This Is When to Book a Hotel to Get the Best Rates
Searching for hotel deals can be such a hassle. No matter how many alerts you set up, it seems like you’re bound to miss a steal. But travel search engine KAYAK did a comprehensive Global Hotel Study on the best days to book, check in, and check out of hotel rooms so you don’t have to play the guessing game ever again.
The study is based on hotel searches on KAYAK’s US site between June 2015 and December 2017 for the price per night on a double room in three- and four-star hotels. And you may find the results surprising: According to the study, travel plan procrastinators scored the best deals.
For domestic travel, booking your hotel room just one to three days before check-in can save you between $15-$20 on your room. As for the best days to make a reservation, do it on the weekend. According to KAYAK, most people are searching for and booking hotel rooms Monday through Wednesday, and the most expensive day to book a domestic stay is Tuesday. The closer it gets to the weekend, the more searches (and prices) start to decrease, with prices at their lowest on Fridays and Saturdays, when 23 to 30 percent less people are searching.
Unsurprisingly, checking in on a Friday or Saturday and checking out on Sunday is the most expensive way to go. Want to save serious money? Checking in on a Sunday is going be the cheapest, followed by Monday and Tuesday as the next best choices. So as much as it seems like a short weekend getaway is going to be budget-friendly, using some of your PTO to spring for an excursion during the week could actually result in considerable savings.
The study also looked at international travel trends, and the results were pretty different from the domestic deals. Procrastinators lose out when it comes to booking abroad; price savings only ranged from $2-$6 a night if you book six days to two weeks in advance. Not that great. However, for stays of two weeks or longer, if you book your hotel four weeks in advance, you could wind up saving $21 per night — which over the course of your stay, will result in big bucks that you could use for a splurging on a spa day or really nice dinner on your vacay.
We all know how tempting it is to take a “break” from work to do a little vacation research, but similar to domestic travel, when it comes to your global adventures you’ll also want to avoid making your hotel reservations during the week. The most expensive days to book are Monday and Wednesday. So close out of that travel tab at the office and save your planning for the weekend: The cheapest days to book international hotel stays are Friday and Saturday.
Now that you know when to search for your international deals, the next step is getting out your calendar to confirm your travel dates. The least expensive check-in days are Sunday and Tuesday, and the priciest is Saturday. As for when it’s time to leave, the cheapest check-out day is Thursday, and as with domestic, Sunday is the most expensive.
Once you’ve booked your hotel deals, all that’s left to do is snag a cheap flight and put in for that PTO. Bon voyage on a budget!
What are your money-saving hotel booking tips? Share them with us @BritandCo.
(Photo via Getty)