Our research team recently conducted a study to see if booking US hotels last minute was beneficial compared to booking several months out.
The results showed that booking three months out was on average better than booking the day before or even nine months out.
There were several properties that did lower the price for last minute bookings but they tended to be in the minority.
However, one tip that we ran across was to wait to book until after 4 PM for a last-minute booking because the prices may drop.
We were curious to see if this would actually be the case so we decided to do a mini-study and test out 80 hotels to see if their prices would indeed drop after 4 PM for same-day bookings.
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Do you save money when booking after 4 PM for same-day bookings?
Our research showed that on average prices decreased by 2% when making a booking after 4 PM for a same day stay. However, several hotels dropped their prices much more than 2% allowing customers to save up to 25% at specific properties.
Keep reading below to check out the full results.
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Methodology
Because we were dealing with extremely last minute bookings we were not able to use the usual standard room for our data points (too many of the rooms were sold out).
So these data points represent prices for standard rooms, suites, deluxe rooms, etc. The key is that we always used the exact same type of room and rate when we checked the price later on in the day.
We also chose major chains (Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, and Marriott) in some of the most populated cities of the US.
And finally we chose a diverse selection of brands so that we have data from expensive luxury properties and also mid-tier and lower tier brands.
The data
Overall, the data shows that the prices decreased by an average of 2%.
But that does not tell the whole story.
For one, several properties did have the prices go up after 4 PM so it is definitely not a guarantee that your price will go down.
The worst price increase we saw was a 46% jump at the Hyatt Place Austin Downtown, so it is definitely possible to get burned when booking after 4 PM.
As expected, there were several properties that simply had the same price after 4 PM so not every hotel is so dynamic with last-minute prices.
And then there were those properties that ran out of inventory and sold out by the time that we checked back with them in the evening which is always a risk when trying to take advantage of last minute deals.
When prices did decrease, the average decrease was about 12%. Sometimes the decrease resulted in some pretty substantial savings like at the W Austin where the rate went down by around $100.
The biggest percentage decrease we saw was at the The Adolphus, Autograph Collection, where the price decreased by 26%.
| Property Name | Before 2PM | After 4PM |
| Conrad New York Midtown | $695 | $714 |
| The Hilton Club – New York | $547 | $468 |
| Hyatt Centric Times Square New York | $329 | $329 |
| Hyatt Union Square New York | $479 | $479 |
| InterContinental New York Times Square | $284 | $284 |
| Hotel Indigo Lower East Side New York | $389 | $303 |
| The St. Regis New York | $1,269 | $1,318 |
| The Westin New York Grand Central | $429 | $429 |
| The Beverly Hilton | $441 | $441 |
| DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Los Angeles Downtown | $229 | $225 |
| The Shay | $299 | $319 |
| Thompson Hollywood | $279 | $279 |
| InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown | $273 | $273 |
| Kimpton Everly Hotel | $284 | $275 |
| The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles | $616 | $616 |
| W Hollywood | $303 | $303 |
| Waldorf Astoria Chicago | $528 | $539 |
| LondonHouse Chicago, Curio Collection by Hilton | $242 | $241 |
| Hyatt Regency Chicago | $339 | $279 |
| Chicago Athletic Association | $259 | $259 |
| InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile | $205 | $205 |
| Kimpton Hotel Monaco Chicago | $231 | $231 |
| The Westin Chicago River North | $322 | $322 |
| Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel | $313 | $313 |
| Hilton Americas-Houston | $221 | $224 |
| C. Baldwin, Curio Collection by Hilton | $215 | |
| Hyatt Regency Houston | $199 | $209 |
| Hyatt Place Houston/Galleria | $149 | $149 |
| InterContinental Houston – Medical Center | $199 | $199 |
| Holiday Inn Houston Downtown | $175 | $175 |
| The St. Regis Houston | $450 | $460 |
| Marriott Marquis Houston | $254 | $254 |
| Arizona Biltmore, A Waldorf Astoria Resort | $636 | $636 |
| Hampton Inn & Suites Phoenix Glendale-Westgate | $137 | $120 |
| Hyatt Regency Phoenix | $279 | $279 |
| Hyatt House Scottsdale/Old Town | $229 | $229 |
| Holiday Inn Express & Suites Scottsdale – Old Town | $132 | $132 |
| Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tempe | $137 | $137 |
| W Scottsdale | $450 | $450 |
| Sheraton Phoenix Downtown | $342 | $342 |
| DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Philadelphia Center City | $198 | $182 |
| The Logan Philadelphia, Curio Collection by Hilton | $230 | $234 |
| The Bellevue Hotel | $279 | $279 |
| Hyatt Centric Center City Philadelphia | $249 | $249 |
| Holiday Inn & Suites Philadelphia W – Drexel Hill | $199 | $189 |
| Holiday Inn Philadelphia-Cherry Hill | $218 | $246 |
| W Philadelphia | $293 | $293 |
| Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown Hotel | $234 | $234 |
| Canopy by Hilton San Antonio Riverwalk | $222 | $226 |
| Embassy Suites by Hilton San Antonio Riverwalk Downtown | $163 | $161 |
| Thompson San Antonio – Riverwalk | $279 | $279 |
| Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk | $249 | $249 |
| Hotel Indigo San Antonio-Riverwalk | $151 | $132 |
| Holiday Inn San Antonio-Riverwalk | $146 | $146 |
| The Westin Riverwalk, San Antonio | $264 | $224 |
| The St. Anthony, a Luxury Collection Hotel, San Antonio | $323 | $254 |
| Embassy Suites by Hilton San Diego Bay Downtown | $251 | $242 |
| Hilton San Diego Bayfront | $273 | $228 |
| Andaz San Diego | $299 | $239 |
| Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego | $239 | $239 |
| InterContinental San Diego | $362 | $342 |
| Hotel Indigo San Diego-Gaslamp Quarter | $215 | $215 |
| Marriott Vacation Club Pulse, San Diego | $297 | $264 |
| The Westin San Diego Downtown | $247 | $195 |
| Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Dallas | $238 | $238 |
| The Statler Dallas, Curio Collection by Hilton | $273 | $273 |
| Thompson Dallas | $389 | $469 |
| Hyatt Regency Dallas | $229 | $249 |
| Hotel Indigo Dallas Downtown | $203 | $203 |
| Crowne Plaza Dallas Downtown | $132 | $132 |
| The Adolphus, Autograph Collection | $381 | $283 |
| The Westin Dallas Downtown | $340 | $303 |
| Hilton Austin | $277 | $277 |
| Canopy by Hilton Austin Downtown | $382 | $333 |
| The Driskill | $379 | |
| Hyatt Place Austin Downtown | $249 | $365 |
| Kimpton Hotel Van Zandt | $617 | $617 |
| Hotel Indigo Austin Downtown – University | $189 | $189 |
| W Austin | $698 | $597 |
| Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol | $210 | |
| $311 | $305 |
Final word
This study supports a couple of findings.
First, just as reported in other articles we’ve done, prices at hotels can be very dynamic and change throughout the day and not just day-to-day.
Second, waiting until after 4 PM can result in savings for a last-minute, same-day booking. And in some cases the savings can be pretty substantial allowing you to snag a price for $100 less.
You still need to be careful with last minute bookings because as shown by the data above sometimes those rooms may not be available later on or you could get burned by a price hike close to 50%!
But overall if you need to book a room for a same day stay you might be better off waiting until the late afternoon to make a booking.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.