Priced October 13, 2026
How do you avoid high hotel prices over winter break?
Avoid the New Year's Eve week and check every site: priced October 13, 2026 at the same hotels in 25 US cities, New Year's Eve ran a median 6.8% above mid January, Christmas week was not higher, and a site listed the Christmas stay 5% or more below the going rate at 192 of 223.
To check your own winter break stay today, Underbook's free hotel price checker shows the price each booking site lists on Google Hotels for that hotel and dates, and whether a lower listing names the same room, and it can email you if the going rate for that stay drops: https://underbook.co/hotel-price-checker.
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Priced October 13, 2026
Winter break against mid January, at the same hotels
On October 13, 2026 we priced the same 225 hotels in 25 large US travel markets (9 a city) three times, on every booking site Google Hotels listed: Christmas, New Year's Eve and a mid-January week with the New Year's Eve weekdays, 4 nights each, two adults, in US dollars, before taxes.
| Stay, 4 nights | Median rate a night | Against mid January | A site 5% or more lower | Typical gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas, December 23 to 27 | $148 | −3.9% (within chance) | 192 of 223 | $26 |
| New Year's Eve, December 29 to January 2 | $178 | +6.8% | 181 of 217 | $32 |
| Mid January, January 12 to 16 | $166 | the baseline | 169 of 213 | $29 |
- New Year's Eve: higher than mid January at 118 of 207 hotels and lower at 83, a median $10 a night more. Before pricing we set the bar for a clear difference; this one passed it.
- Christmas: lower than mid January at 119 of 211 hotels and higher at 88, a median $5 a night less; that difference did not pass the bar, so we read Christmas week as no dearer than mid January, not cheaper.
- A lower listing was common in all three weeks; for Christmas, Super.com had the lowest price most often (93 of 192).
So the dear part of winter break was the New Year's Eve week, not the whole season. And where a lower listing existed, its typical gap below the going rate ($26 a night for Christmas) was larger than the median New Year's Eve premium ($10 a night).
One day's prices, about ten weeks ahead; they will move. Median of the hotel-by-hotel change; the going rate is the price most sites agreed on. With 9 hotels a city, city figures are small samples. Method, city by city and the CSV: Christmas and New Year hotel prices, 2026.
What you can move, and what you cannot
The week. A stay outside the New Year's Eve week (December 29 to January 2, 2027 in our data) avoids the week that priced higher. Christmas week itself was not dearer than mid January at the median hotel we priced.
The site. At 86% of hotels some site listed the Christmas stay 5% or more below the going rate. 178 of those 192 lower listings named no room, so a lower price is a lead to check, not a booking to make blind.
The timing, partly. One day's prices cannot say whether they will rise or fall by December. Book a refundable rate you are happy with and let a price-drop alert watch it: do hotel price alerts work?
Five steps for a winter break hotel
- Price the nights you can move: the same hotel for a stay ending before New Year's Eve, and one including it.
- Check every booking site for your hotel and dates, not one.
- On a lower listing, match the room and the cancellation terms before you book.
- Book a refundable rate, note its free-cancellation deadline, and watch the price.
- Read the total with taxes and fees on the last screen; a resort fee may be extra.
Checking your own stay
Underbook is a free browser extension for Chrome, Edge and Firefox, and a free web price checker. For a hotel and dates it shows the price each booking site lists on Google Hotels, all-in where the sites report taxes and fees (a resort or destination fee may be extra), and says whether a lower listing names the same room or needs a check before you book. You always book on the site you choose. Its price-drop email checks the going rate once a day and writes when it drops at least 5% on two daily checks in a row.
Winter break hotel prices: common questions
How do you avoid high hotel prices over winter break?
Avoid the New Year's Eve week if you can and check every booking site. Priced on October 13, 2026 at the same hotels in 25 US cities, a New Year's Eve stay ran a median 6.8% above mid January while Christmas week was not higher, and a site listed the Christmas stay 5% or more below the going rate at 192 of 223 hotels.
Are hotels more expensive over New Year's Eve?
At the median hotel we priced, yes: 6.8% above a mid-January week with the same weekdays, higher at 118 of 207 hotels and lower at 83 (priced October 13, 2026).
Are hotels more expensive at Christmas?
Not at the median hotel we priced: the Christmas week going rate was a median 3.9% below mid January, a difference within chance, at 211 hotels in 25 US cities.
When should I book a hotel for winter break?
Our data is one day's prices, so it cannot say whether they will rise or fall. Booking a refundable rate now and watching the price lets you take a later drop without risking the room.
Is a lower holiday price on another site the same room?
Often the listing does not say: for Christmas, the lowest listing named no room at 178 of the 192 hotels where a site was 5% or more below the going rate. Check the room and the cancellation terms before you book.
Related answers
Real prices, hotel by hotel
Every site's price at 5,970 hotels in 368 cities
From our price snapshots of September 25, 2026, September 28, 2026, September 29, 2026, September 30, 2026, October 1, 2026, October 3, 2026 and October 10, 2026: each hotel's page lists every booking site Google Hotels showed, the going rate, and whether the lowest-priced listing named a room, with a button to check today's price for your own dates.
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