When to book hotel for 5 days in Oct Switzerland

  • TellyBrian
    Participant
    9 posts
    12 February 2019 at 2:45:27 #819897

    I am planning to visit Switzerland in late October 2019 for 5 days. I am a detailed planner of our trips and like to book well in advance. However, it appears that doing this in Switzerland results in very high prices being offered by hotels.

    Given the time of year we are travelling which is from my understanding in between seasons, I would have thought the prices being offered would be more reasonable. I am well aware that Switzerland hotel prices are high and I am prepared to pay what I have to secure suitable accommodation. Saying that, I like to secure a good deal.

    We plan to visit Lucerne, Interlaken and Bagel and stay in 3 and 4 star accommodation.

    My question is how far out should we book to secure a reasonable price.

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    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    12 February 2019 at 8:51:06 #904089

    Hello Telly,

    Welcome to MySwissAlps. Planning can make half the trip, I agree, so here we go.

    As you’ve noticed hotel prices in Switzerland are on the higher side of the scale. October is somehow in between seasons but it’s also holiday time for Swiss school children and thus a time where certains destinations can have more local visitors.

    I personally would book the hotels in advance one month and more, without worrying too much about loosing on any super short-term deals.

    Find hotels at your destinations using the following links:

    http://www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne/hotels

    http://www.myswissalps.com/in terlaken/hotels

    I assume the last one is Basel: http://www.myswissalps.com/ba sel/hotels

    For a more general overview of available accommodation go to this section: http://www.myswissalps.com/ac commodation

    I hope you find this to be helpful. Get back to us for any further input.

    Best,

    Steph

    TellyBrian
    Participant
    9 posts
    12 February 2019 at 9:28:58 #904090

    Thank you for the quick response.

    I was unaware about the school holidays so I will book just after mid year to secure the hotels I want.

    Sorry about the spelling error relating to Basel but it was lunch time when I sent the first message and I must have been thinking about having a Bagel for lunch.

    Thanks again.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    12 February 2019 at 10:47:52 #904091

    I think this makes sense.

    Don’t worry about the typo. 🙂

    Gunzel
    Participant
    241 posts
    12 February 2019 at 20:25:21 #904092

    I may be overly cautious but once I’ve made my “big picture” plans I like to book accommodation as far out as possible.

    I agree that Swiss hotel prices can be on the high side, particularly if you’re coming from a country like Australia where the exchange rate is rarely in the traveller’s favour.

    The online hotel booking service I use usually offers both “non refundable” and “flexible” rates that each seem to change from day to day (dynamic pricing?) but the trend seems usually an increase as one gets closer to the time.

    I would find it disappointing to have my heart set on a particular location and then find it’s “booked out”. But the offset is that there is usually alternative accommodation in another town not too far away.

    Enjoy your travels!

    TellyBrian
    Participant
    9 posts
    13 February 2019 at 1:04:25 #904093

    Thanks Gunzel. I agree it is always good to book well in advance. Indeed, I usually start the hotel booking process as soon as I finish my previous holiday. In our case that was last week.

    I do use on line and then in most some cases make a cancellation and book with the hotel. I have found that more and more hotels in recent years are offering better deals to encourage clients to book direct.

    I agree that it is better to ensure you can secure where you want rather than end up disappointed.

    We set a budget for each travel element and then make sure we stay within regardless of exchange rate variations.

    Thanks again for your comments

    jatinsmehta
    Participant
    114 posts
    13 February 2019 at 5:51:36 #904094

    My travel dates are in Aug & i have booked all my hotels over a year in advance

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