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How far out can you book a hotel? In addition, does making reservations at the far side of the booking window provide any tangible benefit? Each hotel chain handles reservations differently, with the booking windows of major hotel chains maxing out at two years.
We’re big fans of the book early, book often philosophy. Award travel often depends on finding scarce award availability. In fact, you’ll have much better luck piecing together an itinerary of award flights and hotels if you book at the outer reaches of the booking window.
Why Book Hotels in Advance?
When you’re battling to piece an itinerary together and juggling multiple rewards currencies, booking in advance provides the best possible chance of securing availability at the lowest award rate. On the other hand, revenue bookings tend to decrease in price as you get closer to your stay. Then, they spike at the last minute.
Waiting to book your hotel can be risky. As the departure date approaches and “standard” rooms fill up, award prices can remain the same or increase. They also could disappear entirely. While it's possible to get lucky and secure a standard room in a busy location close to your check-in date, there's also a chance you won't get the accommodation you want. Additionally, if no standard rooms are available, you may pay extra for a premium one, especially with programs such as Hilton Honors.
Booking hotels as the booking window opens provides certainty for your vacation plans. Even if you only keep the reservation until award space in a better hotel or suite availability opens up, many hotels will allow you to cancel an award at no cost. Some even permit free cancellation up to the night before your arrival. Remember, the hotel, not the chain, dictates award cancellation policies. It's always worth checking the hotel's cancellation policy before confirming your reservation.
Advance Booking Policies at Major Hotel Brands
So, what are the policies? Here's how far in advance you can book a hotel stay at each major brand:
| Hotel Rewards Program | Booking Window |
|---|---|
| Accor Live Limitless | 404 days |
| Best Western | 350 days |
| Choice Privileges | 50 weeks for both award and paid stays; 365 days for Preferred Hotels & Resorts properties |
| Hilton Honors | 365 days (but may depend on the hotel) |
| IHG One Rewards | 350 days |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 50 weeks |
| Radisson Rewards | 730 days (2 years) |
| World of Hyatt | 394 days; however, elite members (Explorists and above) are able to book award nights 13 months out (most properties) |
| Wyndham Rewards | 364 days |
The booking window varies widely between chains. IHG and Marriott allow you to book a little under 12 months out. In comparison, Radisson Rewards allows you to book two years in advance. The average booking window is around 12 months.
When to Book Hotels Well in Advance
There are plenty of opportunities to book a hotel just a week or a month before check-in, land a good deal, or find wide-open availability. However, select circumstances warrant booking as far in advance as your planning allows. These are the occasions when you should consider booking well in advance:
- Popular destinations or room types, such as the overwater bungalows in the Maldives
- High season in busy destinations
- Destinations with few chain hotels (meaning fewer points redemption options)
- When traveling with kids or a big family needing multiple rooms
- When attending weddings, sporting and music events, or cultural performances
- Airport hotels for early morning or late evening arrival/departure
- When booking promo or discount awards
- If you need to use free night certificates before they expire
Related: How to Get Hotel Elite Status for Free (or Almost Free)
Final Thoughts
Planning your award stays well into the future is an excellent way of securing the best deals and guaranteeing that you have accommodation during peak season. Most programs allow you to book your hotel stays up to 12 months in advance. That gives you a long way into the future to plan.
If we’ve missed any programs you wish to see included, please reach out in the comments. We’ll do our best to get it added to the list.
$99Rates & Fees
- Earn up to 26 points total per $1 spent when you stay at an IHG hotel
- 5X points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, gas stations, and restaurants
- 3X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
The earning for spending at IHG hotels breaks down as follows:
- Earn 10X points for being a IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card member
- Earn up to 6X points from IHG® with Platinum Elite Status, a benefit of having this card
- Earn up to 10X points from IHG® for being an IHG® One Rewards member (Being a cardholder is not required to earn this bonus for participating in the IHG® loyalty program)
$150Rates & Fees
(Terms Apply)
- 12X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio
- 6X bonus points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your card at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations
- 4X bonus points on U.S online retail purchases
- 3X bonus points for all other eligible purchases on your card
$95Rates & Fees
- Up to 9X points total per $1 spent at Hyatt - 4X points per $1 when you use your card at Hyatt hotels & 5X points per $1 you can earn as a World of Hyatt member
- 2X points per $1 spent at restaurants, on airlines tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships
- 1X point per $1 everywhere else
Also, don't forget to check out our related post: How Far in Advance Can You Book Airline Award Tickets?
Hotel Advance Booking FAQ
How far in advance can you book with Hyatt?
You can book a Hyatt hotel room 394 days in advance. However, elite members (Explorists and above) are able to book reward nights 13 months out at most properties.
How far in advance can you book a Hilton hotel?
Hilton allows you to book a room 365 days in advance. You have a whole year to make plans to stay at a Hilton hotel. However, individual hotels might give you more or less time to reserve a stay.
How far in advance can you book a Marriott hotel room?
Marriott Bonvoy lets you book a room 50 weeks in advance. That's a little less than a year but still plenty of time.
How far in advance can you book a Choice hotel?
You can make both award and cash bookings at a Choice hotel 50 weeks in advance — or one year in advance if you're reserving a stay at a Preferred Hotels & Resorts property.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card (Rates & Fees), Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (Rates & Fees), and The World of Hyatt Credit Card (Rates & Fees)
I totally agree when you said that we will be able to have certainty for our vacation plans when we book in advance. That is the reason why I plan to look for hotel oceanfront balcony rooms today. The trip is going to be scheduled for our anniversary next year, so we can be sure that we will have everything planned and ready to make the trip not stressful. https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/virginia/hyatt-place-virginia-beach-oceanfront/orfzo
i do not think club carlson can do 3 year advance reservation. Right now i cannot even find anything available in Nov 2018
Allen, it looks like award reservations are typically about a year with club carlson or less — even though you can book revenue rooms 3 years out. We’re going to poke a bit more at this and add details to the table.
Wow, never thought Club Carlson can be so flexible about anything!
Seems to me 365 should be more than enough………..
This is a useful reference. Curious why Club Carlson is such an outlier.
I wonder if people actually book 3 years in advance for club carlson. Thats ridiculous
What a raise in consciousness about hotel bookings! Thx so much!
I was able to book a Starwood hotel up to two years in advance for college graduation. I think some of the hotels will operate on a case by case basis if you call them in advance and speak to a manager rather than the general reservations system.
I usually book hotels as far ahead as possible if I have my itinerary planned out, and then check back a few times in the months leading to the stay. I mostly end up sticking with the original booking.
I do book hotel as soon as I know my trip sometime like 6 months early. But I do go back and check the price when the trip is getting closer. Sometimes the price drops.
Great topic! Hope there’s an article like this for flight booking, e.g. how far in advance to get the best fares. It’d be very useful too 🙂
The best time to purchase a fare is when your travel dates are committed. Airline pricing is so dynamic, saying that X Y or Z is the best time to purchase really doesn’t work. That said, in general, last-minute fares are higher than fares 30+ days in advance.
Very interesting. I agree that a good reason to book early is a possible devaluation.
I have to bookmark this for the next eclipse!
HAHAHAHAH!
In 2013 (the time of the Great HH Devaluation) I was able to make a reservation 23 months in advance at the Conrad Maldives, by searching dates at the end of the schedule, and then changing the search, while selecting the “Flexible Dates” tick-box; I was able to just keep rolling the calendar forward to the high-season of 2015. Exploring that path more recently, however, it appears that loophole appears has been closed.
Thanks!
Thanks, useful info!
Could be a good idea to do this for hotels you knew are getting reflagged – ie the recently debranded Trump Toronto is reopening as a St Regis in 2019 – book now while rates are depressed, as they will likely be pitched higher once the renovation and the new branding is completed.
Booking 3 years in advance it what I call forward planning!
That amount of notice is great for hitting card spends!
Thanks for the information. I have just started looking at fall 2018 and this really helps!
great post! I had no idea I could book a room for the Japan olympics right now!:)
wow that’s amazing
Accor Hotels = 404 days
I’ve updated our table.
Great article! One more to add: Best Western = 349 days in advance.
Added; thanks!
Thank you!
nice one. I have booked rooms a year in advance for special events, before the reservation system had jacked up prices. feels good to spend 15% of the posted rate!
I can’t imagine booking three years in advance.
I would only book refundable rates that far in advance. On several occasions, I’ve been able to get a lower rate by watching the availability of the hotel for that week and re-pricing the room. I’ve saved anywhere from 10-25% doing this.
Good to know
I book early and keep checking to see if rates drop. Have rebooked 2 nights before and received a better rate. I have to keep reminding myself that Marriott has gone to 48 hrs. for a no penalty cancellation. Hope the others don’t change to this.
Good to know. Thanks!
I already used miles for Oktoberfest 2018, this is my next booking for Munich, they fill up fast!
Good idea. Oktoberfest gets crazy busy. Points bookings are usually cancellable without penalty, so it makes a lot of sense.
As long as it can be cancelled without penalty, there is nothing to lose by nailing down reservations a long way in advance.
Wow I did not even think to know how far out you are able to book awards for hotels. I’m still making assumptions on a lot of things with hotels, etc. using points. Is there a way to see what type of room each hotel will let you book with points? Or they allow every type of room and then it sells out?
I know I’ve had issues finding a good size room with a sofa bed, so me, my husband and both kids (under 12) can be in one room.
it varies by the individual hotel – you’ll need to check each property.
Excellent guide. Indeed since most points reservations can be cancelled, you should try to book whatever you think you might possibly need, to avoid being disappointed later.
Of course you need to be organised to remember to cancel unwanted reservations!
I usually book well in advance but never more than one year.
This because I prefer buying the flights before. Usually 11 months in advance if they are award flights for very requested routes and less for less requested routes or if I pay for the flights.
Very helpful compilation and overview
Don’t forget about an occurrence such as the solar eclipse! Many places were sold out a year in advance.
Wow. 1095 days!
I rarely do any serious trip prep until about a couple weeks before a trip! I’ve definitely booked rooms the day of. It gives me anxiety sometimes, but I can’t help it!
This is good information and it would be great if paired with the cancellation policy of each chain.
I recently booked several award nights with IHG because they were a great price in points. I don’t think the price will go up, but when booking multiple rooms you do risk them being sold out.
Good info, thanks!
It is frustrating when you make a revenue booking in a hotel, only to find it gets cheaper. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to work out the best times to book the hotels I normally stay in. If I get a great deal it is more by luck than anything else!
Helpful list for me to keep in mind when booking flight lodging. Thanks!
That a long time to plan or book out. But for some places it seems necessary.
I’m not sure I can plan a year or more in advance anyways, but its sure something to keep in mind… the cancellation policy of the hotel. Many times I’ve been considering a hotel location, don’t book right away and when I return a few days later its gone; disappointing to say the least. I really dislike booking and cancelling but I might need to in order to not lose out.
Wow almost 1100 days in advance for Carlson hotels?
That is insane.
Very interesting post!
Another reason to book early is a possible devaluation. When Hilton had their major devaluation in early 2013, I booked a hotel in Paris which might have been more than 12 months in advance.
That is a very good point re devaluation. It is unlikely a redemption will get cheaper, and even if it does you can always cancel and rebook.
Several years ago, I booked the Hyatt Vancouver to beat the spring increase in Category/ points price to stay during the Fringe in September. Come mid-August, I knew I wouldn’t go, so I phoned to cancel. The rep. asked me if I wanted to re-schedule, saying, “We can book up to 13 months in advance.” So I said, “Same time next year.” When I later cancelled that, I got points back at the new higher points price–a 20K bonus!
I’m booking a Club Carlson suite for New Years 2020 right now.