Reasons to Book Now vs Booking Late

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One of the biggest dilemmas when booking a holiday is trying to decide whether to book straight away and to commit or to hang around to see if there are better prices somewhere down the line.

The biggest psychological reason that puts people off booking early is ‘FOMO’ or the ‘Fear of Missing Out’. People often mistakenly think that they should put-off booking because it is better to have nothing booked if/when they change their mind rather than being committed to a certain holiday at a certain time.

This does seem like a valid reason to begin with. However, this decision comes at a much bigger cost than people realise - and not just financially. It pays to be decisive and there are lots of benefits of booking sooner rather than later. Here are our favourite few…
 

More Choice Booking Early

When booking early, there is more choice in pretty much everything to do with the holiday. There are often more resorts available, hotel rooms, activities to book in and if you are undecided, more destinations available. For example, if you know you want to go away in July next year, you have a lot more options than someone who is wanting to go away next month.

Some people enjoy the excitement of ‘holiday roulette’ and booking spontaneous, imminent holidays. As fun as this is, the choices are still often extremely limited due to most places being booked out months in advance as well as flights usually being much more expensive with less notice.
 

Prices of Holidays Likely to Increase

Another great reason to book sooner rather than later is due to the fact that the price of holidays is likely to increase in the future. This isn’t only due to the resurgence in demand for holidays after a couple of years of restrictions, but also because of the sudden rise in fuel prices which are set to last for a good portion of time.

Flying isn’t particularly cheap for airlines and with fuel now costing close to its highest point ever, airlines will inevitably have to put their prices up to compensate. Before they do, we highly recommend getting your holiday booked.
 

Date Restrictions

As already briefly touched upon, booking later often means far more date restrictions than when you book early.

It can be a disaster when you find your dream destination and dream hotel, only to discover that the only availability it has is a Tuesday-Thursday in the middle of November.

Peak dates sell out so quickly these days, sometimes a year or two in advance for the very best resorts, so you need to be fast. The idyllic destinations and their availability don’t just sit around waiting for you to book the dates that you want like they used to.
 

The Best Offers Are Now

Unless you are waiting until the very last minute - as in the day before you fly to book a holiday - then the very best offers are always available right now. The longer you delay, the more prices begin to increase due to all of the factors that we have already spoken about.

To put a holiday spin on a famous saying: the best time to book a holiday was last month. The next best time to book a holiday is right now.
 

Don’t Forget! Take out holiday insurance as soon as you book

As well as booking an ATOL-protected holiday, it is also vital to book some form of extra holiday insurance as soon as you book. Most claims are for holidays that have yet to depart, so do not fall in the trap of thinking that you only require insurance for whilst you’re away. Anything that covers “Covid-19” and “emergency medical and repatriation” is something that you definitely want to target.
 

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