Have you ever heard of the Goldilocks Window? It is a term that was coined by Scott Keyes, the founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights, now known as Going.com. Scott explained that the Goldilocks Window is the best time to book your flight to get the best deal.
Ever since learning about this time frame for getting a deal, I use it every time I am looking for flights. In addition, I went one step further and researched when would be the best time to book rental cars and hotels too. Turns out, there’s a “Goldilocks Window” for those as well.
In this post, I will explain when it is the best time is to book flights, rental cars, and hotels. Don’t miss out on this valuable information that will save you money when making reservations for your vacation.
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Why Is There A Goldilocks Window?
Before we jump into the why, let me explain what the Goldilocks Window is. The Goldilocks Window is the time frame where prices for flights are cheapest to buy. The basic way to think of it is that for flights, you shouldn’t book too early, but also not too late.
According to Going.com, the Goldilocks Window happens for two reasons. When airlines first release flights, the first group of people purchasing tickets are travelers that have set plans like an event or conference. This group that buys early will secure their spot and pay a little extra for their flight. Flights are elevated at the beginning.
On the flip side, the travelers looking for last minute flights usually are business travelers or those having an emergency. They will also book at a higher price point, so airlines will raise the flight prices closer to the departure date.
This creates a window of time called the Goldilocks Window, where the airlines drop their prices to encourage more flexible travelers to purchase a ticket.
When Is The Goldilocks Window?
Using the data that Going.com collected, the window of opportunity for the best prices on flights tend to be 1 to 3 months in advance for domestic flights and 2-8 months for international flights.
Keep in mind that when booking flights for peak seasons you should adjust the window slightly. During Christmas or the summer, for example, you should search for cheaper flights between 3-7 months for domestic and 4-10 months for international flights.
How I Use The Goldilocks Window To Book The Best Ticket Price
I can hear the frustration from the folks that want the window to be smaller. I would like that too! Unfortunately, there is not a magic day, or special day of the week that prices are lower.
I understand that having a window of 4-6 months is a long time. It feels like it isn’t really narrowing it down, but it does help in the planning process. Here’s how I use this information.
Step 1 – Plan Your Trip In Advance
First, you will have to plan your vacations in advance to take advantage of the Goldilocks Window. If you are a last minute planner, that’s fine, but prices might be a little higher for you.
If you are looking to save some money though, start planning about 6 months ahead of time if not more. We currently know which trips we are taking for the first half of the year already. It’s currently January. Our next unplanned vacation is slated for October.
For my examples, I will use the October trip to show you exactly what I would do to get the best flight deals.
We haven’t decided where we would like to go in October but have very specific dates because our boys will be on school vacation at that time.
I have a few destinations in mind, but want to keep my options open. This will ultimately save me money in the end. Keep reading to see why.
Step 2 – Set Up Price Alerts
Now that you know when and where you are going (or like in my case, just when), the next step is to set up price alerts at the beginning of the Goldilocks Window.
NOTE: Just because the window starts 10 months in advance for Christmas season travel, doesn’t mean the best price will be on February 23rd.
The price alerts will monitor the price of the plane tickets.
In order to set up an alert, you will need to choose your favorite flight search engine. I use a few different ones, but recently have been using Momondo or Kayak.com. I have been finding the cheapest flights on them.
Put in your home airport, destination and dates. If your dates are flexible, I would choose your preferred dates, and then where you have flexibility change it to +/- 3 days. This way it will adjust your search for dates that give you cheaper prices. The photo below shows you how to adjust the dates for where you have flexiblity.
For my October trip, we don’t have any flexibility on dates, but we do have options for destinations. In this case, I put in the exact dates I want to travel and then in the destination box, write “anywhere.”
After hitting search, you will get a list of the destinations. They are organized from cheapest to most expensive. Go through the list and pick a few that look interesting to you.
One of the destinations that is interesting to me on this list is Dublin. After clicking on the destination in Momondo, you can view more information about it like top reasons to visit Dublin and how to get around before looking at flights.
Next step is to click view flights. You will see the list of current flights and prices. This is also where you can set up your price alert to track prices.
In Momondo, there is a small banner on the bottom right-hand corner. There is also a spot at the top of the flight list to activate automatic alerts. Enter your email and that’s it! You will get an email whenever the price drops.
Step 3 – Do Your Research To Know When To Buy
When you get a price that looks great, that’s when you buy. BUT how do you know it is a good price?
Normally, I’m not a big fan of Google Flights. Many times, I’ll see a great flight deal, click on it and then it will say it isn’t available anymore or the price has gone up. This has happened so many times, I stopped using the search engine. One thing it does well, though, is to tell you if the price is low, typical or high.
Go to Google Flights and put in the destination and dates for your flight. Knowing what a low price is for your destination is key to buying your ticket at the right price.
For my October flight example, I searched Dublin for the dates of the trip. Here is what it says:
Dublin is like a domestic flight from Amsterdam and the best time for me to buy would be 1-3 months in advance when it is the cheapest. Now I can add a reminder in my calendar to search for flights on June 23rd and set up a price alert!
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When Is The Goldilocks Window To Book A Rental Car?
The window for the best time to book a rental car is different from a flight. According to Nerd Wallet, the cheapest time to book a rental car is up to seven days before your trip, but it is risky. Depending on the location, cars could run out.
I would be far too worried to book last minute for a rental car, but there are ways to utilize this information.
How To Use This Information To Get The Cheapest Rental Car Rate?
What I would recommend is to search for the best rental car rate using Skyscanner or even Booking.com. I am not an affiliate for Skyscanner, just love it for rental cars! I have found that they give me the best options.
We also use Booking.com. Since we are a part of the rewards program, we can find good deals on cars here too!
You can search for a rental car at any time to make this work for you. The most important step is to book a rental car with a cancellation policy that will allow you to cancel right before your departure.
This way you have your car reserved and won’t miss out if cars sell out. However, if you find a better deal, you are able to book the new car with a lower rate and cancel the old reservation. This travel hack will save you money!
I would recommend checking the prices for rental cars daily starting a couple of weeks before your trip.
When Is The Best Time To Book A Hotel?
According to the research collected in a 2023 study by Skyscanner, to save money on a hotel, the best time to book is within a week of travel. The second cheapest is 1-2 weeks in advance.
Best times to avoid booking a hotel are 3-4 weeks out for domestic travel in the United States, as it is one of the most expensive time. For international travel 8 and 19 weeks out show the highest prices.
Honestly I can’t wait until right before a trip to book a hotel. When I was younger, waiting to book a hotel would be fine, but now with children and my desire for higher quality hotels, I don’t like to wait.
There also seem to be fewer accommodations that are set up well for our family of four here in Europe. I ultimately have decided to spend more on hotels so I can be sure I get what I want. It is one area of travel that I don’t mind splurging on for a little peace of mind.
You could, however, follow the same travel hack that we used for rental cars in this situation if you really wanted to save the money!
Now that you know about the Goldilocks Window, start by setting up those price alerts and thank me later!
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