Budget Travel - Best time to Priceline?

Traveling to London and already have a place stay at a friend's, with that said I'd probably like to grab a few nights rest in a hotel. Is it better to book weeks out, or are the prices more competitive the day of?

THANKS!

No rhyme or reason
For me, either a month out or
Within a week of arrival

Your situation is perfect in that you already have a back-up plan. And you could consider different nights, so you can try the same bid across the calendar to seek the rate dips.

The more zones you are willing to bid, the better your chances of success.

There is a good discussion of bidding timing in betterbidding.com FAQs, but the conclusion is essentially the same as Tony10s's - no rhyme or reason.

If you are departing via air and the departure is early in the day, the last night could be spent in an airport hotel. These tend to be quite a bit less expensive.

You also can check www.hotwire.com for deals.

Romelle

No rhyme or reason
For me, either a month out or
Within a week of arrival

+1

I think so much depends on the individual hotels. As the date draws nearer, some of them may be more desperate to unload inventory if occupancy rates are low for that night. But if a place is booking up quickly (e.g., for some event) then the deals may evaporate as you get closer to the date.

I do, however, find that trying to book far in advance (4 months or more) generally yields less appealing deals than if you try to book a bit later. But once you're in that 3 months or less window the prices are better, perhaps because some hotels are trying to attract reservations for rooms they know would otherwise be unused on those nights.

I find typically I get the best deals waiting to the end. Of course it depends on large events that might be going on in the particular city as well

It's a bit off topic but I've used AirBnB and found it very useful to find places to stay. Some hotels are listed, and you can pay with Paypal.

Alex

It's a bit off topic but I've used AirBnB and found it very useful to find places to stay. Some hotels are listed, and you can pay with Paypal.

Alex

Thanks for the tip. Never heard of them before. Going to see if I can wangle a good deal for a forthcoming holiday.

Thanks for the tip. Never heard of them before. Going to see if I can wangle a good deal for a forthcoming holiday.

One or two threads on them right here in Budget Travel. Generally positive to very positive reviews.

EmailKid

One or two threads on them right here in Budget Travel. Generally positive to very positive reviews.

EmailKid

Found them, thanks. I'm trying to economise nowadays and that site sounds like it's ideal for my needs. ^

Found them, thanks. I'm trying to economise nowadays and that site sounds like it's ideal for my needs. ^

Well, there's always Couchsurfing (http://www.couchsurfing.com) if you really want to save. A thread about that here in BT as well.

So far only hosted once when I was still in Houston, though haven't asked for a couch yet. But it's on my list ....

EmailKid

I find myself booking usually 1-2 weeks before.