Booking a holiday is sometimes so stressful that you’ll almost need that week or two away to get yourself over the process. Airline prices are a key culprit in this, with prices that fluctuate so often and by so much that it can be difficult to tell whether you’re getting a great deal on your flights, or whether you’ll overpay and end up regretting it later on. The same goes for hotels: if you book at the last minute will you end up getting the best rate, as staff cut prices to fill empty rooms, but if the plan backfires will you be left high and dry with nowhere to stay?
Team at MoneyTransfers.com have some great tips to help you save money when booking your next trip:
- January is the best time to book flights
- July is the best time to book hotels
- Book flights four months in advance to save 20%
- Book hotels a week prior to travel
Tuesdays are not necessarily the best day to book flights
It’s a travel myth that’s repeated time and time again: book your flights on a Tuesday as it’s when the airline systems change over. However, that simply isn’t true, or at least not anymore. According to analysis by Google Flights, there are negligible savings of 1.9% if you make your booking on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday as opposed to a Saturday. Yet a 2023 report by Expedia found that if you book on a Sunday you save on average 20% on domestic flights and 10% on international flights. On the other hand, Skyscanner’s research contradicts both of these reports, concluding that Saturday is actually the best day to book flights. So what do we deduce from all this, other than to avoid making that booking on a Monday or Friday? Well, if you’re booking through Expedia it may very well pay to make that booking on a Sunday, and likewise book through Skyscanner on a Saturday. But the reality is that airline pricing is constantly changing, with many airlines tweaking their prices by the hour to undercut competitors, and in the vast majority of cases you’re just as likely to find cheap flights at 10am on a Monday as you are at the weekend.
Book hotels on a Friday or Saturday
Most people start to plan their trips on a Monday or Tuesday, when forced to return to the office after a leisurely weekend. Hotels are aware of this fact and with demand high, room rates are priced accordingly. At the end of the week, when hotels find that they’re not going to fill their rooms, prices drop and therefore savings can be found if you shop around on a Friday or Saturday. Unlike flights, hotels are a little more flexible and just because you think you’ve found a great deal it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re tied to it. With many hotel chains, you don’t have to pay upfront in the same way that you would for an airline ticket; just make sure you’re aware of the cancellation policy before you book.
Book flights in January
January can feel like a long and expensive month. Most people are paid early in December to take them through the festive period, and with finances stretched demand for flights is low. However, if you plan in advance you’ll find that this low period of demand, paired with the airlines’ January Sales, can lead to some excellent bargains. On the other end of the scale, July, sitting on the precipice of the summer holidays, is the worst time of year to book a flight.
Book hotels in July
The complete opposite is true for hotel bookings. Research by Skyscanner found that the cheapest month to book a hotel stay is July, when prices are on average 9% cheaper, followed by April, which sees reductions of around 8% compared with the average. The most expensive month to book a hotel is December, when prices are 9% dearer, followed by February, which sees prices rise by a similar 8%. January prices are also above average, so you might want to avoid booking your hotel at the same time you pick up your bargain-price flight.
How far in advance should you book flights?
Expedia’s 2023 Travel Trends report found that the best time to book flights is two months in advance for domestic flights, which saves on average 20%, and four months in advance for international flights, which should save an average of 13%. This trend has been coined the ‘Goldilocks Window’ by seasoned travellers, owing to the fact it is neither too early nor too late. So if you’re hoping to get away for the festive season, the perfect time to book that flight is right now. Google Flights also has a ‘cheapest time to book’ feature, which leverages historical trend data to let customers see when prices have been at their lowest on any particular route. This is particularly useful if you’re booking a seasonal destination where demand can be high across certain dates.
Book hotels a week prior to travel
If you’re a planner then it might distress you to hear that the best time to book a hotel is a week prior to your trip. Saving your booking until the last minute generally allows you to net savings of up to 18% on average. It doesn’t pay at all to forward-plan when it comes to hotels: those who book between 8-19 weeks before their stay will find that prices are 8% higher than usual. Adjust Your Travel Dates for Hotel Savings Most corporate hotel bookings are from Monday through to Wednesday, while most weekend break bookings are from Friday through to Sunday. If you’re flexible and can adjust the dates that you travel, you can usually save money by booking Thursday to Saturday or Wednesday to Friday instead.
Clear the cookies on your computer
One of top tips when booking flights is to go incognito. Almost all airlines use cookies to track your activity, and this can mean that when your searches reveal a serious interest in particular dates or destinations, that the next time you check the prices they could well have gone up. To avoid this happening to you, use private browsing to search for flights and hotels, or clear your cookies before searching again. While the data may indicate that the best time to book your flight is a weekend in January four months before you travel, and the best time to book your hotel is a Friday in July one week before your trip, Jonathan Merry, travel expert at MoneyTransfers, believes the biggest tip for securing a bargain booking is flexibility:
“While systems used by the industry years ago may have resulted in airlines uploading and lowering their prices on a Tuesday, new technology is far more advanced. Pricing is now highly dynamic, and with rates changing hourly you are likely to find great deals at any time of day, provided you know where to look and can adapt your plans. Travel clubs, such as Jack’s Flight Club, will alert members to cheap deals and error fares and these can be particularly useful if you don’t have a set destination in mind. Travel outside of the school holidays and midweek if possible, and most importantly remain as flexible as possible”.