Fresh off my first trip....Booking my second..

[rebel1130]

So I went to vegas for the first time in late June...Stayed at the palms...and it was the best 5 days of my life (other than going with a 3k budget and spending 10k)...Everything that could have went right/worked did ($20 sandwich,girls,clubs,hosts,etc.)

I would like to book another trip for this upcoming May or June....I booked my last one early...Late Jan and used Expedia for a package...and here lies my question.

I was looking at booking a trip for June 2012 in January 2012 and saw some amazing prices (I didn't know just how amazing they were until it was too late) If I remember correctly it was 4 nights 2 rooms 4 people airfare and hotel at the palms for around $395/$415 a person....I waited a week and it was $475...Waited another few days and ended up booking it at $530 per person for everything flying from Boston to Vegas. When should I be looking to get the best deals for a very early summer trip? I looked today and the Palms prices for those May/June weeks are already in the high 5's low 6's. Can I do better than these prices if I book airfare and hotel separately? I want to stay at the Palms or a place very similar (4 guys mid-late 20's)

[Chuck]

April and May there are usually good deals to be had...and more importantly...you can join the invasions!

[rebel1130]

Probably best for me to wait it out until Jan/Feb and watch those expedia deals like a hawk...It was a disaster of a plane ride both ways with United but for the money hard to beat.

[JCase]

Those package deals aren't that great. You also have more flexibility if you book them seperately and through the direct companies. I work at an airport hotel and I'll tell you right now, United has TONS of problems so try to avoid them.

Are you looking to stay at the Palms again?

[bobu]

A lot of the times, palms has groupons and travelzoo vouchers that end up being cheaper than booking regularly, so you might want to check that out as well.

[kman90]

Those package deals aren't that great. You also have more flexibility if you book them seperately and through the direct companies. I work at an airport hotel and I'll tell you right now, United has TONS of problems so try to avoid them.

Are you looking to stay at the Palms again?

Ditto...I completely agree...never can understand why peeps think that deals like Southwest Vacations, etc are "deals" they charge so much more than when booking your flight and hotel in 2 transactions....do the work, save the $$$.

[44inarow]

The packages can occasionally be an okay deal if it's just one person. But when you start getting into multiple people you almost always lose the savings, in no small part because Vegas hotels charge by the room, not by the person.

While I'd wait to book a flight, I'd book your hotel ASAP as long as it's refundable (and it pretty much always is, with a few exceptions like the Venetian/Palazzo discount rates and the occasional prepay discounts at other properties). That locks in the current price as the maximum; if it goes up, it doesn't matter, and if it goes down, you can very easily just call and have them adjust you to the lower rate. I'd also sign up for whatever guestbooks, mailing lists, players clubs, or anything else you can find, because they often send out fairly decent deals to those lists regardless of your relationship with the property.

[BlusterBluth]

Book straight through the hotel. Better chance at upgrades using the $20 trick. And less chance something gets screwed up with your reservation.