How "worth it" is last minute?

skylarking953

My friend and I are planning on a package holiday at the beginning of October, somewhere warm.
There are already some tempting deals. How much of an advantage is it to leave it until closer to the planned departure? How much more bang for our buck will we get if we wait and are flexible by a day or two?
Is it really worth the wait?

MikeJXE

It has been said in the past 

6 to 8 weeks before booking a holiday is the best time for a good deal 

We are about at that now 

bagand96

Things have changed a lot since the golden days of "last minute" in the 1990s with Teletext and then into the 00s with the Internet. Back then you had a lot of companies/operators fighting for business who'd chartered flights which were payed for so we're happy to dump capacity at very cheap cost. 

Today there's essentially two major players in the package holiday market and both have reported strong bookings this year, and only last week said they'd been high demand for late summer thanks to the UKs recent poor weather. Doesn't mean there aren't deals to be had last minute, but if I saw something I was happy with I'd be tempted to book now. 

twopenny

I've been looking at Nov and Dec, even Jan and there's probably 2 deal dates for each.
Pre pandemic there used to be floods of them.
Poor summer weather, wanting to get away from the eternal bad news and still catching up on missing out.

You can wait, some may come up but looking at how things are I'd say they won't. 
If you see what you want at your price go for it and don't go back to check.

Alan_Bowen

I agree, book as soon as you see something you like. Prices are much higher this year, but despite that, customers have been booking in record numbers, so much so that the major operators, who would normally cease operating to Greece and Turkey after the school half term in October (to be avoided for the lowest prices) have announced they are continuing into November

skylarking953

Thank you Bagand, Twopenny and Alan. That is a definitive answer to my query - I will go off an sort my favoured hotel in Crete.

heatherw_01

Last minute bargains can happen, but are much rarer than say 10 years ago.

Now you are more likely to get a good deal in advance.

Pollycat

Crete is a very popular destination at the end of the season as it is more southern than other Greek islands.
If you've found a hotel you like at a price you're happy with, I'd book it NOW.