Flight or accomodations first

[gandalf252002 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gandalf252002]

I have been thinking about this a lot lately and wonder how others go about planning their vacations? Is it better for me to pick a place / time I want to go and then try to find my flights? The other side would be is it better to book flights to a general destination you want to go to and then find accommodations. This is of course considering both perspectives of availability and cost of course!

How does everyone else do it?

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

For timeshare, I always do lodging first

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

For timeshare, I always do lodging first

Me too.

There have been a couple of times we've have to set our vacation time and I've done flights first. This is when I've had an ongoing request in for a second week to match up with a week we already had. I'd usually have a back up plan (hotel reservation) that could be cancelled when the timeshare trade came through.

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

It depends. For timeshare, I usually worry about lodging first. There are exceptions in places were I expect to be able to snag last-minute matches (e.g. Orlando). Like Luanne, I always have a back-up when I do this.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

Unless it is an overbuilt area with lots of availibility, I always to lodging first if it is a timeshare trip. Since you need to go after ff seats at 11 months out, this means securing timeshare confirmations earlier than that. Of course now that I live in Europe and have access to lots of LCC's that are better value than using miles for an intra-Europe flight, I have more flexibility on timing. For non-timeshare trips, I scout the general hotel availibility before booking the air ticket, so I don't run into some local event that zaps most rooms and drives up prices.

[Dori Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dori]

If possible, and the timeframe works out, I will put a unit on hold and then check for airfare prices and availability. then I will go back and confirm the unit. If the timeframe is too far out, I will book the unit first and then wait for airfare to come available. I already have a week booked at the Houses of Summer Bay for next February. I am now waiting for Southwest to open up flights for that timeframe.

Dori

[HassieRiver Member Find all posts View Profile Close HassieRiver]

Flight or accomodations first.

We normally do what DORI suggested as we use our airmile credits. This year we booked our Marriott's Kauai Beach Club and Mountain Valley Lodge as soon as we could on February 27 for March 17-24, 2012. We had to wait to book our airlines until April 29 as can only book 330 days out. We got our airline reservations on April 29 and both the miles required and the prices have gone up.

Don A. in Auburn, CA

[gandalf252002 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gandalf252002]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. As I have yet to do a lot of flying, FF do not really apply for me. However I do like the strategy of booking flights when they are cheap in areas with high availability. There have been a lot of Spain hotweeks so thinking of booking flights for next in hopes of getting last minute availability.

[vishnu as Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close vishnu as]

its always better to find the right resort and then look for the flight.

[Jeanne Sz Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jeanne Sz]

When I see a TS deal I'm interested in, I do a quick flight search to get an idea of schedule and cost. But I've always booked the accomodations first.

[kenvinlee89 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kenvinlee89]

Unless it is an overbuilt area with lots of availibility, I always to lodging first if it is a timeshare trip. Since you need to go after ff seats at 11 months out, this means securing timeshare confirmations earlier than that. Of course now that I live in Europe and have access to lots of LCC's that are better value than using miles for an intra-Europe flight, I have more flexibility on timing. For non-timeshare trips, I scout the general hotel availibility before booking the air ticket, so I don't run into some local event that zaps most rooms and drives up prices.

Thank you, this is good news for new visitors.


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[jlwquilter Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jlwquilter]

I do the timeshare piece first also. If I am worried about being able to swing the airfare cost, I can buy the exchange insurance and cancel out if needed for a 'reasonable cost'. Canceling out airfares if I don't get the desired exchange is nearly impossible these days. We usually are going in prime season and of course looking for the best resorts - so unit supply is low. There are many more ways to get to the timeshare however - different carriers, different routes, different times, and just simply paying a bit more than desired and fly a day earlier or on a higher priced flight. Not nearly so many option for the timeshare piece.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

On our last trip to Cancun, I booked the air for a 3 week trip when I only had 2 weeks confirmed. It was a nail biter getting the 3rd week, but I found a rental just a couple of weeks before the trip. I was a rather cranky guy that last month and I don't know if I would book air without having the lodging first again.

[kathywordolf Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kathywordolf]

When I am planning a journey, I always spot my accommodations first. I think we should find out what kinds of places we are going to visit first before we book any flights. Before we flight to a travel place, we are suggested to find something about this place and know about the attractions and accommodations here. If we do not book our accommodations in advance, we may be able to not find suitable accommodations if there are many travelers.


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[Larry Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Larry]

When I see a TS deal I'm interested in, I do a quick flight search to get an idea of schedule and cost. But I've always booked the accomodations first.

Exactly what I do!!!!!