Pro tip: I used to book hotels right away. Now I wait 24 hours.

I used to book the first decent hotel I saw online for a trip. Figured prices only went up. Then last month, planning a trip to Chicago, I almost booked a room for $120 a night. My friend told me to just wait a day. I put it in my cart but didn't check out. Next morning, I got an email from the site offering me that same room for $98. Saved $22 a night just by waiting. I guess they track when you look but don't book. Now I always add to cart, then close the tab and wait. It works about half the time for me. Has anyone else tried this trick with flights or rental cars?

3 comments

3 Comments

jake_dixon3mo ago

My cousin swears by clearing his browser cookies before booking a flight. He says he once saw a price jump by fifty bucks, wiped his history, and it went back down. I've never been that organized to try it myself.

veramartin3mo ago

Oh man, @jake_dixon, your cousin might be onto something. I tried that trick once but got distracted and ended up clearing my saved passwords instead. Spent the next hour trying to remember my login for everything. The flight price did drop a little, but I'm not sure it was worth the panic. I'm too messy for that kind of strategy.

laura_white991mo ago

Oh come on, clearing your passwords is user error not a flaw in the plan. I actually tried the cookie thing last week before booking a flight to visit my sister and it saved me like forty bucks. @jake_dixon, your cousin is right, you just gotta be careful and not delete everything important. The key is to go into your browser settings and only wipe the site data for airline and hotel sites, not your whole saved info.