US Roadtrip: book hotels long in advance, short notice or day itself
We're planning to do a roadtrip during may 2013 in southwestern USA. I'm wondering what's best way (read cheap without too much hassle) to book our hotels/motels for the trip? A few dollars more or less isn't an issue (so I'm not gonna check the rates every single day), but I guess 30-50$ difference a night is well possible depending on when you book. And what's the difference between big cities / national parks / smaller towns according to booking in advance/day itself?
I see 3 possibilities:
- Book them now (9-10 months in advance)
- Wait till a month / week / 2-3 days in advance
- Check on the day itself (or 1 day in advance) online for the best rate.
A list of locations where we plan to book, but as you can see it's a widespread of big cities and small towns (so I guess it takes different booking approaches too).
Cities:
- Los Angeles: 2 nights (landing there, so book in advance)
- Vegas: 2 nights tue - th (so no weekend), preferably on the strip
- San Francisco: 3 nights, arriving on memorial day
Smaller towns/cities (hotels/motels): San Diego(?) - Palm Springs - Kingman - Torrey - Lee Vining - Monterey - Morro Bay. The next or previous town on the road isn't a real issue, so it's just about finding a decent location to sleep at a good price. I suppose these aren't locations where a lot of people stay for a longer time (like e.g. Page, which I'll put together with the NP's).
National Parks:
Grand Canyon (lodge) on saturday
Page: 2 nights starting on sunday (big hub?)
Monument Valley
Moab: 2 nights (big hub?)
Bryce Canyon on saturday
Zion: 2 nights starting on sunday
Death Valley
Yosemite: 2 nights in the weekend (no difference in price as far as i can see)
Best Answer
If you've got a laptop, tablet, smartphone, and an internet connection then you can book places to stay the day of easily enough. I've found it best to book a room when I stop for lunch.
The 'gotcha's to this tactic of booking day-of is when there's a big conference or convention in town - you'll either have to pay through the nose or continue traveling to the next town to get a place to stay.
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How far in advance should you book hotels?
The ideal amount of time to book a hotel room is only 15 days before your trip, according to a 2021 NerdWallet study. Looking at more than 2,500 hotel room rates between 2019 and 2021, NerdWallet found rates were about 13% cheaper when booked 15 days before compared to four months before.Is it better to book a hotel in advance or walk in?
Unlike with flights, those who wait until the last minute to book can often score a great deal on a hotel room. We found that booking your hotel 1-3 days in advance of your stay can save you between $15-20 per night when you're staying somewhere in the US.Do you have to book a hotel ahead of time?
As a general rule of thumb, booking more than 21 days ahead of your arrival date is a no-no for the most popular destinations; you'll be putting yourself at risk for jacked-up prices. Your best bet is to start checking prices at least 40 days in advance and monitor the trend.Is it cheaper to book hotel same day?
\u201cActually, hotel prices decline the longer you wait,\u201d says Shank, \u201cso if you haven't made plans yet, you can be rewarded for that with a better deal.\u201d Same-day rates on HotelTonight are, on average, 10 percent less than if you book the day before, according to Shank.Magic Treehouse #51: High Time for Heroes (Merlin Missions #23)
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Answer 2
First I'd say, well if you are sure of the dates, why don't you book in advance, I don't think it will get cheaper anyway.
But yeah I suppose you should book the bigger cities and National Parks like Grand Canyon (especially for a lodge) and Yosemite on weekends. Friends going to Yosemite at that time (May) weren't early enough to book and had to change their plans (i.e. they could only do day hikes).
I think Monterey Bay is also better to book, even though there are always small motels for cheap. And Las Vegas could be very cheap on Hotwire (down to $30) depending on the season so maybe by booking early you can have something nice.
But yeah I am still wondering, why would you postpone the booking? it's better only to sleep where you stop if you have a long drive, if you're low on money for now, or if you want to be free to go wherever you want whenever you want, but if you already have precise plans, I would say the earlier you book, the cheaper it is, isn't it?
Answer 3
Does it have to be a hotel? Have you tried couchsurfing or airbnb? If you are looking for a hotel and a good price, you should rather alter the location and stay a bit away from city center, airport or other transport hubs, you will probably get a bitter price this way than changing booking dates.
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