The Best Day and Time to Book a Hotel Room

Clark.com Staff | April 9th, 2019

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Looking for a great hotel deal? The travel website Kayak has analyzed its search data to reveal the best day and time to book a hotel room.

There’s good news for procrastinators in Kayak’s first-ever Global Hotel Study, which found that waiting until the last minute to make your reservation — one to three days in advance — can save you between $15 and $20 per night.

Kayak Reveals the Best Day and Time to Book a Hotel

The report also said that booking a hotel room over the weekend is a money-saving strategy because fewer people are searching:

“We see supply and demand play a major role with prices, which are at their peak Monday through Wednesday. Searches and prices start to decrease the closer it gets to the weekend, with prices at their lowest Fridays through Saturdays (when 23 – 30% fewer people are searching).”

Another thing to consider? Your hotel check-in and check-out days. Kayak found that checking in on a Friday or Saturday and checking out on Sunday is the most expensive option overall.

According to the website’s data, a Sunday check-in is the cheapest, followed by Monday and Tuesday.

Kayak’s Global Hotel Study Findings for Domestic Travel

Cheapest day to book a hotel	Friday/Saturday
Most expensive day to book a hotel	Tuesday
Cheapest hotel check-in day	Sunday
Most expensive hotel check-in day	Friday
Cheapest hotel check-out day	Friday
Most expensive hotel check-out day	Sunday

Clark’s Hotel Booking Strategy

With hotel prices changing so frequently, how do you make sure you’re always getting the best deal? Money expert Clark Howard has a three-step strategy that works for him:

Book a refundable hotel the day that you book your flight
Check for deals on Hotwire and Priceline mystery hotels one week before your trip
Cancel the refundable hotel if you find a better deal

Clark says it’s important to keep in mind that many hotels are now requiring that you cancel refundable hotel reservations up to 72 hours before your check-in, so you need to read the fine print before you book one.

In addition, mystery hotel deals — Hotwire Hot Rates and Priceline Express Deals — are NOT refundable.