Turnaround Time (TAT) in Hotel RFPs (Plain English Definition + Examples)

Definition

Turnaround time in hotel sourcing is the elapsed business days from RFP send to receiving complete, scoreable proposals back from the supplier — measured against the deadline stated in the RFP cover note.

In European MICE sourcing, turnaround time (tat) sits inside a broader workflow that includes the brief, the longlist, the shortlist, the contract negotiation, and the post-event reconciliation. Understanding it in isolation is not enough — what matters is how it interacts with the other levers a planner can pull. The definition above is the textbook version; the sections below explain how it actually behaves in real RFPs.

Why Turnaround Time (TAT) matters

Slow turnaround compounds: each business day a finalist misses pushes the rest of the cycle (BAFO, legal redline, signature) back too. European MICE benchmarks place median planner→hotel TAT at 7-9 business days; teams using structured intake and standard scoring templates report 3-5 days. Faster TAT also widens the funnel because high-demand venues take the bookings already on the table before slow planners come back with questions.

Example

Planner sends an RFP on a Monday with a 5-business-day deadline. By Friday: 4 of 9 hotels responded, 2 confirmed late, 3 silent. TAT = 5 days for 4 hotels (on-time), 7 days for 2 (slipped), no-response for 3. Win-rate impact is direct: the on-time 4 enter scoring; the 2 late hotels are usually disqualified by procurement policy.

Where Turnaround Time (TAT) appears in contracts

TAT is not a contract clause but a procurement KPI. Mature teams set TAT thresholds in their sourcing SOP — e.g. 'longlist must respond within 3 business days of RFI; shortlist within 5 of RFP'.

Related terms

Deeper reading