Saving money on your vacation hotel accommodation is no different than looking for the best airfare to take you there. No one wants to pay more than necessary when planning a long-awaited getaway, so it’s important to know how the travel industry sets its prices, when pricing adjustments are made, and if there is a best time of year to find the most attractive deals.
Some Important Things to Consider Before Booking Your Hotel
- Assuming that you have chosen your destination, a key determinant of pricing for hotels involves the time of year you will be traveling. Is it the destination’s peak, shoulder, or low season? For example, Orlando in the fall is much more affordable than during March/April when there are spring breaks and family vacations for those with school age kids, versus September/October when kids are back in school, and most visitors are adults.
- U.S. domestic travelers typically book their summer vacation hotels at least two weeks out if not earlier, while travelers heading overseas often make their hotel decisions 90-120 days before departure.
- You should be aware that just because you are booking early doesn’t mean that you will find the lowest prices. Pricing fluctuates on a daily, if not hourly basis, depending on the strength or weakness of advance bookings. Quite often those who are willing to wait until a week or even less before departure to make their hotel booking can realize savings up to 35 percent domestically during the summer. However, you also run the risk of finding extremely limited inventory by waiting so long, or during a peak week or weekend perhaps even paying more than if you had finalized your plans earlier.
- International travelers who book close-in to their departure can save as much as 25 percent if they are fortunate enough to book travel dates that are not in strong demand. Think shoulder and off-season here.
- Our recommendation? Don’t wait until the last minute thinking that you will steal a deal. Yours truly tried this back in my younger days during a trip to Germany. After stopping at more than a dozen small hotels and B&Bs in three towns along our route, we finally found an open room and paid quite a bit more than we had budgeted. This was during a shoulder season getaway, but unbeknownst to us there was a popular musical festival taking place that weekend that had filled the region for many miles around.
- If you crave the uncertainty of flying by the seat of your pants, last-minute deals can often be found in most popular destinations unexpectedly. The keyword here is: most. We suggest downloading the Deal Miner travel extension to your browser (do it now!) to find the latest and greatest unique offers out there. Or be adventurous and see what the front desk staff may offer if they have room available when you arrive without a reservation.
Will I Find the Best Deals on the Hotel’s Official Website?
Most major hotel chains such as Hilton, Marriott, IHG, and Best Western don’t want to “low-ball” their room rates direct to the consumer on their company website. However, this doesn’t mean that they won’t offer special deals to third-party travel aggregators such as Travelated, Booking.com, Hotels.com, and others to help move excess inventory on short notice. These are wonderful places to find last-minute deals that won’t be found by directly contacting the hotel chain.
It’s important to note that you won’t necessarily find the best deals on the largest travel websites. Expedia, Kayak, and Orbitz, for example, are great places for shopping on your mobile device, but it isn’t unheard of for a site such as Travelated, or browser extensions TravelArrow or Deal Miner to offer even lower prices for the same property. Remember, being a big website doesn’t mean better deals.
While you may not accrue points in the hotel’s frequent guest program by booking indirectly, unless you are a road warrior who travels constantly, you will be better served financially by not booking on the chain’s corporate site.
If you are willing to leave town on short notice, some of the best prices of the year can be found by traveling just after New Year’s, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. There is little vacation and business travel demand at these times, so you’ll be able to take advantage of lower airfares and bargain-priced hotel rooms.
Are You Ready to Book that Incredible Deal?
Great! You’ve found a hotel that is priced right for your needs, and you are ready to commit. Be aware of the following before submitting your payment:
- Most short notice deals have restrictions, including being non-refundable. Are you okay with this? You should anticipate being assigned to a room category that the hotel chooses, not you. There’s even a good chance that you won’t know the room type until you check in. This is fine with some people and a dealbreaker for others. Your booking website may show a beautiful pool, mountain, or beach view but be prepared to look at a parking lot or garden if this where you are assigned. If you do receive a pleasant view, thank the travel gods for your good fortune.
- Sometimes travel plans don’t pan out and need to be canceled on short notice. If you’ve already booked and paid you may be out of luck getting a refund. When it comes to travel, always consider purchasing travel insurance. It costs a few dollars more, but a last minute emergency doesn’t have to empty your bank account. Even if you receive less than a full refund, you will save money to put toward a future booking.
- According to travel experts there really isn’t a best day to find a deal or make a booking. Minimal savings are sometimes found if booking a U.S. hotel on a Friday, or confirming an international hotel on a Thursday, but this is really a moving target not worth your time or energy. However, waiting until after 6 p.m. local time of the hotel may be a promising idea, as each individual property often adjusts prices at the end of each business day.
- Our recommendation? If you find a deal that you know you want and would kick yourself if you waited and lost the opportunity, BOOK IT NOW!!
Some Closing Thoughts About Finding a Hotel Deal
It pays to shop around, preferably utilizing non-chain websites that will give you access to dozens of brands in one place.
Are hotel prices cheaper at the last minute? Sometimes. And sometimes they’re not. It all depends on when you want to travel. Midweek rates are cheaper than weekends in vacation destinations. Low and shoulder season rates are less expensive than during peak season. When possible, plan ahead, find a good deal and grab it.
Are you wondering if hotel prices will go down closer to your planned arrival date? Possibly, or the hotel may sell out and not have to lower their rates. So, once again, if you find a deal that works for you, commit to it to avoid disappointment.
The best hotel deals can usually be found not when you book, but instead when you plan to stay. If your schedule is very flexible and for example, you honestly don’t care about the specific weekend you travel, but you know that you want a weekend in September or October in South Beach, you can search for the weekend with the best rates and go for it.
Travelers who can be flexible, avoiding peak season, holidays, and weekend, are in the driver’s seat when it comes to finding the best hotel deals.
On the other hand, if your travel days are set in stone, you may want to consider non-refundable rates that require full payment at the time of booking. Savings of 20 to 30 percent can be realized by booking and paying well in advance of your trip.
Travel Expert