“To book, or not to book? That is the question”.
When to book your holiday is every traveller and holidaymaker’s dilemma. Over the years, various theories and travel hacks have emerged on how to save the most money on your transport and accommodation. These theories can be grouped pretty succinctly into two teams:
Booking in Advance vs Last Minute Deals
Having knuckled down to some thorough research it seems there isn’t one clear winner. In fact, it all boils down to what is best for you, your preferences and your circumstances. This may be an obvious statement; it is your holiday after all, but somewhat of an anti-climax. Do not feel disappointed just yet. In true Economy Car Hire style we’re here to get you the best deal. So, whether you’re an organised early bird or risk waiting to the last minute, we have come up with some handy tips to help you save money whichever way you choose to book your holiday.
Flights
When is the best time to book a flight? According to our research the answer is to wait, but not for too long. Helpful? Not really.
Tips for the Early Bird
The general consensus when it comes to air fares seems to be that the more seats available the cheaper tickets will be. Airlines will be keen to fill empty spaces as quickly as possible so booking well ahead ought to offer better value than leaving it to the last minute.
5 weeks prior to departure is considered to be the optimum time to book your flight. From here on in you can expect to see gradual increase in flight prices. It’s best to shop around as price patterns can vary between airlines, short and long haul travel. They are often very destination dependent. Websites such as skyscanner.net offer helpful comparisons.
Tips for Last Minute
On the other hand, if seats haven’t been filled you might find sales and discount offers appearing. Indeed, being able to jet off at the drop of a hat opens up a number of opportunities for saving money on your holiday or trip.
If you have no particular travel agenda you are more likely to find the best bargains. Being flexible with dates for example can make a significant difference. Mid-week flights, travelling very early or late in the day, indirect flights, and flights to off-season destinations are all going to be priced markedly lower.
TOP TIP: Regardless of when you book your flight think again about where you are booking your flight to. In large European countries such as Italy and France you will find that flights to major airports are served by the more expensive carriers. Check flight prices to the smaller airports that can usually be found nearby. A prime example of this is flying to Bergamo Airport rather than Milan.
Accommodation
In a similar vein to the airlines, a hotel’s top priority will naturally be to fill its rooms. However, if beds haven’t been filled, especially towards the end of peak seasons, there is usually a flurry of last minute price-cuts.
Tips for the Early Bird
Booking accommodation as early as possible is undoubtedly the best way to get exactly what you want as a discounted price. By booking early you are first and foremost guaranteed availability. In order to kick-start the New Year many companies offer deals on bookings made in January.
Whilst the majority of us do begin thinking about and looking forward to planning a holiday around this time, we often don’t settle down to booking anything until spring. Capitalise on these early offers, take decisive action and book in January for the best early bird deals.
Tips for Last Minute
Most accommodation rate cuts are offered one or two weeks in advance. Hotels would rather get some money from a slight discount than risk losing takings on a room completely. If you do intend to leave it to the last minute take this opportunity to save some money rather than waiting to book a couple of days before. Due to demand you will find that accommodation prices will shoot back up to a premium a couple of days before the booking date.
If no desirable deals seem to crop up don’t be afraid to call around hotels for unadvertised special offers. Ask to speak to a manager who will no doubt be happy to help and willing to make a last-minute deal to fill an empty room.
Of course, this trick only applies if they have spaces to fill in the first place. To avoid being left out in the cold, check websites such as travelzoo.com and lastminute.com, and download some of the latest booking apps. These are making it easier for last-minute travellers to successfully book hotel rooms on the cheap.
By comparing prices and flagging availability this new booking technique is encouraging companies to drive their prices down. This means last-minute travellers could end up saving up to 20% on their accommodation!
Facts for Future Reference
These additional factors may also help you bag the best bargain.
- Avoid making the booking during peak season. Regardless of when or where you booking for prices during busy or popular travel periods are likely to be higher.
- Sign up for e-newsletters and join loyalty schemes. This way you’ll be the first to hear about special offers and flash sales. It will also cut down on your browsing time.
- Check social media. Follow the relevant tour operators on twitter and Facebook and keep an eye out for flash offers. This will keep you in the thick of the bargain hunt!
We hope these pointers and booking facts help make saving that little bit extra on your next holiday a little bit easier! For more tips on how to save money on holiday check out our car rental info-graphic.
Don’t forget to drop us a comment below!
Written by Jessica Langlands from Economy Car Hire
I recently booked a Clio type car with Centauro in Malaga. The cost of an earlier booking was considerably more expensive than booking about a month before travelling. On arrival I was told I had to have a bigger car as a small car was not available,and was charged 111 euros for a full tank of fuel. When I complained that I should only be charged the for the fuel capacity of the smaller car that I ordered I was bluntly told ” take it or leave it ‘”.I have used Centauro for many years and have noticed a marked deterioration in customer service of late.
As a VIP customer with economy car hire I get free cancellation, so I book well in advance. Check the booking prices regularly.
Last August with a week to go I cancelled a booking for a ford fiesta (Petrol) and got a diesel Focus + £75 refund.
The next day the hire company had it for £19 cheaper, so I cancelled and rebooked (£19 refund).
So long as you have free cancellation you’ll always be a winner. I’ll be surprised if this tip is published though.
Will some one please explain the massive increase in car rentals in the US. It seems that they have tripled in price in the last 12 months ??
Thanks for your comments everyone. Due to your interest and queries on when to book your holiday car hire, we are going to devote an entire post to explaining the ins and outs of whether it is better to book in advance or at the last minute.
In the meantime be sure to sign up to our newsletter for the latest news and deals from Economy Car Hire.
It’s a bit odd that you don’t appear to give hints about booking car hire in this section.
I know from experience that booking too far in advance means paying far more than leaving it till later. Conversely, leaving it too late means being quoted 3 or 4 times the previous rate. One other aspect concerns booking for more than 30 days. I was recently quoted more than £800 for a small car, yet to make two separate bookings for the same period would have been about £250.
Hi folks. I notice you dont mention car hire in ‘should I book in advance’!! I can tell you, after my own years of research, that it is very expensive to book well in advance and best to check the deals weekly or monthly as time goes on. This is obvious as the companies will get what they can from people who need to book (or decide to) well in advance, but the competition kicks in about 3 or 4 months before the date – except on the very odd occasion there are more cars than bookings like the start of the crisis. For example if I now look at next May, a Focus type is kicking around the £150 mark. But I bet you by February/March it will be between £90 and £120 at most.
Best regards John
And what car hire bookings?
I allways use economy car hire especially from alicante, but have used them in greece as well. This october I booked for alicante as normal and asked for centauro as a preferance as normal but I have to say I was badly let down by both companies.Firstly my cost to economy cars went down closer to my dates, secondly Icould not get the full to full deal as a good customer that I used to then in alicante I was charged 90euro for fuel taking it back over 1/2 full, in alicante Iwas told 15mins wait that turned into over 1 hour with other people coming after me getting the cars before me, when I asked I was told by the assistant NOT MY PROBLEM call the company(on a Sunday !). So as I said VERY DISSAPOINTED .
What about car rental? Book early or leave to the last minute? I generally prefer to book early, but earlier this year I made an early booking with Economy Car Hire only to see the rental rate drop significantly nearer the date of the holiday. Economy Car Hire charged me £10 to cancel and rebook at the lower rate!
you didnt mention anything about car hire, as I never know whether it’s best to book early or a few weeks before…