The Best Time to Book Hotel Rooms

Each hotel has different rates for its rooms. (Photo: hotel image by Olaru Radian-Alexandru from Fotolia.com )

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The cost of hotel accommodations typically consumes a large portion of any travel budget. Understanding hotel booking strategies can help save a good bit of money. Of course, hotel rates fluctuate depending on a wide variety of factors, so landing the cheapest deals is not always an exact science. Regardless, travelers will generally do well to use a few reliable approaches when making their lodging arrangements.

Booking in Advance

No traveler wants to undergo the hassle of searching for an affordable hotel room after arriving at their final destination for the night. As such, The Travel Insider recommends that individuals handle their lodging arrangements before leaving home and as far in advance as possible. Travelers should make reservations at least a month ahead of time in most cases to ensure room availability and avoid last-minute price increases at popular destinations.

Booking at the Last Minute

Alternatively, flexible travelers can sometimes score surprisingly low rates by waiting until the last minute to book their hotel rooms. Hotels lose money on vacant rooms, so it usually behooves hotel managers to offer last-minute discounts to fill their empty rooms each evening and turn at least a small profit above marginal operating costs. However, some hotels won t dip below a certain price or offer discounts no matter how many rooms they have empty. This is because hotels want to protect their published room rates. If word got out that travelers could consistently take advantage of last-minute deals rather than making reservations in advance, then hotels would stand to lose a lot of money. On top of this wrinkle, travelers should also be wary of waiting until the last minute because hotels in a popular locale may fill up completely or have only a few rooms left. These in-demand rooms would end up costing significantly more than the standard rate.

Time Frame Considerations