Guide to How, When & Where Not to Book at Last Minute

There are several situations when it will be detrimental or when it's not even possible to obtain price-cut travel services at last minute.

Here's a list of things to understand, to do and not to do!

Don't hope for last minute discounts from the low fare airlines. They generally don't make such price-cuts, instead they tend to increase airfares, the closer the departure date gets.

Don't just continuously scan the prices of airlines, hotels etc. Don't expect the prices simply to "shrink". The late price cuts are either promoted intensively or, they are offered to members with special accounts, don't search naively through booking engines for lower prices that "might have shrunk overnight".

Instead, we advise you to look for "last minute"-labeled offers under dedicated sections of consolidator sites/online travel agencies, airlines, cruise lines, whatsoever. You might also want to sign up for a newsletter or become their member and you'll be in for special offers "from the inside".

Don't buy part of your travel services and believe "I'll leave the rest for last minute". you might not be able to find the rest. There might not be an offer for the remaining lacking travel services. You should always purchase them together or very fast, one after another, so that you create a full itinerary without lacking services.

Don't expect to obtain last minute discounts for groups. For a family, you will find specially-published packages, but it's almost impossible to negotiate a low price with any agents, regardless how large your group is. The larger the group, the less possible it is to obtain discounts.

Don't think that searching for plane tickets at the airlines will be cheaper! They grant the right to of selling tickets to travel agents. It's smarter to check the agents too. In fact, it's often the agents who can't re-sell the airline tickets (they buy the right to sell them to clients). Such agencies will often publish discounted offers in order to attract buyers. You might be in for a good bargain when you find such an offer. Agents often sell cheaper tickets than the air carriers themselves.

It's naive to take the expression "last minute" literally. While it actually refers to "late", there are few travelers who literally start their search hours before departure and some people actually believe that they can buy cheaper airline tickets at the airport right before take-off. No! It's impossible!