How much in advance to reserve hotel rooms?

I've never seen a rule of thumb on this, I suppose we could say it's a matter of personal preference or travel style. Some travelers book accommodations as soon as they know their dates. If it's the summer, and it's a popular location, and especially if your stay includes a Friday or Saturday night, and you know what the dates you'll be in a particular location--what would be the reason for waiting?

I have booked my hotels on www.booking.com

Most of the places have a refundable reservation as long as you let them know a day or two in advance. This way you know you have a place and if things change you can usually get out of it.

Hi Fellow Portlander!
I made reservations a year in advance with every place I am staying this coming October. From the tiniest B&B in the Cinque Terre, to a fabulous hotel in Milano and an apartment in Roma, all were responsive and I find great comfort in having my lodging confirmed.

I usually reserve several months in advance once the travel dates have been determined. I generally use venere.com and tripadvisor.com to view map locations, prices, and client reviews. Also, some hotels will also have their own websites, which sometimes offer specials.

Buon viaggio,

RB

I used booking.com too. But I also contacted the hotels directly by email and at times got better offers

I agree with Laurel. I made all of my reservations 9-12 months in advance. I thoroughly researched all of the places we stayed at and knew that in order to secure reservations at all of them, I needed to book well in advance. Have a great trip.

We too like to book rooms as soon as we know dates. This year we didn't get the travel dates confirmed until April (for late July/early August). I did finally find a good apartment - (Hopefully! The reviews are good)

It depends on the dates - the location - and how picky you are with your accomodations! Some folks don't find a room until they arrive. That would make me crazy!

My rule of thumb is six months for shoulder season, maybe eight for peak season, but we don't travel in true peak season.

I've seen quite a change in the past few years. I used to be the last of the late bookers and it worked.

I now find that I'm picky about where I want to stay and what I want to pay. The sorts of places I stay charge penalties if I cancel, which I usually don't but am willing to absorb occasionally, and the lowest prices I want go months out. So now I always book no later than the first of the year for Italian travel in the summer, a little later for France. I found that even at new years I had to be flexible in my Austrian accommodations, and had to work hard to find suitable in Venice.

That being said sometimes good last minute deals come up and I generally miss out on them.

Book as soon as your dates are set, just make sure you understand the cancellation policy. I have found that best rates by booking directly with the hotels.

Like others, I book once my flights are set. This is usually about 8-12 months in advance. One caution: be sure to re-confirm your reservations at least a month in advance, especially if you booked very early. Things do get mixed up (like the B&B in Orvieto that forgot we needed 2 separate beds and had no other rooms available) and you don't want to deal with a last minute problem when you're on the way to the airport.

We will be in CT in mid September. In January I tried booking the place I wanted and it was not available. She did offer me another place, but it is a little disappointing that we can't stay in our first choice place.

I like to book early to be sure we can stay where we want for a price we are willing to pay.

The more popular the hotel, the faster it will book up. Check out TripAdvisor.com. I usually reserve at least 6 to 8 months in advance, just so that I know that I am likely to get what I want. Some accommodations you will need to book earlier than that!