Behavioral data is all the stuff people do online before they actually book a room.
NB: This is an article from Topline Revenue, one of our Expert Partners
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It’s everything from how long they hover over your suite photos to how many times they check out the price of a room before actually making a booking decision (or backing out). It’s all that action – browsing, clicking, searching – that tells you what they’re really interested in.
Why should you care? Because guest behavior is the ultimate indicator of future demand. When you learn to read the signals – whether they’re browsing but not booking, returning to your website multiple times, or comparing room rates against other properties – you’ve got the inside track on what’s coming next. That means your forecasting doesn’t have to be a shot in the dark. You’ll be able to predict demand with a little more precision.
How Behavioral Data Impacts Revenue Forecasting
Let’s be real – traditional forecasting methods rely heavily on historical data and trends, which are valuable, but they don’t always capture sudden changes or unexpected shifts in interest. Behavioral data, on the other hand, gives you real-time insights into what guests are doing right now. If you know when people are most likely to book, what types of rooms they’re interested in, or what’s causing them to drop off before completing a reservation, you’re in a prime position to adjust your pricing, inventory, and marketing strategies accordingly.
Here’s how it works:
1. Identify Booking Trends & Adjust Pricing
Behavioral data can give you a real-time look at guest interest and demand. Are visitors spending more time checking out your suites than your regular rooms? Well, guess what? Time to raise those prices. Are guests browsing but never booking? Maybe it’s time to rethink your pricing or improve the booking process.
Tracking visitor behavior lets you adjust prices in response to spikes in demand – no guessing, no shooting in the dark. This means your revenue forecasting becomes much more reliable, and you can capture revenue opportunities when they arise.
2. Forecast Demand Based on User Behavior
Historical data is great, but sometimes it’s a little too slow to catch up with market shifts. Behavioral data helps you spot emerging trends faster. If a bunch of visitors are suddenly eyeing your weekend rates, that’s a pretty solid sign that your weekends are going to be busy. This lets you forecast demand before it even hits, so you’re not scrambling at the last minute to adjust.
Instead of reacting to market changes, you can proactively prepare. Think of it as forecasting with a head start.
