Originally Posted by
CSquared
Hey everyone -
I was skimming the boards on hotel info and I use Priceline and Hotwire a fair amount although I usually only start bidding a few days from my trip, which can be a dangerous practice if I don't have any lodging lined up if I fail. But it sounds like some people might start bidding weeks, sometimes months in advace. Is this true? Do you still find great deals for bidding on travel so far in advance? I assumed both sites were more successful the closer to your travel date.
Thanks.
Personally, I have health issues that ground me periodically. Therefore, I no longer book weeks in advance for leisure or business travel.
I have not had difficulties booking properties up to the night before travel. Of course, I generally head to the bid cities and do not generally travel during the "high season".
You can not make a lot of generalizations as to whether it is better to book well in advance or not. In many cases, I have seen the lowest Hotwire prices 4-6 weeks in advance only to see the rate increase $10-15 in the two weeks prior to travel. On the other hand, during slow periods, I have seen additional properties pop up in the week before travel.
Hope that helps some.