The best time to book a holiday home when travelling in peak season

Booking ahead of key dates will ensure holidaymakers have as much choice as possible

Finding the perfect holiday home can be a challenge in the school holidays (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

As rental home bookings are ramping up for the Easter break, bank holidays and summer trips, booking platform Vrbo has revealed the best times to book if you’re holidaying in peak season.

The online holiday rental marketplace has identified certain dates – ahead of popular holiday periods – where demand surges or falls, giving an indicator as to the best times to book if customers want as much choice as possible.

For the upcoming Easter holidays, unfortunately the period has passed, with Vrbo recommending that holidaymakers book by 13 February. However, customers planning a trip during the May bank holiday are in luck, with bookings advised by the 29 March for the 6 May holiday and 8 April for the 27 May.

For the summer holidays, the best selection of accommodation – whether it be cottages, villas or self-catered beach houses – should be available before 8 June. Any well-organised customers should book a holiday rental for the October half-term by no later than 26 August, and those looking to go away during Christmas 2024 should aim to have organised the trip by 11 November.

As well as dates to book by in order to have a wider selection, Vrbo gave tips on using rental platforms to get the best results when booking a holiday rental.

It advises to consider alternative, more ‘off-the-beaten-track’ destinations, which often have availability for longer and closer to the date of travel, and to take advantage of flexible cancellation policies, some of which will allow bookings to be amended or cancelled up to 14 days before arrival. More obviously, be prepared to use advanced search to find the best property, filtering through results based on price, features, amenities and factors such as location.

A spokesperson for Vrbo said: “We’ve all experienced the disappointment of finding the perfect home for your trip with family or friends, only to find it fully booked for the dates you need to travel.

“To avoid this, we recommend travellers add Vrbo’s book-by dates to 2024 diaries to make sure they get the best holiday home for their trips this year.”

The key dates for booking holiday homes:

• Easter holiday: Book no later than 13 February
• Early May Bank Holiday: Book no later than 29 March
• End of May bank holiday: Book no later than 8 April
• Summer holidays: Book no later than 8 June
• Autumn half-term holidays: Book no later than 26 August
• Christmas holidays: Book no later than 11 November