Many of us spend days researching our next holiday online, but did you know if you hold off until Tuesday morning to book you can save money?
Prices of package holidays can fluctuate throughout the week and sometimes even on the same day, so the cheap holiday deal you were looking at during breakfast in the morning, may have gone up by the afternoon.
Price variation
Price fluctuation is often seen with holidays advertised on bigger travel booking companies like booking.com or kayak.com. These companies use software to recognise “load control” which means if lots of people are looking at a holiday (even if they aren’t actually booking) the demand puts the price up.
So what’s the best time of day to secure the best price?
Usually, after 11 am!
Many travel companies update their prices around 10-11 am, if you go online before this time, you are probably looking at yesterday’s rates and prices. The prices you will see after 11 am means you’ve got the best chance of booking at the best headline prices.
So why Tuesday?
Generally across the travel industry, Tuesday is the best day to book your trip as the travel companies usually adjust their prices after the weekend to reflect what is and isn’t selling.
Tom Hall, the editor of the Lonely Planet travel guides, adds: “Tuesdays are good days to find lower leisure fares, but booking early is still the best way to get a good price.”
However, if you are looking for last-minute deals, book five to six weeks ahead of departure, as this is when airlines check seat stock and may discount any unsold seats. After that, you are unlikely to get any further discounts.
When is the cheapest day to fly?
If you are looking for cheaper flights, Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Saturday afternoons are the cheaper fares. Midweek flights are less popular and that’s reflected in the lower price.
Saturday afternoon flights are often good value, as most weekend travellers want to enjoy a whole weekend away, so they prefer to fly out first thing Saturday morning or the day before.
How to save when you book a hotel
If you’re booking hotels independently, look for deals that have no cancellation fees attached.
Then book while you shop around as you can switch deals later on if you find a better value room. This can pay off when booking in advance, especially if booking around an event like a wedding, concert or sports event.
It’s a good idea to book your hotel room in advance then check back in the days before you travel to see if you can get a better deal. Many of the bigger travel firms block book accommodation but if they don’t sell, they may be sold off discounted a couple of days before.
Big discounts for weekday bookings
Across the UK and in many cities that are popular for weekend breaks, midweek bookings are a lot cheaper than weekend bookings. Sunday to Thursday bookings are sometimes up to 50% cheaper than the same room booked from Friday to Sunday.
Find out about the best deals
Signing up to travel company newsletters or following them on Facebook or Twitter is a great way to find out when any sales or deals are going to start. You’ll be the first to find out about any early bird deals or discounts.
Summary
- Book your holiday after 11 am on a Tuesday to get the best prices.
- Tuesdays are good days to find lower leisure fares, but booking early is still the best way to get a good price
- Booking a midweek stay is considerably cheaper than the weekend.
- Flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Saturday afternoons tend to be cheaper than the rest of the week.
- Take advantage of booking accommodation that has no cancellation fees, then check again in the week before you travel to see if you can get a better deal on that accommodation.
- Be informed. sign up to travel company newsletters or follow them on Facebook to find out about the best deals.
We hope you find this blog post useful. Do you have any other tip tips for saving money when booking your holidays? Let us know in the comments.
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