Trivago tracks best booking times

LONDON New research from hotel comparison site, trivago.co.uk, shows that in general, hotels should be booked approximately one month in advance to secure the lowest prices.
Contrary to popular opinion, booking further in advance is generally more expensive. Although rates increase closer to the travel date, they generally do not reach the same rate quoted two to three months in advance.
A trivago graph shows that cheapest rates are available one month up front. There is little difference between booking two months in advance and booking on the day of departure, making last-minute travel a cost effective option. Planning in advance rarely pays off, with rates at their highest and average savings at their lowest over two months in advance.inside-no-10.1There are discrepancies in the one month rule depending on the country of travel. When travelling within the UK, hotels should be booked four to five weeks in advance to obtain the cheapest rates.
inside no 10Hotels in Spain should be booked furthest in advance (four to seven weeks), followed by Italy (three to six weeks), Germany (three to four weeks) and finally France (two to five weeks), where hotels can be booked just a fortnight in advance for the best prices.
When booked within these parameters, prices are generally below the monthly average, irrespective of the month of travel. This means that these guidelines can be applied for summer and winter travel alike.
All data is based on travel months from January to December and price data from the past two years. Country platforms UK, Spain, Italy, France and Germany were considered.
UK public relations, Denise Bartlett saod: “Although many people assume that hotel prices will be at their highest the day before travel, this is actually not the case. There is no significant difference between booking two months or one day in advance, and it is considerably more expensive to book three months in advance. This information really opens the door to last minute decisions and spontaneous trips.”
“It is also interesting to note the country differences, with UK travellers frequently visiting France, Spain, Italy and Germany. Whereas holidays in Spain are best planned at least four weeks in advance, a trip to France could be booked just two weeks in advance for the best price. This takes the pressure off holidaymakers feeling they have to book their summer holidays months in advance.”
www.trivago.co.uk. is the world’s largest online hotel search site, comparing rates from over 700,000 hotels on over 200 booking sites, worldwide. It integrates over 140 million hotel ratings and 14 million photos. Over 80 million visitors per month find their ideal hotel by using trivago’s various filters and in turn save an average of 36% per booking.

sourced:ttrweekly.com