Agoda.com, the online booking site, has revealed the best times of year for travellers to obtain the cheapest hotel rates.
In its ‘Travel Smart Study’, the company analysed the hotel rates booked on Agoda.com in 2014 for 25 of the most popular tourist destinations worldwide.
The results revealed that for many destinations, the cheapest time to book hotels is at the beginning of the year. Average room rates during the first two weeks of January were below average in 22 of the 25 studied markets. And while many travellers don’t consider September and October as high season, those months tended to be most expensive or hotel rooms.
For European destinations, mid-March was found to be the best time to book, with hotel rooms in Paris, Berlin, Rome, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Stockholm and London as much as 20% cheaper than average. July is considered high season in many destinations, but hotel rooms in Sydney and New York are actually cheaper than average in this month.
In Asia however, hotel rates in popular destinations were found to be fairly consistent throughout the year, with few major discounts. For example, in Hong Kong the biggest discount found was 11% in May or June.
Bangkok was found to be cheapest in June and October, Singapore in May, Taipei in July and September, Kuala Lumpur in October, and Hanoi in August and December. Seoul was cheapest in January and Tokyo in September.
“For many travellers, price is the most important factor in deciding when and where to go. This data can help travelers get the most out of their money,” said John Brown, chief operating officer of Agoda.com.
The study looked at data for 2014, but the timing of annual holidays such as Chinese New Year and Ramadan, as well as other major events would impact the figures.
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