Getting a good deal on hotels is really important especially if you are going for a week-long vacation or more. You do not want to be blowing all your budget on booking a room and not have enough to be spending on experiences and activities.
So, knowing when to book a room to get the maximum benefits for the minimum is important. There’s no one definitive answer to should be booking the hotel room early or last minute. Because it depends a lot on the season and the business rush. During peak seasons having the room booked early is important and during slow times, you can get a great deal at the last minute.
Book Early On and Keep an Eye Out
Because there can be a good deal early on as well as the last minute. Booking early on is a bonus move that you can pull. Book a place that seems like the best deal currently so that you will have a fallback option. You can then look around and keep an eye out for better deals.
Hotel reservations can usually be canceled, typically a week prior but a lot of places let you cancel 24-hours before the actual stay. This is completely refundable so use that to your benefit. That being said, don’t make a non-refundable deposit unless you are sure of the booking. Always choose, “pay when you arrive” option to be on the safer side.
Although you want to snoop around for better deals and this is a fallback option, it should still be something that you will be completely in sync with. Do not book a very cheap motel, which will ruin your vacation or an expensive 5-star, which will blow your budget. Do not make a choice just for the sake of it.
If you wouldn’t be happy if it was your only choice, then it isn’t worth booking. Booking early on will usually get you a good deal. So, when you choose a cancelable booking, you get to keep your options open in case a better deal comes along.
A week before (ideally) or even very last-minute (doesn’t work for everyone), do some research for any better last-minute deals. Make sure to stay under the cancelable period while looking for other options otherwise there’s no point in doing that.
If you get a better last-minute deal, even in the same hotel that you already have a booking of, book the new property while you are in the cancelable period of the first one. Chances are that the new property you are booking will be nonrefundable because of being last-minute. Once you have the new booking secured at a better price, you can go ahead and cancel the earlier booked one.
Final Thoughts
This practice of having a safety net while looking for other options works well for busy areas and big cities because you have a chance of actually saving more by keeping your options open. Be sure to check all the hotel booking sites to be sure of the best deals you can get.
Make a reservation you are happy with, keep an eye out for the refundable cancellation period. Make a booking last-minute if you save a pretty penny, and then cancel the original. A good hack to get the best you can for the bucks you spend.
By Olivia GrilHey Folks! I'm Olivia from California, United States. I'm a blogger, travel lover, I can travel anywhere, whether it's a new place or already visited. I love meeting new people, clicking photos of every movement, and documenting my adventure. I also, write about travel, travel movies, the best places to visit, etc. Read my stories.
