion of last-minute bookings. Preserve some availability closer to the date.

Conclusion

Try it for free at rev-buddy.com and see when each of your source markets actually makes its decision.