Everyone claims to have their own “hack” to find cheap flights and score deals, but not all of them are true (hello, book-only-on-Tuesdays). We asked our Chief Data Scientist and SVP of Technology, Matthias Keller to dispel some common travel myths. Here’s what he had to say.
1. Is booking on a Tuesday actually cheaper? Is there a day or time of the week that’s cheaper to book a flight?
Short answer: no. This is an outdated theory that stems from when airlines lowered prices to match competitors’ fare sales, which were typically announced on Monday nights. Today, everything is more automated, based on supply and demand. So don’t worry about the day of the week. Instead, track prices over time (set a Price Alert on KAYAK and we’ll do it for you) and when you see a great price, book it.
2. Is booking in the middle of the day cheaper? Or the middle of the night?
Prices can fluctuate – but there’s no evidence that a particular time of day influences it. Airlines, hotels and rental car companies always optimize for selling the most rooms/seats/cars at the best price, which means that prices will change throughout the day based on how quickly inventory is being sold.
3. Are flight prices cheaper when using a different device? (i.e. are there cheaper flight prices on mobile vs. desktop)?
Sometimes, a price can appear to change rapidly because the search is different, ie on different dates or when comparing rates for one traveler vs two. Even a slight difference in filtering can impact what you see on the results page.
There are some rates that can only be given to “closed user groups,” such as logged-in users (private rates), mobile users (mobile rates), loyalty program members, etc. This is most common with hotels on mobile devices. But fundamentally, desktop and mobile should match up.
4. Will clearing your search history/cookies get you a cheaper price? How about a different IP address or incognito mode?
Nope, nope and nope. Prices are set by complex algorithms, not by your search history or browser. And if you want to get technical, when users search on KAYAK, our partners only see the search coming from KAYAK itself, not from any specific individual. This means they are unaware of your device, search history, location or any other personal details. Similarly, incognito mode or switching your VPN won’t do anything for you (except maybe make things more difficult by not saving your preferences – like destination – for the next time you search).
5. What if I search for a flight multiple times, will the airline increase the price?
Again, no. Prices are set based on factors like how many people they think will travel and how quickly they want to fill their seats. But as high school economics taught us, prices will increase based on changes in supply – AKA the number of available seats sold. So if you leave and come back multiple times you may see differences – but it’s based on what other travelers are doing, not your search.
6. Is there really a sweet spot for booking?
It’s our duty to say to you: if you find a great deal at any point in the planning process, book it. Don’t wait for that elusive “sweet spot.” But if we had to give you a ballpark, our data shows that if you’re more than 6-months out from your trip, prices tend to increase significantly. So while we understand the urge to book early-on, we don’t recommend booking more than six months ahead. As you get closer to the date of departure, week to week price changes tend to be pretty nominal. To make you feel better, though, set a Price Alert. It’ll track flight prices for you and tell you when it’s the right time to book.
7. Will buying on Travel Tuesday get me cheaper prices?
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – there is no cheapest day of the year to book your travel, whether that be flights, hotels or rental cars. To prove it to you, we looked at historical data for October, November and December of 2023 as a sample set. It showed a day at the end of October as being the cheapest for domestic flights, but a day at the end of December for international. We saw even more inconsistent results for hotels and rental cars. Long story short, don’t rely on shopping holidays for a great deal. Set a Price Alert instead which will track prices for you and alert you to any drops. If you see a price you like, book it.
8. Does KAYAK add additional fees to the advertised travel prices?
No way. KAYAK is an aggregator (we call it metasearch) and doesn’t control or add to any of the prices you see in the search results. That’s all the airline, hotel, agency or travel site.
9. Are last minute deals always the best?
Depends what you’re booking. Listen, we’re not going to say you can’t find a deal closer to your travel dates, but we will say it’s risky business. If you’re into that, by all means give it a whirl – and you’re more likely to find last-minute hotel deals than flights or rental cars. That may be OK for a quick weekend trip, less okay for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation.
10. Is booking direct always cheaper?
This isn’t a yes or no question – more like sometimes. Sometimes you’ll score amazing prices by booking with an airline/hotel/rental car agency. Sometimes an online travel site has secured a super low price. This is exactly why KAYAK searches for both. Because we’re a search tool just for travel, we look across hundreds of sites to find all that we can to show you your options. We let you easily compare prices and choose where you book. So you can plan the best trip for you.
So there you have it. Booking travel can feel like an exact science – but that’s why KAYAK exists. To make it easier for travelers to know their options, weigh their choices and book where they want. It’s “search one and done” at its finest.
Methodology:
Best day to book: KAYAK considered historical day-of-week searches for the travel period between 1/1/2024 – 12/31/2024 for searches between 1/1/2024 and 12/31/2024 from a US origin to any destination. The best day to book was determined by looking at average round-trip, economy airfare by day of week.
Best time of day to book: KAYAK considered historical searches by hour of the day for the travel period between 1/1/2024 – 12/31/2024 for searches between 1/1/2024 and 12/31/2024 from a US origin to any destination. The best time to book was determined by looking at average round-trip, economy airfare by day of week.
Overall best time to book: KAYAK considered historical searches for the travel period between 10/1/2023 – 9/31/2024 for searches between 0 and 51 weeks before the travel date from a US origin to any destination. The best time to book was determined by looking at average round-trip, economy airfare for weeks out from travel.
Travel Tuesday: KAYAK considered daily historical searches for the travel period between 10/1/2023 – 12/31/2023 for searches between 6/1/2023 and 12/31/2023 from a US origin to any destination. The best time to book was determined by looking at average round-trip, economy airfare by day.