Ever tracked hotel price AFTER booking? In 57% of the cases, you would have saved, data shows

Tracking hotel prices to get better hotel deals is not much of a secret today. Travelers choose their wanted hotel, return to check the price changes every few days, and book when they catch the lowest rate. Some use a hotel price tracker to do that. 

“However, a frequent traveler is still not aware that hotel prices fluctuate most not before, but after the hotel booking is made,” states Justin Albertynas, the CEO of the money-saving browser extension RatePunk. 

Hotel prices change most after booking

RatePunk browser extension has a feature that automatically tracks hotel prices after booking. After analyzing all of the rebooking cases tracked (28,000 in a 12-month period), RatePunk discovered that hotel prices dropped in 57% of all these cases.

According to RatePunk’s CEO, hotels often start with higher prices to test the market and often lower prices as the date approaches if rooms are not selling as expected. It’s one of the strategies booking websites use to maximize occupancy rates.

Average savings

According to RatePunk, the average saving after hotel rebooking (when the booked hotel is canceled & booked again for a lower price) was $62 per booking, with the smallest tracked saving being $4 and the most significant one - $1,274. 

“Most of the savings are under $50, but the amount varies depending on the final sum of the hotel booking. For example, the biggest saving was on a luxurious property in the Maldives, when the booking was made for 12 nights,” Justin Albertynas explains the savings. 

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Most frequent hotel price drops - in the US

The prices dropped most frequently for hotels located in the US (42%), followed by hotels in Europe (29%) and Asia (19%). 

As the US generally has a larger land area and a more spread-out population than many European countries, hotels there often tend to sell out slower than in other regions. To maximize occupancy rates, hotels in the US tend to drop their rates as the check-in date approaches, resulting in more frequent price drops and savings.

How to track hotel prices after booking?

Justin Albertynas recommends booking hotels with a free-cancellation option when possible and returning to check the rate every few days. While it may seem like a hassle, it can result in significant savings. 

That’s exactly where a hotel price tracker comes in handy. RatePunk's Rebooking feature is exactly that: it tracks the price of all of its users’ free-cancellation hotel bookings after they’re made, so there’s no need to manually check them. When the RatePunk hotel price tracker finds a price drop, it emails the user, informing them it’s time to rebook cheaper. 

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