When to book SF hotel?
 

I know it's one of those how long is a piece of string questions but is there a general time in advance that is cheapest for SF hotels.

I'm arriving in March '17 so I assume not peak season. Should I wait for hotel sales later in the year?
Flight and time off work is already booked so dates are fixed.

What I do is research prices and locations and make a non-prepaid, cancellable reservation right away to lock in the maximum price I'll pay. Then I monitor sales and prices so that I know a better deal when I see one. I might even be willing to make a prepaid (but fully refundable) booking a few months in advance, if the price is much better than what I have already booked.

As a personal rule, I avoid making non-refundable hotel bookings more than a month or so in advance, but this timeframe depends entirely how firm your plans are, your tolerance for risk, and how much better the price is over what you've already booked.

There's almost no such thing as "peak season" here anymore. All it takes is one large or a few smaller conventions and the entire city is full. I'd book something now and cancel/change if rates or choice of hotels improve.

This is very true. Rates can be astronomic one week and low the following. So lock something in now in case you hit the former week rather than the latter.

This is sound advice for pretty much any location.

First, as stated above, make a fully cancellable reservation.

Next, start monitoring the Moscone Center event calendar to check for conflicts.

We are lucky that car and hotel reservations have no-fee cancellation policies!

Start reserving. Then reserve more and compare what you have.

Happy holiday!!!!

I second all the advice above, and I'll add one thing new. If you're willing to take the chances involved with bidding sites like PriceLine (e.g., you aren't set on a specific hotel or room configuration), start looking there 2 weeks before your trip and up to 2 days before your trip. When occupancy rates are low, SF hotels put their extra inventory on there at lower prices. If you do find a last minute bargain there you can cancel the refundable rate stay you booked well in advance. You do have booked a stay already, right?

Thanks for all your advice. I did as suggested and booked 3 nights at the Chancellor Hotel for £375, refundable.
I kept an eye on the price every month or so and it was usually around £450- 500. Following the devaluation of the pound I thought I was unlikely to get a better rate but last month I spotted a non refundable deal at £326 so definitely a happy chap.
I've stayed at the Chancellor before so know what to expect there. All booked through hotels.com

Thanks for all your help.

I always check with the hotel itself as well.
 

JMHO But I've had great difficulties with hotels.com so haven't used them in years. Other people report great results, and I'm sure you'll be fine, but I always double check with the hotel directly especially if I'm booking a nonrefundable rate. The Chancellor seems to have many deals on their own site that equal or better the deal that you have from hotels.com. Again YMMV.

Thanks for that. I also checked with the hotel direct but couldn't get anything better for my particular dates.
One slight annoyance is that the hotel quotes rates which are exclusive of tax so it's not until you get to the final stage you find out what you are actually paying.

Fingers crossed hotels.com works.

Thanks again.

Hotel occupancy tax in San Francisco is 14%; in addition, depending on the location, there is 1–1.5% Tourism Improvement District assessment.