Unlocking Travel Secrets: Rick Steves Reveals the Best Time to Book Your European Hotel!

When it comes to travel, planning where to stay is like trying to decipher a complicated love letter; fraught with urgency yet laden with ambiguity. You have to consider *everything*—location, cost, amenities—and don’t even get me started on review websites that are about as reliable as a date who forgets your birthday. Ah, the joy of modern travel!

Most people are inclined to focus on flights, booking them with all the fervor of a teenager buying concert tickets. But **hotels**? That’s often an afterthought, a mere footnote in the grand travel narrative. But dear reader, let me assure you, the same diligence you put into those flight searches should extend to your hotel reservations, especially in the bustling heart of Europe where millions flock each year like geese to water.

Once upon a time, our friend Rick Steves—who, by the way, has turned travel into an art form—would cavalierly fly by the seat of his pants, reveling in the unpredictable charm of last-minute bookings. But not anymore. There’s just too much competition in the tourism industry. Now, he suggests we channel our inner travel gurus and book those rooms as soon as we have a semblance of a plan. “If flexibility isn’t a concern,” he says with the wisdom of someone who’s been burned by no vacancies, “book your rooms as soon as your itinerary is set.”

Ah, yes, but what about the type of hotel? Steves has a penchant for what he calls “characteristic, family-run hotels in the heart of a town.” You won’t find him in a sanitized chain hotel that could be in any city, anywhere. No, he yearns for a touch of authenticity—a little quirkiness that speaks volumes about the local culture, as opposed to a sterile Best Western where the décor is an affront to creativity.

If you’re planning a trip to France for Bastille Day or to listen to the mellifluous sounds of a major music festival, take heed! Hotel availability will vanish faster than a romantic interest during a first awkward date. In popular cities like London, Paris, Madrid, and Venice, it’s a smart strategy to book well in advance, all year round, because when the tourists roll in, it can feel a lot like trying to find a peaceful spot in a New York café during brunch hour.