Second-quarter U.S. hotel bookings made using HotelHub technology dropped more than 13 percent year over year, according to the company. Additionally, average lead times for Q2 U.S. hotel bookings dropped nearly 7 percent from 2024 levels, "suggesting a growing reluctance to commit to U.S. travel too far in advance," according to HotelHub, which provides travel management companies with hotel booking technology.
For the first six months of the year, U.S. hotel bookings made with HotelHub declined 10.65 percent year over year while global bookings dropped 5.35 percent, according to HotelHub.
"This contrasts to the first quarter of the year where total year-on-year booking numbers had remained fairly stable—despite a significant drop in U.S. bookings—and comes as businesses attempt to make sense of the unpredictable and ever-changing tariff policies issued by the new U.S. administration since April," HotelHub in a report detailing its findings.
Still, HotelHub chief commercial officer Paul Raymond in a letter accompanying the report suggested the downturn might not fully reflect the current state of hotel demand.
"A short period of decline does not necessarily signal an ongoing negative trend," according to Raymond. "Indeed, it can be a marker of resilience: it is simply good business sense to take a cautious approach as tariff negotiations play out. And while booking figures took a hit at the start of the quarter, we have seen a steady rise since."
The average second-quarter global rate booked per night was $192, up less than 2 percent year over year, and it averaged $184 for the first half of 2025, up 1 percent. That's "a stark contrast to the 5.39 percent seen in the same period last year (compared to 2023) and a positive sign for corporate travel budgets," according to HotelHub.
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