If I book the same day I open an email, will I spend less than those who wait?

Last week we answered the question of how long it takes people to book once they open or click an email. Today, as promised, we’re going to take that one step further by bringing booking amounts into the mix. Here’s what we’re seeing.

The Goods
To find our answer we used the same sample as last week of 20,000 recent transactions that occurred within four days of an email being sent. We then found what the average size for lodging and non-lodging transactions for guests who booked the same day they opened an email, the day after, etc.

The average lodging transaction size for this sample was $732 when booked the same day an email was opened, $869 the next day, $854 two days later, $884 three days later, and $827 four days later. Those numbers for non-lodging were, in the same order, $396, $443, $357, $331, and $318.

What This Means
As you might expect, the people who take a couple days to make a decision on a lodging reservation do in fact spend more on those bookings. In other words, even with limited occupancy or limited-time offers, smaller, simpler reservations will be booked faster than larger, more complex ones.

The same doesn’t necessarily hold true with other transactions where spend does spike on the second day but then drops off after that suggesting that non-lodging doesn’t carry the same issues of complexity and other facts may be at work.