Trends Q: Does the age of a guest impact how far in advance they’ll book their trip?

We know that age impacts length-of-stay and length-of-stay influences lead-times, but does the age of a guest impact how far in advance they’re likely to book a trip to your resort? Take a look.

The Goods
We took winter reservation data for multiple seasons across 10 mountain resorts. For each, we grabbed the lead time and age of each guests and ran the numbers to find the average lead-time for various age ranges.

On the chart below, age is on the horizontal axis while lead-time is on the vertical axis.

As you might have guessed, age does impact how early a guest will make their reservation at your resort. From about 4 weeks for a 20-something, to a fairly consistent 5.5 weeks for the 46-65 crowd, there is a clear correlation.

What This Means
Do guests in their 40’s and 50’s book further in advance because they’re staying longer, or do they stay longer because they booked further in advance? We tend to think it’s the former, where a guest’s life-stage impacts the type and length of their vacations and they book in advance to accommodate that type of trip.

So, as you segment your guests for various offers, keep in mind this triangle of age, LOS, and lead-time. Make sure the offer is timed right, but also reaches the right demographic as well.

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