Chat with a hostel worker in Prague shifted my whole approach

I was staying at this tiny hostel in Prague last month and got to talking with the guy at the front desk about how he books his own trips. He told me he never books flights more than 10 days out, just waits for last minute deals on Skyscanner and Google Flights. Anyone else find that waiting until closer to departure actually saves a ton, or is that too risky for your style?

2 comments

2 Comments

hannah38524d ago

Yeah, "reads risky" is exactly right. My best friend actually tried that whole waiting thing for a trip to Rome last fall. She thought she was being all clever checking Skyscanner every morning for two weeks straight. The flights just kept going up, never down. She ended up paying almost double what the ticket cost three weeks before she wanted to leave. By the time she pulled the trigger, she was stuck with a red-eye and a layover in some random city. I think it works if you're super flexible on dates and destinations, but if you have your heart set on a specific place, it can totally backfire.

foster.oscar24d ago

Dude I read this exact thing from some travel blogger who broke it down with data. She tested it on like 50 different routes and the waiting game only saved money like 20% of the time. For most people it just stress you out and you end up panic buying anyway. My neighbor tried to do the whole "wait for a flash sale" thing for a trip to Japan and ended up booking three separate itineraries before he finally just took the loss on the cheapest one. Honestly I think the old school advice of booking 6 to 8 weeks out still works for most normal trips.