How far in advance do you book your hotel room?

[lklgoodman]

Just wondering for those of you who have gone on a lot of cruises, if you've found the best time to book a room. We're finally less than a year away from our cruise. I would think we still have lots of time to book something, but I've noticed several places are already fully booked for the night we need. Last time we stayed in Orlando, thinking about staying in PC this time. Thanks

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Just wondering for those of you who have gone on a lot of cruises, if you've found the best time to book a room. We're finally less than a year away from our cruise. I would think we still have lots of time to book something, but I've noticed several places are already fully booked for the night we need. Last time we stayed in Orlando, thinking about staying in PC this time. Thanks

We book as soon as we know where/when we want to stay. Could be pretty far out, or not, just depends.

 

[Lita]

I book hotel rooms for all travel events as soon as I can. The furthest ahead as possible is 1 year in advance for most major chains. It doesn't hurt to book because your card is not charged in advance. Also, I find that prices go up the later you book or they are sold out. If they happen to have a sale, you can always cancel and rebook. I do this all of the time.

 

[lklgoodman]

I book hotel rooms for all travel events as soon as I can. The furthest ahead as possible is 1 year in advance for most major chains. It doesn't hurt to book because your card is not charged in advance. Also, I find that prices go up the later you book or they are sold out. If they happen to have a sale, you can always cancel and rebook. I do this all of the time.

Thanks for letting me know about the prices, we don't travel a lot so I wasn't sure if prices would increase/decrease as it got closer to our trip. The place we stayed at last time is having a sale now, so I will go ahead and book it now.

 

[Dug720]

We book as soon as we know where/when we want to stay. Could be pretty far out, or not, just depends.

This!! I have a room already booked for Feb 2018. I *might* change to on-property when I can do that online, but not sure.

 

[cruiser21]

Whenever I see a good deal. That varies greatly. Sometimes the best prices are the day before, and sometimes months before. I book through third party sites and use coupons. Right now I can get AKl for 210.00 a night through a third part site. I'm thinking about it the night before our cruise in 8 weeks.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I booked 10 months out. For port hotels, I've only seen them go up in price as my dates draw near.

Hyatt is up and down, as are some of the Orlando hotels. Disney hotels will have sales, but reserve your room when you decide and if a sale comes up (see Mousesavers for an estimation of types of sales) then call and have your reservation adjusted.

 

[xlxo]

Due to work commitments..... I book my trips a few days before departure....

• I save on cancellation insurance as I'm ineligible so close to departure.
• I do pay more for hotels, flights and cruise. I also have less choice on what's available in rooms and cabins. Sometimes I just say "surprise me" as I'm so indecisive.
• I have better control on the weather as I can see the accuweather forecast for the region. I don't believe is throwing good money away to be a soggy storm chaser.
• during low season.... there are great deals for last minute seat fillers when the cruise is undersold!
• pay attention to the local calendar.... festivals and long weekends will cause price surges. You want to book early for those dates.

 

[WeLoveDisneyAlways]

Most hotels offer a lower rate if you book a room with a no cancellation clause for this reason we are waiting til we're 100% locked in probably once the cruise is paid and past the 75 day mark. If we were staying at WDW I would book as soon as the rates open up since you can cancel anytime.

 

[dragynally]

I either book ASAP if I know all the details or I check Booking.com for deals later on.

 

[MunFam]

I book immediately if it is a refundable rate. Then I watch for a better deal and reshop the hotels...I will not book a non-refundable rate until 2-3 months prior to traveling. But, we are not brand loyal...if I was set on one hotel, I would book immediately.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Note that if you're a AAA member, you can often get the same or close rate as the no-cancellation rate, but still be able to cancel. Don't forget to try the hotel's own website. They're very competitive and often beat the Expedias of the 'net.

 

[Starwind]

we book as soon as we know dates and where we want to stay. we get a refundable/cancelable rate. we then check occasionally to see if the price has gone down and rebook as necessary. e/g i booked the Hyatt MCO for the night before our December 2017 cruise shortly after Hyatt released the date. A month later i checked and the price had gone down by $60. I called Hyatt and changed the reservation to the lower rate.

SW

 

[LSUfan4444]

I agree with others, book when you know when/where you want to stay. I don't know of any logical reason to wait so long as your reservation has a cancellation policy and no financial penalties.

 

[AngelDisney]

For high demand hotel before a cruise such as Pan Pacific in Vancouver, I booked as early as possible. Fortunately I was able to book via Hotwire at a secret hot deal rate in 2015. If reservation is refundable, I would book as soon as my dates are firm and change if a lower rate is offered or if there is a change of plan. This August I will be staying at Royal Pacific Resort before a cruise, I booked for 6 nights then due to a flight change I extended to 7 nights and got a lower rate per night with Stay More Save More rate.

Have fun planning!

 

[rcchello]

I book a room that I can cancel, just in case everything I want books up before I can check for lower prices close to the event. I then look closer to the event time and if I find something better I cancel the original reservation.

I have seen situations where everything is booked up due to something I did not foresee (sporting event, conference, freak weather). I hit Orlando once and there were no rooms since everyone from the coast was relocated to Disneyworld.