Are Deals Better When You Book Hotels Early Or At The Very Last Minute?
Psst, we're giving away a 3D2N 5-star hotel stay in Bangkok! Read on.
By John Lim — 11 Mar 2016, 11:42 AM
It's a crossroad we experience when planning our holidays - should you book early, or wait and take a chance on a last-minute booking?
Well, to help you make a better decision, we've listed down the pros and cons of booking a hotel way in advance or at the very last minute:
BOOKING HOTELS IN ADVANCE
PROS:
1. More room options: booking a hotel in advance has the obvious benefit of more options when it comes to available hotel rooms.
2. Offers peace of mind: you will have a room ready for you once you arrive at your destination.
3. No comprise on planning: if you have to travel at a certain time or have a specific room or hotel requirement, booking early will mean you won’t have to compromise on your day of departure, or any other element of your break.
4. Early booking discounts: booking now means you can take advantage of early booking discounts such as meal deals, free night deals, room upgrade deals and single traveller discounts – all of which can slash the total cost of your holiday.
CON:
Missing out on deals: you run the risk of missing out on any potential special offers. Many hotels have contractual agreements with travel agencies, whereby a tour company will effectively reserve a specified number of rooms for a specified period of time. When these rooms are not filled by a certain time frame, especially off-peak seasons, prices are expected to drop.
BOOKING HOTELS AT THE LAST MINUTE
PROS:
1. Off-peak discounts: it's common for hotels to drop prices on unoccupied rooms at off-peak seasons.
2. Money saving: taking up last minute deals – particularly for package holidays can save yourself some cash!
3. Last-minute apps: many apps like HotelQuickly have found a way to help many travellers to secure cheap and good hotel stays! The app provides same-day hotel bookings at a discounted price.
Besides, HotelQuickly partners with more than 12,000 hotels and resorts to bring its members unbeatable rates on rooms within a seven-day booking window.
CONS:
1. Risky: it can be very risky to book your trip a day or two before, especially during peak seasons where rooms are snatched up pretty quick.
2. Lack of assurance: while it's common practice for most hotels to drop prices, there are some exceptions and there's really no assurance that a hotel will offer low prices, even during off-peak seasons.
Most importantly, whether you choose to book your hotel rooms late or early - remember to do what works best for you!
If you feel like you need the peace of mind of knowing you definitely have a hotel room booked, it is probably your best option to book in advance. While, if you don’t mind waiting until the last minute to try to save more money and don’t mind the uncertainty, you may find that waiting until the last minute to book a hotel is your best bet.
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THE SAYS x HOTELQUICKLY GIVEAWAY: Win a 3D2N stay for two at the AVANI Atrium Bangkok Hotel!
AVANI Atrium Bangkok is a renowned 5-star hotel located along New Petchburi Road. It features a swimming pool, fitness centre and free Wi-Fi in all areas.
The spacious guest rooms at AVANI Atrium Bangkok come with modern décor and large windows that offer views of the city. Each room is well-equipped with a minibar and TV with cable channels.
Excited yet? Here's how you can win this awesome getaway:
2. Register as a user, redeem the voucher code 'SAYS', screenshot the 'Credit' page and embed the screenshot into the comment section of the giveaway post found HERE on the SAYS Facebook page.
3. Share this story on your own Facebook page with the caption “SAYS, I need to win the HotelQuickly 5-star stay!" Make sure it’s set to ‘Public’ so we can see it! Don't forget to tag SAYS in your caption too!
The ‘Credit’ page of the HotelQuickly app. Screenshot this and submit it as a comment on the SAYS FB page (look for the giveaway post).
Image via SAYSThe 'SAYS' code is worth RM40 and valid for new users with only one time redemption.
Terms and conditions for the HotelQuickly giveaway:
2. Participants are required to fulfill all the listed requirements when submitting their entries. Incomplete entries will be disqualified.
3. SAYS reserves the right to disqualify entries that contain (a) content that endorses/promotes illegal or harmful activity; (b) violent, profane, vulgar, obscene, defamatory or otherwise objectionable material; (c) adult material; or (d) defamatory content.
4. The winning entry will be selected randomly on 21 March 2016.
5. The winner will be announced on Facebook on 22 March 2016
6. Winners will be contacted directly via Facebook and will be given 24 hours to respond. Should the winner fail to respond within the given time, the prize will be forfeited and the next best entry will take the place.
7. The prize is personal and cannot be sold or transferred to someone else. If the winner does not or cannot accept the prize, it reverts back to SAYS and it is at our sole discretion to award the prize to another participant in this giveaway.
8. No substitution or transfer of the prize is permitted. The prize may not be redeemed for cash. If due to circumstances beyond SAYS' control resulting in the inability to provide the prize, SAYS reserves the right to award, as substitute, a prize of equal value.
HotelQuickly is a mobile app that helps customers make last-minute hotel bookings at a discounted price of up to 70%. The app has expanded its network to over 16 countries across Asia!
HotelQuickly is the leading last-minute hotel booking app in Asia-Pacific, offering discounted deals at highly rated hotels in 300 destinations. The app has partnered with more than 12,000 hotels and resorts to bring its members unbeatable rates on rooms within a seven-day booking window. Founded in March 2013, HotelQuickly was designed from scratch to allow mobile users to find and book top hotel deals in seconds.
HotelQuickly is currently available in nine languages and 16 countries: Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.