Hotel booking, advance or waiting until you arrive?

looking at going to veagas at the end of may, my cousin who lives in america always goes to the hotels and gets a room at a very good rate when just turning up on the day.

is it wise to do this when travelling from the uk? although the prices are pretty good at most hotels, it owuld be pretty good to save a bit of money, especially as there are so many hotels. so are the rates likely to be a lot cheaper? im guessing they never really are fully booked? some advice would be great, cheers

Hotel booking, advance or waiting until you arrive?

Book now.

If you think you might get a better rate upon arrival, that great, but have a booking as backup.

Hotel booking, advance or waiting until you arrive?

In general, showing up without a reservation is a bad idea. Usually best to go ahead and book now. If you go through the hotel, it%26#39;s usually fully refundable with 48/72 hours notice.

Showing up at a destination without a reservation may be a good idea in a lot of places but Vegas isn%26#39;t one of them. NEVER arrive in LV without a hotel booked - it%26#39;s a potential recipe for complete disaster as you could end up paying rack rates even if there are lots of available rooms and being seriously out of pocket.

Lots of great deals around right now. Take advantage of them and make a reservation.

book now with the hotels, i book mine last week for aug you can get some good rates good luck and enjoy

Yes, do book now. Showing up to Vegas without a reservation to a hotel is like showing up to an Iron Maiden concert without enthusiasm. Bad idea.

thanks all, just found some great offers through smartervegas! and i remember when i went years ago we had to state where we were staying upon arrival so wouldnt want to complicate things. cant wait to go again

Book directly with the hotel now and if the rates go down you can contact the hotel and they will give you the lower rate. Make sure you have a reservation you can cancel and keep looking. If you find something better- you can make the new reservation at the new hotel and cancel the old one- within the cancellation period.

I can%26#39;t imagine anything worse than arriving in Vegas with no reservation.

Not a good idea, especially if you%26#39;re coming from the UK. Vegas, in regular times, not these depressed times, has a hotel occupancy rate in the low 90%%26#39;s. That%26#39;s the year-round average, not just a big weekend with a big fight and a big convention going on. Book something in advance now at a rate you%26#39;re comfortable with.

I got caught in trying to find a room on a Saturday night as we came in a day early. We were calling every hotel while driving into town and every place was either booked solid or the rates were insane. Circus Circus was quoting $129.99 a night!!! And in retrospect, we should have jumped on that rate. They ended up selling out that night and we were forced to pull an all-nighter. Doesn%26#39;t seem so bad at midnight but at 4am when you start to crash, you%26#39;re just dying for a shower and a bed. We slept in the car at the Mirage%26#39;s parkade (where we had reservations the next night). I remember taking a break at 5am in the Mirage%26#39;s sportsbook. The security guard came by and said we can sit there as long as our eyes were open! He wasn%26#39;t trying to be a prick, he knew the deal and has seen it all before but he was just quoting us the rules.

There%26#39;s tons of deals on right now. Book in advance.