Last Updated on November 13, 2023 by Henry @ The Getaway Lounge
This post is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure a high level of accuracy.
Wondering whether you should book your flights or accommodation first?
With plenty of people deciding to book their flights and accommodation separately as opposed to a package holiday, this is a question worth covering.
And whilst there is no right or wrong answer, we would usually advise the following to our members:
Generally speaking, you should book your flights before your accommodation. The main reason for this is because flight prices tend to be more volatile than the costs of accommodation, and so it is sensible to lock in your most unpredictable cost first.
With flight prices generally being more volatile than accommodation, it makes sense to secure the most unpredictable cost first.
This allows you to manage your money more effectively, and allows you to start planning ahead.
Both costs are generally linked to supply and demand, however there are only so many flights flying from A to B, so even just a small surge in bookings can increase the cost significantly.
In contrast, accommodation is usually widely available through a whole range of different platforms online, and there are usually so many different types of accommodation to choose from, too.
For most people, it’s not the end of the world if you have to compromise on accommodation and possibly stay somewhere you wouldn’t normally, should the worst happen.
Especially if you’re travelling outside of the peak season, it’s sometimes wise to keep your options open until you get a little closer to the date of departure.
Plans can often change quickly, and you might read something or hear a recommendation from a friend in regard to the best area to stay in at a later date.
You might also want to check the place out first, before you extend your stay for the whole duration!
For example, if you’re visiting a new city for 5 days you might not want to commit to the same accommodation or location straight away.
What if you got there and soon realised it wasn’t for you, or you wished you’d stayed somewhere else instead?
If you book your accommodation straight away and don’t have any cancellation policies in place, you can be left regretting your decision.
And finally, booking your flights first gives you a better outlook on time.
For example, if you know your flight is arriving at the destination really late at night, you might not be interested in booking an expensive hotel given that all you really need is a bed.
On the other hand, if your flight lands at midday and you’ve got most of the day ahead of you – you can plan accordingly and perhaps this would influence your decision on where to stay.
From what we can gather, the best reason for booking your accommodation before your flights is if you were planning on visiting a destination at an extremely busy time of year.
And we’re not just talking about the summer, or any high season for that matter, because in this instance we would still usually book our flights first.
Let’s say you’re planning on visiting Ireland, Dublin for Saint Patrick’s Day, which is notoriously busy and popular among tourists all over the globe.
The best value places will get snapped up really quickly, often times around a year in advance and so in this instance you may actually be better off booking your accommodation first.
Of course, this depends on the availability of flights from your preferred departure airports, and you’ll have to weigh up the risks accordingly.
And the same goes for any other world-renowned event or festival, as the demand for accommodation is crazy and so it can be worth making this the priority.
Another reason which may lead to prioritising your accommodation is if you were visiting a place with limited options.
Examples may include skiing resorts, or off the beaten track areas without much going on.
In this instance we would also possibly look at booking accommodation first.
In conclusion, we would almost always book our flights before accommodation.
You’ll benefit from greater cost control, flexibility and time management.
With that said, it may make sense to book your accommodation first is if you’re visiting a destination at a notoriously busy time of year, or indeed there are limited rooms no matter what the time of year.
Demand for flights tends to exceed the demand for accommodation – of which there are usually countless options.
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