Dive Brief:
- Hotel booking windows were shortened ahead of this year’s Formula 1 Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, which took place Oct. 17-Oct.19, according to a news release from short-term rental analytics company Key Data, obtained by Hotel Dive.
- Hotels in the market saw an 8.1 percentage point drop in bookings made more than 180 days before the race, compared to 2024, according to Key Data. Meanwhile, hotel bookings made 60-179 days out from the event increased by 7.2 percentage points, and those made 30-59 days out increased 8.8 percentage points. Vacation rentals saw the same trend.
- The booking data reflects “a wider shift toward shorter booking windows across major travel events, as guests grow more confident booking closer to arrival,” according to Key Data.
Dive Insight:
The booking shift in Austin tracks with a broader industrywide trend toward shortened booking windows. Earlier this month at The Lodging Conference in Phoenix, Marriott International CFO Leeny Oberg shared that 40% of the transient business in the U.S. has a booking window of less than four days.
Amanda Hite, president of CoStar subsidiary STR, previously warned of shortened booking windows in June, stating in a release that the narrower booking windows would “add to the challenges hoteliers will face in the coming quarters.”
“Until consumer confidence improves, demand is going to remain softer — especially in the middle and lower price tiers,” Hite said.
Hotel companies reported widespread U.S. RevPAR declines in the second quarter, and decreases continued in Q3 amid elevated macroeconomic concerns, according to CoStar.
The ongoing government shutdown, which began Oct. 1, is also slated to dampen traveler sentiment, with roughly 60% of Americans expected to cancel or avoid trips by air amid the closure, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
Formula 1 has previously driven significant room revenue for host markets, including Las Vegas.
