Do you book hotel or airfare first?

It depends on the type of trip I am taking and also how I am paying for my airfare.

If I am paying using frequent flyer miles, it will be the airfare first. This is also true if I stumble across some amazing airfare and the whole trip really develops because I want to take advantage of the airfare. I had a trip to London once just because I couldn't resist the $400 RT airfare! I am more likely to do airfare first for independent travel.

It will be "hotel first" if there is a date specific event such as a special program or tour that I am interested in. For example, I just reserved a hotel for some pre-tour nights before a Rick Steves Tour in 2022. I'm not even going to think about airfare for that trip for awhile yet.

The airlines are scrambling to reset the algorithms that set airfares to the post-covid travel realities. That means fare may be higher or lower than typical pre-covid travel. I don't think you can make a hard and fast rule right now about when the best time to buy is.

The best idea on airfare is to follow the route for awhile if you can to get a sense of what a typical price is and what a "sale price" is. Once you purchase, don't look back. You will drive yourself crazy watching fares after that and second guessing yourself.
One trick I do is to buy economy and then pay a fee to reserve an extra legroom seat in economy. I call it the "poor man's upgrade."

I usually book hotels first because they are easily cancelable. I can always modify my booking later if my flights don’t line up.

I always book air first.

I always book air first in 20 years of international leisure travel; compared to hotels there is less of a choice or variety of flights depending on where I am planning to go. And never more than 3 to 4 months in advance

For my style of independent travel, always Air first, actually looking forward, now in retirement, to jumping on any (probably few) deals next year. Hotels come later, and usually only some. We will be going to Italy in September, found good air tickets some time ago, snatched them, only now looking at first and last nights hotel, others will be out a while, some we will make a day or two ahead.

We will be taking a couple intra-Europe flights on budget airlines, those I will wait until the Covid situation clears a bit, mainly since those likely will be non-refundable. Train and Bus tickets will wait until we are on the ground.

It depends. Because we are doing RS tours next year (Sicily and Southern Italy) and we know where we need to be and when, I have already booked the pretour hotels. These hotels are fully cancelable and refundable. I will also book a pretour hotel in Edinburgh for the Scotland tour as soon as it is available because the Fringe festival will be going on and those hotel rooms will get scooped up quickly. If I were traveling independently, I would book the airfare first. If you know there is a big event such as the Fringe or Oktoberfest for example going on when you will be there, then book those hotels as soon as possible.

For the independent trips my wife and I have taken (me bike tours, her plant tours), we book the tour first (to ensure a slot). Then I start trolling for airfare deals, watching for the best pricing window. Pre/post hotels usually come last.

For the trips we've done together, generally I troll for airfare first; she trolls for hotel deals, and we converge. Sounds complicated, but works for us.

Depends. Booked on RS BOEE for next June and have my pre and post tour hotels booked. Haven't looked at airfare yet. Other independent trips I've ended up booking airfare first.

Like Carol, I've just signed up for a tour almost a year from now. Wanting to spend several days in Dublin before it starts, I just booked at the tour hotel for what seems like a good (refundable) rate. I'll probably do the same with the Belfast hotel at the end. This required some research to figure out what I want to see on my own before and after the tour, and how long that should take. I've also looked at flight schedules to see what the options are likely to be for airlines and routes. But since I'll be getting a non-refundable ticket, I'll hold off on the flights, probably till late this year.

I haven't used those fare-alert systems others recommend, but I may try this time because of all the uncertainty re Covid recovery. As another poster noted, flights and schedules are going to change a lot depending on what happens.

On an independent trip, where there's no reason to look for specific hotels, I would do flights first and then look for any hotel that works in terms of convenience, location, comfort, and price. Subject to the caveat in the other post about big events that fill up a city.

Air lines first, then the hotels since I can vary the itinerary after I know exactly when and where I will arrive and depart at a price I am comfortable with. Exception was for a special event, like the Bayeuther Festspiel, Then I had to confirm I had tickets, then followed Mark Twain's advice from 1891. "First book tickets by telegraph, then lodgings in town if you don't want to sleep in the streets!" Then I booked air and built the before and after festival itinerary.

Air first. From my POV carrot at the end of the stick incentive.

Air first always - fare less choice in air fares than there is in hotels. I will sometimes book some hotels in advance once I have the air - but sometimes I book hotels the night before I need them

Airfare. There are usually multiple hotels I can stay in - I’m not horribly picky, any decent size town will have plenty of choices I’ll be happy with. But airfare cost varies so much. One week might be $200 cheaper than the next, and often my schedule is flexible enough to take advantage of that. Even if it’s not that flexible, going on one day of the week vs another could make a difference on cost or flight available. Like if direct flights go MWF, I’ll book that instead of a layover on Tuesday. Better to get the broad logistics of “arrive on the 10, leave on the 25” so I can then book hotels for the right date.

Now if there were a high demand hotel that I really wanted I might book it first, but that’s rare. I did that for a couple of national park lodges that book a year ahead of time and are in remote areas - not a lot of other options if those were full.

Airfare, because my dates are not set for hotels until I pick the flights. Also, I almost always book hotels with the cancellation option.

Generally air first. Previously that was 8-10 months in advance, but then it would get changed and I would find myself trying to shift land bookings to fit. I don't limit travel to Europe, so sometimes things like car rentals in Newfoundland in the Summer come with hefty penalties even to shift the booking 12 hours. Those, buy the way, I booked in December for July visit due to extreme demand (and pricing similar to the current situation in the US).
Even before pandemic, I was planning to book flights more at the 4 month mark due to all the shifting of flights beyond my control and the dance to then make the rest of the situation work to my best advantage. So, not sure moving forward what I will book first or when. Retirement is next month, so that leaves a lot open. Chances are it will still be flights as travel will become extended and lodgings (rarely 'hotels') will be booked just a few days ahead.

In the past I would know what my air options were before booking hotels. On May 27, 2022 I was unable to find any air options for my tour dates in May 2022 and October 2022. Delta's booking interface showed no flights beyond April 29 at that time but I still wanted to add before and after stays at the hotels for those tours. So I have arranged fully cancelable/refundable reservations for the first time without having flights. I may have to adjust those reservations when flight options become known and available. I'm sure as air traffic begins to grow the available flights will increase and options will appear. But I am more comfortable at least having those reservations considering the demand we've seen for the Rick Steves tours. I don't like trudging between hotels before and after the tours. Several of those hotels I contacted noted they were fast filling up.

Because I'm an independent traveler (often with a friend or relation along) I always book airfare first. I often use my United points, and availability of decent schedules for fewer points can fluctuate wildly from week to week and even day to day. I have a good idea of where I want to go and generally when, then start looking over a period of several weeks. When something good finally shows up in my points-range - or price range - I jump on it immediately. I then book hotels after flights because I find many more options for hotels at my destination than for flights to my destination. (I then usually use booking.com for hotels, and always choose the refundable rate.)

Hotel first. Especially when making tour/cruise reservations a year out, airline tickets aren’t available yet. I track airfare for a few months before purchasing.

As independent travelers we always book air first. Flexibility is critical when saving money on airfare. For example, flying into Zurich is most often significantly cheaper than Paris or Munich. If your first destination is equidistant you’ve saved hundreds of dollars. Venice has always been cheaper than Milan or Rome. Who wouldn’t want to spend that savings on a couple nights in Venice before continuing on through Italy?
Additionally, flights can be much cheaper a day or two before or after your target date. Airfare first.

Pretty close to simultaneously. I look at flights, dates, and costs, and then compare that to VRBO or hotel costs and dates. When I get those two things coordinated I book both at about the same time. For me it's fun like a game.

Probably equal. Next trip, a year away, I have first and last places to stay already booked. Since I usually use FF miles, I have to wait until 330 days before I can reserve.

I should say, and I expect I am not alone here, lodging booking is a formality. I will have poured over options, starred them, short listed them. Then when flight dates are confirmed(as the might change date or airports), then I book lodgings. Sometimes I have booked fully cancellable backups or some hotels if pricing is volatile, like Dubai.

I buy plane tickets first.

In this order I: search for plane tickets, i finally settle on tickets that are an itinerary that is acceptable to be in terms of price versus number of layovers versus total trip duration versus length of layovers, I buy the tickets, I write myself a day by day itinerary with the assistance of guidebooks, maps and websites, then i search for hotels

How can you book hotel rooms until you know where you are going and on which nights you will be in which towns? How do you know that you will still travel to where you think you want to go, until you find and buy plane tickest?

Plane tickets first, followed by lodging. We have to be able to get somewhere, before needing some way to stay the night.

Sometimes irresistible air fares have inspired where to take a trip, but more often lately, we determine where we want to got next, then look for the best airline tickets to get there.

Normally I would book flights first. However, flight award dates are not available yet for my time period next year so I'm waiting. I already knew where I wanted to stay & they had availability so I grabbed it. Also I think flight options will improve over the next few months. I'm lucky that I have a couple departure cities I can use and will wait till the situation is clearer.

I typically travel solo internationally and prefer the larger rooms for single use. There aren't many of that room type in most hotels and if I wait too long I'm out of luck. So I think you need to look at that aspect as well. If you need a specific room type best book it as soon as you can. I always book hotels that I can cancel when traveling out of the country.

If I'm booking say a cycling tour …as AlanJ, I book the tour first then flights but if no tour is involved flights first. I figure hotels are far easier to find then the right flights.

It varies. If I’m attending a local festival as part of our trip, I will book lodging right away. Or one time I found a special hotel in Vienna and reserved our room before buying the flight.

Usually I have the itinerary pretty firm and book the flight and then the hotels I’ve already chosen the same day or the same week.

I am trying to think if I have ever booked a hotel before flights.

Maybe for our honeymoon for going to the Amalfi Coast (flights in and out of Paris for Naples), but I am not sure even then.

First of all, I check the cancellation policy. But recently, I book my flight first, b/c before that, I have never had to cancel the hotel reservation. But, of course, if there are some special offers I could book a hotel first, it depends.

Because location is important to me and we use a mix of Airbnb/Hotels I usually book lodging first so I can be where I want at the price I want. Airbnb are booked a year out and I make sure they that the cancellation policy is agreeable.
With that being said I am a planner, I know where I am resting my head every night of the trip. One day I hope to just wonder, and not have such a solid plan.

Air first. I can’t imagine booking a year out and that was way before Covid. For an international trip. I’ll start kicking around ideas 5-6 months out and start booking 2-3 months in advance.

I’m fairly flexible on hotels. I don’t need Ye Olde Cute and Quaint nor someplace romantic as a single traveler.

Once I know where I’m flying into and out of, the rest of the trip starts to fall in line.

Always air first: 4 to 5 months in advance. You can always get a room. Maybe not the one you wanted, but you will get a room. I've rarely seen a Hotel mark up their rooms as they get filled. Its either/or they are booked up. Airfares can have huge jumps in price. At a point, you are locked in by something. Hotels are much easier to adjust to if you will be delayed, by any problem with the flight.

I’m a pretty last minute traveler because I procrastinate a lot. I almost always buy air first 2-3 months before travel because that sets the dates for my trip. My dates are usually dictated by the cheapest days to fly. However, there have been a few trips that I’ve planned around a festival and in that case I booked the accommodation first (I never really stay in hotels) because the good ones are more likely to get snatched up quick.

Booking the airfare always comes first.