These Are the Cheapest Days to Book a Hotel Stay During the Holidays
Book a pre- or post-holiday trip to decompress.
You're going to spend enough time with your family over the holidays. Do yourself (and honestly, them too) a favor by booking a hotel instead of cramming into your childhood twin bed. Or at least plan a post- or pre-holiday holiday getaway to decompress.
Here's some surprising, good news: Unlike how flight costs tend to go, hotels are cheap the weekend before Christmas and again after New Year's, with nightly rates expected to drop below $150 a night.
"In a typical year, travelers can find the best deals between Labor Day and Thanksgiving during fall shoulder season," Spokesperson for Hotels.com Melanie Fish said in a press release. "But travel demand hit an all-time high this summer and never really slowed down, meaning people searching for off-season deals had to do some extra digging to find those price drops. What’s great about this latest Hotels.com intel is that we’ve zeroed in on exactly when to travel for some of the best rates."
Let's break down the specifics now, shall we? The best time to snag cheap hotel rooms this year is between December 15 and December 20, while the January 3 through January 8 period will also likely report low nightly rates.
Here are the cheapest places to travel to in December:
- Las Vegas – MGM Grand Hotel & Casino from $139/night
- Lima, Peru – Sonesta Hotel El Olivar Lima from $95/night
- Los Angeles – citizenM Los Angeles Downtown from $120/night
- Mexico City – Historico Central Mexico City from $141/night
- Munich – Schwan Locke from $125/night
- Puerto Rico – Casa Wilson Inn from $141/night
Here are the cheapest places to stay in January:
- Denver – Hyatt Centric Downtown Denver from $125/night
- Lake Tahoe – Station House Inn from $139/night
- New Orleans – Selina Catahoula New Orleans from $124/night
- New York City – Aliz Hotel Times Square from $115/night
- Santiago, Chile – Solace Hotel Santiago from $112/night
- Tokyo – Hotel Musse Ginza Meitetsu from $105/night
According to Hotels.com, the key to booking an affordable spot is to focus on "3-star superstars," search for amenities directly through the site's official app, enroll in a free rewards program, read the seasonal property reviews, and pay attention to those refund policies.