👉 It’s not just about how much you’ve sold, but how quickly you’re selling it.
📘 What is Booking Pace?
Booking Pace measures the speed at which bookings are being made for a specific stay date or period.
It helps hotels understand how demand is building over time as the arrival date approaches, comparing current performance against references such as:
- last year (LY),
- same day last year (SDLY),
- budget,
- forecast,
- comparable periods.
It is one of the most widely used Revenue Management metrics for identifying demand trends and anticipating commercial decisions.
📊 Booking Pace Formula
There is no single fixed formula, as Booking Pace is based on the cumulative evolution of bookings over time.
It is commonly analysed through:
Booking Pace = Cumulative bookings for a given stay date at a specific point in time
or by comparing:
Booking Pace Variance = Current Pace – Reference Pace
✅ Why is Booking Pace important?
- Helps anticipate demand changes before they happen.
- Supports more informed pricing decisions.
- Identifies strong or weak dates early.
- Improves forecast accuracy.
- Shows whether demand is building faster or slower than expected.
💡 Practical example of Booking Pace
A hotel has sold 120 room nights today for an upcoming October bank holiday.
At the same point last year, it had sold only 90 room nights.
Although final occupancy is still unknown, the Booking Pace indicates stronger demand, potentially justifying price increases or additional restrictions.
🔄 Disambiguation of Booking Pace
- Booking Pace vs Pickup:
Pickup measures bookings made during a specific period (last day, week, etc.).
Booking Pace measures the cumulative pace at which bookings are building. - Booking Pace vs Occupancy:
Occupancy shows the current result.
Booking Pace shows how that result is being built. - Booking Pace vs Forecast:
A forecast estimates future performance.
Booking Pace measures what is happening right now.
In summary: Booking Pace = the speed at which your hotel is filling for a particular date or period.
