Is it necessary to have lodging reservations Puglia/ Basilicata last week of May ?

Puglia and Basilicata are more discovered than they once were and are definitely on the radar of travelers. Since the last James Bond film’s opening scenes were filmed in the Basilicata location of Matera, the spotlight was on the region. I was in Croatia and Hamburg as the film opened and it received an incredible amount of attention— more than I have seen a recent film opening receive in the US. You’re probably in luck at the end of May winging it with accommodations before the public schools in Puglia get out on June 9. After that, I think it’s going to get crazy busy there.

The Italian news is full of stories about how busy this tourist season is as both Italian and foreign visitors return. You will be visiting a very popular area at the very best time of year. Spontaneous is nice, spending your time looking for the last hotel room in town is not.

If you had said, "we are not picky, just need a bed," then I would have said, no worries. But if you are wanting a certain type of accommodation, then I would book or at least scope out your options. I use Booking.com mostly. May is not terribly busy like summer, but it gets busier every year!
I read a recent post on another forum from someone who planned a summer trip and found many of the places they wanted to stay booked.
Which places/general areas are you looking to stay?

Thank you for all of your helpful comments - I think we should indeed book so we aren't stressed looking for lodging - Any recommendations for specific places are welcome. We are interested in exploring Puglia, Basilicata possibly Calabria if time. We really love the mountains nature and hiking / coast - and are SUPER into ancient and all history good food and wine of course! We have booked Masseria Nuove Caselle a trulli place for 2 nights outside of Villa Castelli (south of Martina Franca)- and then rooms in an old palace in central Leece for 2 nights through air bnb. We will then have 3 nights to choose another location or 2 . We need to return car in Bari by 11 am on May 28th. Before catching train to Rome to Florence. All of these reservations are changeable at this point. And we are open to a completely different plan. Thank you for any tips on places to explore, stay, and eat etc - we are really very open. Thank you Lori

You are booked close to the Itria Valley and in Lecce, two of my favorite locations. For your last stay (I would not split three nights, it's a pretty fast pace), I would consider Matera. You can easily get to Bari from there with an 11 am departure time.

Two of my favorite hikes were in Altamura, near Matera, and in Porto Selvaggio park, north of Gallipoli.

ETA You might consider adding a night to Lecce and staying in Matera two nights, just depends on your list of things to see/do.

We're going to Puglia in July & are dividing 2 weeks between Nardo' (on the Ionian coast of the Salento peninsula) and Valle d'Itria, with a couple nights on the Gargano peninsula before heading back to Rome. Glad you decided to book - I've been planning since February and have watched the available lodgings get booked up. (Luckily we're all set!) If you're still looking around, I've found some nice-looking options on agriturismo.it.

We plan on doing a day trip to Matera while we're in the Valle d'Itria. Our itinerary had gotten too full to break it up with another few days staying in a new place.

thanks everyone appreciate your input -
for end of May there seems to be quite a bit of availability at least now-
think we will book a mot days and leave a few days open for spontaneity