Travel

Vegas Q&A: Should I Book Now For New Year's?

Question: We are planning to be in Vegas for New Year's and have been checking room rates, but it seems all the hotels are awfully expensive for that time of year. Is it better to wait for last-minute cancellations?

Danny in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Answer: Figuring out when to book hotel rooms for New Year's Eve is a complicated and frustrating game, Danny. For the last several years, I've been doing a special series in my column tracking room rates at Vegas hotels for New Year's Eve (I usually start in September). What that entails is calling virtually every major Vegas hotel every few weeks and tracking the numbers as we get closer to New Year's.

What usually happens is the rooms are very expensive when I first start checking in September, the prices drop a bit into October and November, then shoot back up as we get to late November and December. They'll often crash to the floor in the days just before New Year's Eve as the hotels scramble to fill up the last few rooms they may have.

The problem is there is no guarantee the hotels will have rooms. Many sell out early, so you could get stuck without one.

What I usually counsel people to do is wait until October or early November and then make their reservations, as long as they have a 48- or 72-hour cancellation option. Then, keep checking rates at the various hotels -- if you find one that you like better, cancel the other reservation and continue playing the game as long as you can without driving yourself insane.

Watch for the annual New Year's Eve room rate report, starting in September 2004.

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