Lodging reservations when it's too early to get airline tickets?
March 27, 2017 2:39 PM   Subscribe

My wife and I are just now starting to move forward on planning our Christmas trip to Europe (fly into Prague, out of Vienna). However, there is a complication that is vexing us! How do we reserve lodging without an airline itinerary?

It seems that it is too early to get decent airfares. Some websites recommend waiting until September to get the best fares for Christmas season flights! We certainly don't want to wait that long, so we'll just keep checking.

However, we would like to stay in Airbnb or VRBO properties. We worry that the most desirable rentals will be gone if we wait too long. Unlike hotels, we likely won't be able to adjust the dates of our stay when we finalize our air travel.

So, how have you solved this conflict? Bonus question: What is a good time to book airline tickets to Europe for Christmas? (and does flying into Prague and out of Vienna make financial sense compared to taking a train back to Prague to fly out?)

Thanks!
posted by Don_K to Travel & Transportation (7 answers total)
 
Presumably, if you're traveling over Christmas, you are only flexible a few days in either direction on your flights. So you book your primary AirBNB for the core of those dates, and if your flights don't quite work out, plan to spend a night or two in a hotel on either end. Or if AirBnB is sufficiently cheaper than a hotel, you just book a couple of extra days of AirBnB on each end.
posted by jacquilynne at 3:09 PM on March 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


If you're traveling over Christmas, I imagine that you don't have super flexible days and in that case you should prioritize time over money.

As for flying into Prague and out of Vienna, it really depends on where you are flying to/from-- that is, if you're flying from a hub or not. I know when I've booked my flights to Vienna, it was disproportionately more expensive than flying into, say, Munich or several other European cities. For example, a ticket from MSP to VIE cost $1500, but MSP to CDG (Paris) cost $550. I haven't flown into/out of Prague, but since that is also a smaller airport, I imagine it would also be on the more expensive side.

I would play around with potential cities to fly into, while keeping in mind that flights within Europe can be really cheap-- on the order of $40-70. Trains within Europe aren't always cheaper than flights.

You can also look into using Hopper or Skyscanner, which alerts you if airfare prices drop on your watched trips.
posted by gemutlichkeit at 3:26 PM on March 27, 2017


There are not going to be highly discounted Christmas fares. It is almost always cheaper to buy a ticket to and from a single destination, too. (There are exceptions but they are rare.) Since you are going to be transiting in Amsterdam or London, I would book a round-trip LHR or AMS and then book connecting Ryanair or EasyJet flights - one to PRG and one from VIE.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:10 PM on March 27, 2017 [2 favorites]


I do what DarlingBri says and just book into wherever's cheap and either near-ish by or a good hub (for me this is often *not* Amsterdam or London, FWIW - I like to transit through Dublin, which of course has lots of Ryanair flights, and I'm going to give Düsseldorf a try on an upcoming trip to Vienna).

You could try just asking your AirBnB host if they would be willing to be flexible. And different AirBnB properties have different cancellation policies.
posted by mskyle at 6:15 PM on March 27, 2017


Unlike hotels, we likely won't be able to adjust the dates of our stay when we finalize our air travel.

This is not true. On Air BnB, don't book a place unless it lists a cancellation policy that's "flexible." That's their category for places that allow you to cancel with a full refund up until n days before your visit. There are tons of them. So feel free to book accommodation now, then book your flight later (though I question your premise about cheaper fares later for the peak holiday season), and modify your accommodation reservation if needed.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 12:31 PM on March 28, 2017


Response by poster: Thanks everyone! This really helps in our planning. I hadn't thought about finding a good price to another city, then using cheaper inter-Europe flights. Plus, now I won't be so scared about looking for lodging earlier.
posted by Don_K at 5:59 AM on March 29, 2017


Response by poster: Follow up: I had success in finding an inexpensive flight to/from Frankfurt and will plan from there. Thanks again for the advice.
posted by Don_K at 7:29 AM on April 10, 2017


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