Travelers who book their hotels at the last possible chance usually save a great sum of money. Hotels booked on the same day when they are needed are usually 23 percent less expensive than overnight stays booked in advance.
Last moment hotel bookings are very friendly to the travelers’ budget. This is one of the findings of a study carried out by Cologne-located hotel portal HRS, which examined the booking behavior of business travelers. In the study, the researchers evaluated average room prices of the past five years and compared the time between booking and traveling.
As the study shows, spontaneous travelers remain the minority. Only every 10th business traveler books his or her overnight stay on the day of the trip.
The majority of business travelers (58 percent) books their overnight stays up to two weeks in advance. Roughly one third books even more far ahead (14 days and more) and tends to pay 10 percent more on rooms.
The ever-growing digital globalization could lead to an increase in the last moment hotel bookings: “Mobile booking is a growing trend, which will decide the future of the travel industry,” said Tobias Ragge, CEO of HRS.
“Today, already 40 percent of all search enquiries at our website are made with Smartphones and Tablets,” he added.
However, customers should pay attention to large events and trade fairs. According to the analysis, hotel rooms tend to become quite full during such weekends, leading to comparatively high prices. This is a situation where business travelers should plan ahead and don’t rely on the last moment hotel bookings deals.
