With the British summer showing no signs of recovery, the race is on to find sunshine elsewhere. But don't worry if you haven't booked anything yet – with a little clever planning, you still have the chance to grab a bargain. Tim Hentschel, CEO and co-founder of HotelPlanner.com, has his tips.
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Tuesday is usually a good day to find great vacation deals, especially if you can travel last minute. Most of the time, pricing teams at hotels and tour operators meet on Monday to review what sold over the weekend. Then, on Tuesday morning, they update their systems and websites with discounts and offers to boost bookings to hotels and destinations with more availability. Booking on Tuesday can save you around 5-8% on international trips compared to higher prices later in the week.
Don't fall into the traps of the internet
One of the biggest mistakes consumers make is to go back to a website and search for the same holiday and dates to see the price. Each website has an algorithm, so more searches for a particular date or visits to a particular page can cause the price to go up. Add your favourite holidays to the favourites tab. On many booking platforms, this tab is reserved for later viewing.
There's still time to grab a bargain – check out the best deals on Tuesday (Alamy/PA)
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All hotels are subject to industry “price parity” protocols on published rates, but some online travel agencies, such as HotelPlanner, may offer undisclosed discounted rates, but only when speaking with a reservation agent over the phone, which is considered a private, closed sales environment. If you have time to plan your trip, this may be your best option.
Join our loyalty program
If there's a particular hotel chain you love to stay at, sign up for their loyalty programme which offers upgrades to repeat customers. Many credit card companies and supermarkets also offer points that you can earn for every pound you spend on hotel stays.
