What's the best time to get "last-minute" discount hotel prices?
Some online travel sites (I'm thinking of Hotwire specifically, but the question applies more generally) offer low rates on high-quality hotels if you're willing to not specify exactly where you want to stay. As I understand it, these rates are possible because the hotels would rather have a room occupied than not, even if they're making a minimal profit off it. So I would think, if you're using one of these sites like Hotwire, the cheapest hotel rate they can offer should get lower as you get closer to the date of travel. Is that actually the case?
In my case specifically, I will be attending an event in Boston in about a month. The lowest hotel prices I'm seeing close to the location of the event are around $200-250 right now, but I'm wondering whether those are likely to get any lower in the few days prior to the event itself. (I'm aware that there are other ways to find accommodation on a budget, but I'm just researching my options for now.)
Best Answer
I don't believe they will get any cheaper in the last minute, because they can always bet on walk-in guests who just arrived from the airport. Hostels next to convention centers are always more expensive, and if you book further away you just give the money you saved to the taxi driver instead.
I went to a convention in vegas a few years ago and did couchsurfing instead. I had a nice host, however the other convention guests informed that you could get a room for about $20/night because the city had about 30% fewer guests that year than previously.
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How far in advance should I get the best hotel deals?
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.What day are hotel prices the lowest?
The best day of the week to book your hotel at the lowest rate is Saturday for domestic travel and Friday for international travel, according to travel aggregator Kayak, which analyzed hotel searches conducted between January 1 and September 8, 2021.What is the cheapest month to book a hotel?
We've got the low-down on everything you need to know to save money on your next hotel stay.- Check out our discoveries on the cheapest times to book hotels:
- Internationally, the cheapest month to book a hotel stay is July which sees savings of 9%. ...
- 1 week before your stay also sees savings of 12%.
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Answer 2
HotWire etc target travellers who are booking late, but are still sort-of booking in advance. Another new service that is geared towards even more last minute bookings is Hotel Tonight, which I've heard from online reviews (n.b. no personal experience or recommendations) gives even better discoutns because it's targetting that niche and hotels are happy to give away those last few rooms to these guys (without losing them to HotWire customers who may be booking more in advance and thus willing to pay more).
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