If you’re looking to cut costs on your next holiday, you should consider whether late deal holidays are right for you. They are a great way of saving money, but come with slight disadvantages that you should be aware of. In this article, I’ll compare the advantages and disadvantages of booking early against those for booking late deal holidays.
Why book early?
You can often save a lot of money by booking your holiday early. The reason for this is the old saying "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." The travel companies would rather sell the ticket at a lower cost and know they have the space filled, and will offer early birds a discount to encourage them to book well in advance.
So what’s the benefit of late deal holidays?
Whilst booking early is one way to get a good rate, you can often do a lot better by looking at late deal holidays. By the time it comes close to the departure date, the travel companies will be worried about having unsold spaces, and would rather sell them off at a hefty discount than lose out altogether.
Remember, they will have booked the aeroplane, hotel, etc in advance, and will have bought bulk spaces. It won’t cost them any extra to fill the last few seats. It’s much better for them to sell the ticket at half price and cover their costs, rather than leave the seat empty.
Are there any disadvantages to late deal holidays?
Oh yes, and you should be aware of these before you think about booking your late deal holiday. The most obvious disadvantage is that you won’t have the same choice of locations and travel dates as you would have if you booked early. Remember, these last minute holidays are what’s left over when the early birds have paid up. You will be limited to whatever the travel companies have available.
Having said that, this is not necessarily a bad thing. As long as you are fairly flexible in where and when you travel, you should be able to find something that will suit your taste and pocket.
So how do I find late deal holidays?
The best way to do that is to look around the web sites of some of the bigger travel companies. They usually advertise their late deal holidays clearly, so you should be able to find something you like.
Start looking early, and make a note of the sort of places you would like to visit, and the approximate cost of the holiday. Keep an eye out as it gets later in the season, and see if the prices drop. You should be able to judge when is the right time to buy cheap summer holidays.
With a bit of research, you can find yourself late deal holidays to places that you simply couldn’t have afforded to visit if you’d booked early.