Average Travel & Hospitality Email Benchmarks
Travel and hospitality email marketing is highly seasonal and dependent on destination appeal, pricing, and consumer confidence. Benchmarks vary between inspirational content, booking confirmations, and re-engagement campaigns.
| Metric | Average | Above Average | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Rate | 21.5% | 26%+ | 32%+ |
| Click-Through Rate | 2.8% | 4%+ | 6%+ |
| Click-to-Open Rate | 13.2% | 16%+ | 20%+ |
| Booking Conversion Rate | 1.8% | 3%+ | 5%+ |
| Bounce Rate | 1.0% | Below 0.7% | Below 0.4% |
| Unsubscribe Rate | 0.2% | Below 0.12% | Below 0.06% |
| Spam Complaint Rate | 0.05% | Below 0.03% | Below 0.01% |
| List Growth Rate | 2.8% monthly | 4.5%+ monthly | 7%+ monthly |
| Revenue Per Email | $0.12 - $0.35 | $0.50+ | $1.00+ |
| Revenue Per Subscriber | $1.80 monthly | $3.50+ monthly | $7.00+ monthly |
Why These Benchmarks Matter for Travel & Hospitality
Travel email marketing operates in a highly competitive space where inbox competition is fierce, especially during peak booking seasons. These benchmarks help hotels, airlines, tour operators, and travel agencies assess whether their email programmes are effectively inspiring bookings, driving repeat visits, and maintaining list health.
Benchmarks by Campaign Type
Different travel email types produce different results:
| Campaign Type | Open Rate | CTR | Conversion Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inspirational / Destination | 20-28% | 3-5% | 1-3% |
| Booking Confirmation | 55-70% | 8-15% | 2-5% |
| Pre-Arrival / Itinerary | 50-65% | 10-18% | 3-6% |
| Post-Stay / Review Request | 35-45% | 5-10% | 1-2% |
| Abandoned Booking | 38-48% | 6-12% | 4-8% |
| Re-engagement | 18-28% | 2-4% | 1-2% |
How Travel & Hospitality Benchmarks Compare to Other Industries
Travel open rates are slightly above the cross-industry average. Booking confirmation and pre-arrival emails perform exceptionally well because they contain essential trip information. Inspirational and promotional travel emails face more competition in the inbox, which keeps their engagement rates closer to average.
How to Improve Travel & Hospitality Email Performance
- Send inspirational content early: Travel inspiration emails perform best when sent 60-90 days before peak booking periods. Early planners are your highest-value audience.
- Use abandon browsing/booking sequences: Travelers often research multiple destinations before booking. A sequence triggered by browsing behaviour can capture this intent effectively.
- Include stunning visuals: Travel is a visual purchase. Emails with high-quality destination imagery and video content see 40-60% higher engagement rates.
- Leverage urgency and scarcity: Flash sales, limited availability notices, and countdown timers drive booking conversions in travel more effectively than most other tactics.
- Segment by travel stage: Past customers, active bookers, and dreamers all need different content. Send past guests personalised rebooking offers and destination suggestions.
- Optimise for mobile: Over 60% of travel emails are opened on mobile devices. Ensure your CTAs are thumb-friendly and your images load quickly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The average travel and hospitality email open rate is 21.5%. Transactional emails like booking confirmations and pre-arrival information see rates of 50-70%, while inspirational and promotional emails average 20-28%.
A good booking conversion rate from travel emails is 1.8%. Abandoned booking sequences can achieve 4-8% conversion rates. The conversion rate varies significantly by destination pricing and booking window.
Keep unsubscribe rates below 0.2% by allowing subscribers to choose travel preferences (destination types, budget range, frequency). Sending too many promotional emails to subscribers who prefer inspirational content is a common cause of churn.
Tuesday through Thursday at 10 AM to 12 PM in the recipient's time zone typically sees the highest engagement for travel promotional emails. Weekend sends perform well for last-minute deal content. Avoid sending on Monday mornings when inboxes are most crowded.
Travel companies should measure email ROI across the full funnel: booking revenue from promotional emails, upsell revenue from pre-arrival emails, and repeat booking revenue from post-stay campaigns. Connect your email platform to your booking system for accurate attribution.