Online booking has transformed the hospitality business for hotels and bookers alike. But while much has been written about how online booking has changed the bedrooms business, a lot less has been written about the meetings sector.

At BookingTek, we have the benefit of sitting on a cache of data, which tells us a lot about how people book meetings online. And for many meeting executives – who have traditionally taken bookings over the phone, using pen and paper or spreadsheets – some of the results may be surprising.

The average lead time of an online meeting booking is 7 days— Photo by BookingTekThe average lead time of an online meeting booking is 7 days— Photo by BookingTek
The average lead time of an online meeting booking is 7 days— Photo by BookingTek


1. People tend to book a week in advance

Seven days is the magic number. When booking meetings online, people do it almost exactly a week before, on average. Thursday for the next Thursday. Wednesday for the next Wednesday.

This is a statistic that will shock more seasoned industry veterans; people who are used to seeing meeting bookings made weeks, if not months, ahead of time. But those who book meetings online are more likely to do so at late notice: seven, five, or even one day ahead.

It could be that this is when meetings are put into people's diaries. Or, alternatively, organisers only start to think about the following week exactly a week before. Either way they are searching for a quick solution, and booking online is the way to do it.

This provides many hotels with a solution to the age-old problem of how to fill last-minute availability of their meeting rooms. While half, or even more, of rooms are booked up months in advance, the remainder lie empty. Many meeting executives will recognise the feeling of hopeful trepidation that walk-in customers or hotel guests might fill the remaining availability.

But given that online bookers book so very late in the day, there is no reason to leave the remaining meeting capacity in the hands of walk-in customers or hotel guests: the remaining capacity can be filled by online bookers.

The average meeting booked online lasts 7.7 hours— Photo by BookingTekThe average meeting booked online lasts 7.7 hours— Photo by BookingTek
The average meeting booked online lasts 7.7 hours— Photo by BookingTek


2. We love longer meetings – or we're made to love them, at least

A lot of ink has been spilled about the growth of small, nimble businesses; office-less entrepreneurs whizzing around town who only need to book meeting spaces online for short 30- to 45-minute get-togethers with clients and other contacts.

But while short meetings may feel more prevalent, in reality longer meetings are still the norm for online bookings. In fact, the average meeting booked online is 7.7 hours, indicating that most people book for the whole day. If you're going to meet, why not make a day of it?

This will be music to hotels' ears: longer full-day meetings mean more money for room hire, and delegates have greater need for other facilities.

A long meeting means delegates are more likely to order catering in the meeting or pop over to the bar for a quick drink; it makes the swimming pool or spa more enticing at the end of an exhausting day; and it also means delegates are more likely to book hotel rooms if they have come from far afield. All valuable extra revenue for hotels.

The average meeting booked online has 10 delegates— Photo by BookingTekThe average meeting booked online has 10 delegates— Photo by BookingTek
The average meeting booked online has 10 delegates— Photo by BookingTek


3. The average meeting has 10 hungry mouths to feed

Given that the average meeting is nearly a day long, you won't be surprised to hear that the average number of attendees is 10 people.

Ten delegates for the whole day suggests the kind of in-depth meeting you would associate with a business Board meeting, strategy-setting meet, or annual reporting session. Or a small inter-company event.

As we all know, meetings of this substantial length and intensity can be very busy and tiring affairs. So it's not a surprise, then, to see that most bookers request catering too.

The added bonus for hotels with online bookings is they get bookers to commit to food and drink well ahead of time.

Wednesday is the most popular day for meetings booked online— Photo by BookingTekWednesday is the most popular day for meetings booked online— Photo by BookingTek
Wednesday is the most popular day for meetings booked online— Photo by BookingTek


4. Wednesday is the most popular day to book a meeting online

Despite the feeling that the weekend is no longer off-limits for work, it's still weekdays that take the title for the most popular days to book a meeting room online. And, of all the weekdays, Wednesday is most popular for online bookers.

There is surely some logic here. A Wednesday meeting might feel like the best day to meet – it's not too early in the week for you to be drowning in work, and not so late that your energy levels are flagging.

Unsurprisingly, the least popular day was Sunday, with a few unfortunate souls being dragged into meetings on the traditional day of rest. The lesson here is that if you want to book a meeting online on Wednesday, you should get in quick. But if you're happy to meet on Sunday, you can potentially leave it a little later.

The ability to book meetings online is undoubtedly changing the industry, but one of the less obvious ways that it's making a difference is that we can now get our hands on proper data on meetings – at scale. Something it wasn't easy to do in the past, and these are just a few facts about how the meetings industry is shaping up.

BookingTek is a 10 year old technology business that delivers innovative digital solutions to hospitality companies around the world through offices in London, Washington DC Singapore & Sweden. The company specialises in t industry he food services industry and counts many of the world's largest hotel/restaurant groups on its client list including Marriott International.

Jordan Greenaway
Transmission PR
BookingTek