The Rise of Spontaneous Stays: What It Means for Hotels and Spas

Consumers are booking hotel stays closer to their arrival date than ever before, with 40% of reservations now made within 30 days. This marks a significant shift in behaviour, where spontaneous breaks and last-minute bookings have become the norm.

Just as hotels rely on an agile PMS to adapt to this trend, spas, activities, and leisure providers also need flexible software. Their operational systems must support teams in handling last-minute bookings, ensuring they can respond effectively to fluctuating hotel and guest demands.

While Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano has noted that the average lead time is 21 days, spa guests are also booking closer to the date than ever. TRYBE data shows spa bookings through our platform have seen lead times halve, dropping from an average of 14 days in 2024 to just 7 days in 2025.

This shift creates challenges in forecasting, staffing, inventory, and revenue management. It’s harder to plan; whether that’s knowing how many therapists or staff you need, what products to stock, or which slots to open or close, because demand is increasingly last-minute and unpredictable. With so many late bookings, tools that provide real-time visibility into availability, cancellations, and booking pace are more important than ever.

TRYBE gives properties visibility, control, and flexibility. All of which are essential in this new booking landscape.

But how does TRYBE help properties plan for shorter booking windows?

• Live availability: TRYBE keeps availability up to date and instantly reflects changes, allowing them to maximise revenue.
• Booking rules: Teams can set parameters around when guests are able to cancel or amend bookings helping spas avoid last minute no shows.
• Yield Management: Flexible pricing and promotions are easy to set up, from last-minute offers to off-peak discounts or flash deals to fill gaps in spa schedules quickly.
• Channel management: By syncing bookings across all channels, websites, partner platforms, and walk-ins, TRYBE prevents double bookings and ensures availability is always accurate.
• Staffing and resources: Scheduling and treatment room allocation are integrated, ensuring resources are matched efficiently to demand.
• Data insights: TRYBE’s analytics make forecasting easier, even with shorter lead times. By tracking booking trends and cancellations, teams can spot patterns and futureproof their business.
• Guest experience: Automated reminders and confirmations keep guests engaged, while the cloud-native system guarantees reliability, scalability, and fast deployment of new features.

Last minute bookings don’t have to be a concern with the right software. Businesses that use agile tools like TRYBE become more nimble, data-driven, and able to adapt quickly; whether that’s adjusting prices, managing availability, or aligning staffing to demand.

Book a call with the team to find out more here.