In business travel lead time is the term used to describe the time between making a travel booking and the departure date. So if you booked travel on the 1st June and travelled on the 10th June, the lead time would be ten days.

Lead time is critical in business travel because the majority of the time, the longer the lead time, the lower the cost of the trip. Good travel management companies work with their clients to increase booking lead time by educating bookers and travellers to change their behaviour.