There is nothing as satisfying as never paying retail. Ask a dedicated travel hacker the best time to book a hotel and they’ll gladly cough up their secrets for finding the best deal on a hotel room. My own include checking convention calendars in popular cities like Las Vegas, Chicago, and Orlando to make sure I’m not booking during a huge trade show. Or booking a trip right after a major tourist event when the hotels have cleared out.
Bolstering your own tricks with data can lead you to bargains you might have missed out on. For instance, KAYAK research suggests that the further you book in advance the more expensive the hotel price, unlike flights which are typically a better deal when you plan well in advance. More and more, hotels now manage their room revenue through dynamic pricing–tweaking room rates continually based on supply and demand. Of course, hotel prices can vary wildly based on seasonal demand, events, holidays, and fluctuations in the travel industry, so the data in this article should serve as a general guideline and won't guarantee the accuracy of future hotel prices. Happy hunting.
Best day of the week to book a domestic hotel room
For most types of destinations, it makes perfect sense that it would be cheaper to check in on Sunday. After all, weekend vacationers are likely to have checked out and business travelers don’t travel as frequently on weekends. KAYAK data shows that booking for a Sunday check-in can be up to 7% cheaper than other days. You might want to consider avoiding Friday check-in, statistically the most expensive day, with prices up 8% over the average price. If your trip is flexible, sign up for a KAYAK Price Alert, which will notify you when hotel prices change for your destination. You can receive customized alerts for your location, dates, and more and get alerts when you want them in your inbox or mobile phone.
Best day of the week to book international hotels
Prices for a Tuesday arrival can be 4% cheaper than average when you’re booking an international hotel since you’ll be hitting that midweek spot when a hotel is likely to be in less demand. Data shows that Thursday is the most expensive day of the week to check in internationally, with prices up 2% compared to the average price. These price differentials aren’t that great, though, so if you’re committed to a certain hotel, it may be the best idea to go ahead and book.
Best month to book domestic hotels
Destinations in the US have different high seasons; overall summer prices are higher and winter prices are lower. Of course, holidays are exceptions. In the US, November prices can be up to 10% cheaper, especially when you’re booking in November. And the most expensive month is December, with prices up 6% compared to the average price. You may be able to save some cash if you’re planning to travel in colder months outside the holidays. If you’re looking for some guidance on pricing, check out KAYAK’s Calendar Smartly price indicators, which color code rate indicators for both flights and hotels.
Best month to book international hotels
If you wait until after the summer high season in European countries, for instance, you can snag some deals. KAYAK data shows that October prices can be up to 7% cheaper compared to the average price–and that can be an ideal month to get away depending on the location, since nice weather may hold right into the shoulder season (the period between the peak- and off seasons–around October in many places). Pay attention to holiday pricing: December is statistically the highest-priced month for international travel, with prices up 17% above average.
Explore off season
You won’t find tons of deals in a place renowned for its major events or for being a holiday destination. Mardi Gras in New Orleans, summer in St. Tropez, New Year’s Eve in New York City: snagging a great rate in these places is more fluke than reality. KAYAK data shows there are statistical sweet spots around the world between good weather and good savings: October and November and March and April in Europe; January-March and September-November in Southern Africa, and January in the Caribbean, for example. When you’re beginning to plan a hotel stay, you might want to get some guidance from KAYAK’s The In-betweasons Guide.
You can also let technology do the analysis for you. KAYAK’s Best Time to Travel tool takes in your origin, destination, and length of trip to help guide when you should book and when to travel to get the best price. The insights are estimated from internal historical search data. When I searched a four-day trip from San Diego to Chicago, it recommended I travel in October, when airfare is lower, the weather is generally still good, and you won’t see a lot of crowds. And it recommended I steer clear of June and July based on high prices from last year. It also estimated weekday vs. weekend average pricing, and recommended I book now (August for me) for an October trip, since it was likely that booking today will likely yield the lowest price I'll find on a hotel room.
Yes, the best time to book a hotel is at the last minute!
You may be familiar with the airlines’ “21-day rule” in pricing flights, where flights open for booking 331 days in advance and from then until 21 days until the flight, you’re statistically likeliest to find the cheapest flight–44 days being the sweet spot. Now throw that advice out the window for hotels; or rather, book your flight during this window and consider waiting to book your hotel. Why? Hotel pricing doesn’t favor planners. One reason is that hotels typically have a 24- to 48-hour cancellation window. When travelers cancel close to their date, the hotel would rather put heads in beds than leave the room empty.
For domestic hotels, booking at the last minute can save you up to 58%, and booking last minute for international hotels can save you up to 73% compared to the average price. Of course, there are some reasons you wouldn’t want to wait, like if you really want to stay in a certain hotel, or it’s close to an event that is likely to sell out (think the New York City marathon route or Las Vegas Formula One Grand Prix). Waiting until the last minute won’t work 100% of the time, but if you’re flexible and your destination has some hotel room inventory, it can be worth a try.
Conclusion
If you’re willing to do a little legwork, like researching your destination, tracking prices, being flexible on dates, and researching peak- and off-peak days and months to travel, you may be able to snag a better deal on your hotel stay. Remember that all travel rules have exceptions but learning about your destination and using a few technological tools can help prices lean in your favor. Remember, too, that although everyone loves a bargain, sometimes the small amount you may save isn’t worth the risk of losing the room you want. If you liked this article, you may be interested in this expert guide to finding the perfect hotel on KAYAK
How does KAYAK know what to put in this guide?
I’ve been gaming the hotel system for over 25 years, from the dawn of Internet hotel searches to the emergence of rate parity among hotels (the practice of maintaining consistent rates across distribution channels), to the emergence of dynamic pricing models, to the beginning of tools like the flash sale. (And if this information doesn’t date me, I don’t know what does.) I haven’t always won the pricing game, but I’ve gotten smarter. As a metasearch company, KAYAK can compile data from billions of travel queries and compile information from hotels, online travel agencies, and other travel suppliers to help customers more easily compare pricing. In other words, to add data to gut instinct and historical know-how.
Data is based on searches made between April 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023 on KAYAK.com and affiliated websites in the US for travel dates between July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.
