Altek
Inside the Hotel Inbox 2026

We analysed 2 million emails. Fast replies didn't explain who actually booked.

Charts, chapter-by-chapter findings and methodology are in the PDF — free with your work email.

Free PDF. We use your email to send research updates — no spam.

Not in scope: bigger groups, meetings, events and conference bookings. The report covers individual room enquiries by email — couples, families, solo leisure guests and business travellers booking rooms.

Inside the Hotel Inbox 2026 report cover: mail icons on a grid, with the headline We analyzed 2 million hotel emails. Here's what actually converts.

What's in the PDF

Six chapters with the charts and numbers. Download once and share inside your team — nothing important is only on this page.

  1. Chapter 1

    Speed alone doesn't win the booking

    Reply time from fifteen minutes to twenty-four hours, plotted against booking rate.

  2. Chapter 2

    How you answer wins the booking

    The four basics that let a guest book in one step — and how often replies actually do them.

  3. Chapter 3

    Almost nobody follows up

    How many priced threads go quiet after an offer, and how rarely hotels send a second email.

  4. Chapter 4

    The money still on the table

    Quoted business that never became a visible booking, and how conversion swings hotel to hotel.

  5. Chapter 5

    The 17:00 cliff

    Guest mail after the desk stops replying — volume vs reply rate through the day.

  6. Chapter 6

    Methodology and limits

    Two million emails, 48 hotels, how threads were read and counted, and what the study cannot see.

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From the team behind the study

“Hotels are measured on how fast they reply. We went looking for where the booking actually is — and it is in the answer and in the follow-up, not the timestamp.”
Kristoffer S. Pedersen
Co-founder, Altek
“Every number in this study is counted from real email threads, with two models reading each conversation and a human rule when they disagree. We do not survey guests and we do not print a figure we cannot trace.”
Jon-Fredrik Hopland
Co-founder, Altek

How we studied it

Hotels connected reservation mailboxes with permission. We analysed about two million emails across 48 hotels in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland. The PDF walks through how threads were read, how prices and bookings were counted, and where the data stops.

What the study doesn't say

  • We only see email — phone, web and OTA bookings are invisible, so every booking rate in the report is a floor.
  • Bigger groups, meetings, events and conference bookings are out of scope; the findings describe individual room enquiries by email.
  • No hotel is named; analysis runs on de-identified text.

Free PDF. We use your email to send research updates — no spam.

Inside the Hotel Inbox FAQ

Scope and how to get the report. Figures and charts are in the PDF.

Does a faster reply lead to more bookings?
Not on its own in this study. The PDF breaks down booking rate by reply-time bucket — including under an hour vs within twenty-four hours — and what actually moved conversion. Charts and methodology are in the download.
How many hotel guests go quiet after an offer?
The report quantifies how often threads go quiet after a price is sent, and how often hotels follow up. Enter your work email above to download the 2026 PDF.
What should a hotel reply include?
The study defines four basics that let a guest book from the reply itself, and measures how often reservation teams hit all four. The full framework and booking rates are in the PDF.
Does the study include groups, events or conferences?
No. Bigger groups, meetings, events and conference bookings are out of scope. This edition only covers individual room enquiries by email — couples, families, solo leisure guests and business travellers booking rooms for themselves or a small party.
What data is the 2026 report based on?
Altek analysed about two million hotel emails across 48 hotels in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland, with permission from the properties. The PDF explains how conversations were linked to prices and bookings visible in email, and why every booking rate is a floor.

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