When to book....help!

[bmadzia1]

I work in the travel business (no leisure or weddings etc) and I book a lot of groups.  The standard for airlines is to have their flight/prices out about 11 months out; however, this also varies by airlines.  The only thing is that they have lots of time to change the flight dates (if they don't fly everyday).  I think your TA is full of .... ask another TA.  When you go online search engine and the dates show up, that means it's out there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPenny 

Hello ladies, I am planning my wedding at Dreams Palm Beach for March 30 2012. Just requested my date today! Anyways I am wondering for those who are having a 2012 wedding when are your guests booking? Or for those whose wedding is coming up in 2011 when did your guests book?

 

My TA told me that flight schedules aren't available until September 2011 or possibly as late as December 2011. That seems crazy to me that we wouldn't be able to book until December 2011, thats only 3 months till the wedding.

 

So if you could tell me your experience or what you did I would be so grateful!!

 

[Dominican Ally]

I'm struggling with this issue right now for my March/April 2013 wedding. I'm anxious to pick a resort and get a date booked, but don't want to book a wedding date with a resort until I've seen their pricing - frustrating! lol

[Realcdngirl]

We've booked our resort already but haven't booked our flight yet. The prices are still high for our late June flight. Wondering if anyone knows when the prices will go down.

[NewBride30]

Dominican Ally, have you booked yet? I am from Canada as well and just getting quotes..they are REALLY high and I am wondering if I should wait a few months.

 

 

[JayKay]

I know for our wedding we booked as soon as we possibly could.  We didn't want to risk the resort being full or no flights available.  That being said I was just anxious to book it as it was for the wedding.  We booked in April 2011 for our January 2012 wedding and at that time the pricing had just come out.  We booked right away to make sure we could have confirmation so we could go ahead with the wedding planning.  Looking back I wish we would have waited.  The prices dropped substantially the beginning of June so I contacted our TA who was able to negotiate with Transat to get us the lower price.  That being said the prices dropped in August as well, but we were not able to take advantage of that even better price.  Our Travel Agent said she normally would recommend waiting until about 6 months before to book, but she said with a wedding, especially a large group, its often good to book as soon as possible to make sure there is enough room/space/flights ect.  I guess its just personal preference.

[Dominican Ally]

I booked shortly after my post - and I actually feel like I got pretty good pricing. We are doing Ocean Blue - Punta Cana April 2013 and our pricing out of Ottawa/Toronto pp for 7 nights is 1350 including taxes....

 

We used a travel agent, and she ended up booking us with Transat - they will hold 30 spaces for 90 days with no deposit other than the bride and grooms (200 each)......We needed 50 spaces, so I reserved 10 extras and 10 people booked right away and I will get refunded once the next 10 book, or when the 90 days is up.

 

They also offer a one time price drop assurance......

 

What sort of pricing are you getting right now?

Originally Posted by NewBride30 

Dominican Ally, have you booked yet? I am from Canada as well and just getting quotes..they are REALLY high and I am wondering if I should wait a few months.

 

 

 

 

[NewBride30]

I have looked at quite a number of resorts in Punta Cana and Mayan Riviera and they are all coming back at 1630-1650 which I know they can be lower! My travel agent has asked all carriers as well. I would look into the Ocean Sand and Blue but we actually just came back from a wedding there in January.

 

I wonder how your agent rec'd such a good price!?

[KayCee2117]

We got married in January 2012. Our TA got us a group rate around April 2011 and most family booked right away.We reserved 32 seats (16 double occupancy rooms) and the rate was held for 90 days. Some friends waited a bit before booking to see if the price was lower elsewhere but it wasn't so they ended up booking with our rate at the end of July. Others waited until about October to book and ended up paying a little bit more. By late November, the prices skyrocketed and the Jr Suite type rooms were sold out. I would suggest holding your seats as soon as possible after you secure your wedding date with your desired resort. Happy planning

[Dominican Ally]

NewBride30: What time of year are you getting quotes for?

I have recently heard of many brides getting 1600+ quotes for Ocean Blue right now for 2013....hopefully they go down soon!

At the time I got pricing - 2013 prices actually weren't out yet. I had several travel agents telling me I HAD to wait....but then the one I ended up going with explained that it was actually sometimes better to get pricing and book before the 2013 rates came out (I got quoted in late Jan and early Feb for April 2013)....as the pricing is most often lower. She explained that when the 2013 pricing first comes out it would tend to be higher...and may or may not go down later on...

 

As far as I know she just got the quote straight from Transat...because at the time they were the only supplier giving pricing, and it sounded good enough to me that we booked.

 

Hope that it all works out for you!

Originally Posted by NewBride30 

I have looked at quite a number of resorts in Punta Cana and Mayan Riviera and they are all coming back at 1630-1650 which I know they can be lower! My travel agent has asked all carriers as well. I would look into the Ocean Sand and Blue but we actually just came back from a wedding there in January.

 

I wonder how your agent rec'd such a good price!?