Accommodation can often be the most expensive thing about travel. Whether you’re a budget traveler or spare no expense when it comes to holidays, it’s still important to get value for money. I mean, you don’t want to pay more for the same thing if you can help it. One way to get value for money is to know when is the best time to book a hotel.
So I was very happy when Agoda released their Global Guide to the Best Times for Hotel Deals. Using their booking data from millions of guests, they analyzed hotel prices at 25 of the most popular tourist destinations across the world. Here’s what they found and how you can get some great savings…
When Is The Best Time To Book A Hotel In Europe?
Agoda found that mid-March was a great time to visit Europe. At this time of year, hotels in Paris, Berlin, Rome, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Stockholm and London were as much as 20% cheaper than average. Surprisingly, they also found that the last week in December, usually considered high season, was a great time to visit Stockholm. They found that prices can vary greatly from month to month. For example, a hotel room in Berlin costs 51% more in September when compared to January.
When Is The Best Time To Book A Hotel In Asia?
Asia was a bit of a different story, with prices not changing too much throughout the year. Although this might mean it’s more difficult to capitalize on savings by traveling at a certain time, I find lot’s of destinations in Asia can be a bit more budget friendly anyway.
So When Is The Best Time To Book A Hotel?
The findings from Agoda, show some results you would expect, but some that are pretty surprising.
Overall, Agoda found the best time to book a hotel was in January. And the most expensive months were September and October. Although July is considered high season for some parts of the world, Agoda found cheaper than average prices in both Sydney and New York.
Agoda also released a weekly breakdown of hotel prices across the world. This is one of the most comprehensive looks at hotel prices I have seen. If you have a destination or a couple of destinations in mind, you could use this tool to see which destination and at what time of the year you could get the best value for.
It’s also important to check if there are any events or holidays on at your destination, as this can greatly affect prices. The study by Agoda was based on 2014 hotel bookings, and some events and holidays have different dates each year.
Obviously, if you have your heart set on a particular place and time of year, like cherry blossom season in Japan, you’re probably not too concerned about price. But if you’re flexible in where and when you want to go, there are definitely some great savings to be made.