Marketing & guests
Look-to-book ratio
Also written: look to book
Look-to-book ratio measures the number of hotel room search requests or website visits relative to completed room bookings. Originating in digital distribution, it quantifies conversion efficiency across direct websites, central reservation systems, and online travel agency channels.
Formula
Look-to-Book Ratio = Total Search Requests / Completed Bookings
How it is used
Revenue managers and digital marketers use the ratio to evaluate booking engine performance and user interface friction. A rising ratio signals technical latency, uncompetitive pricing, or poor inventory availability. High look-to-book ratios also trigger increased distribution infrastructure costs, as third-party global distribution systems (GDS) charge query fees when search volume dramatically outpaces conversion.
Worked example
A boutique hotel website registers 150,000 availability searches and secures 1,500 direct reservations in a single month. The look-to-book ratio is 100:1 (150,000 / 1,500), representing a 1% conversion rate. If a redesign drops searches to 100,000 while maintaining 1,500 bookings, the ratio improves to 66.7:1, reducing API query overhead.
Common mistake
Focusing solely on lowering the ratio can backfire if overall traffic and total net revenue drop due to restrictive search functionality.