Travelers planning business trips or family vacations should pay close attention to the calendar. Engine, a data platform used by corporations for work‑travel bookings, examined 128.5 million hotel searches across 50 U.S. markets from May 2024 through April 2026. The study reveals that in ten cities, the month you travel can affect the nightly rate by as much as 64 percent.
Big swings in the Northeast
Boston tops the list with the widest price swing. In October, rates climb to $458 per night, driven by leaf‑season tourism and overlapping conferences. By contrast, January rates drop to $166, a 64 percent difference. New York follows a similar pattern, with its cheapest month, January, at $196 and its peak in December at $541 – the highest city‑month price in the data set.
Jack Swiatoschik, a data analyst at Engine, explained, “In Boston and New York, the event calendar stacks on top of the weather, creating sharp peaks.” He notes that New York’s December surge reflects holiday tourism, while September is already busy due to the UN General Assembly and Fashion Week.
Sun‑belt markets with summer savings
In the Southwest, Phoenix shows a dramatic seasonal dip. February and March rates sit at $246, boosted by Cactus League spring training. By August, when temperatures soar to 110 °F, the median nightly rate falls to $96 – a 61 percent reduction and the cheapest month among the large markets studied.
Chicago runs the opposite direction. Its low‑season rate in January is $127, but June jumps to $319 as good weather and the convention season at McCormick Place converge.
Weather‑driven markets
Other cities on the top‑ten list follow weather patterns more closely than event calendars. Palm Springs drops from $369 in March to $158 in August, while Seattle moves from $139 in January to $297 in July. Norfolk, Virginia, sees its summer rates double those of winter, ranging from $96 to $216. Miami’s peak comes in February at $267, when snowbirds arrive, and its lowest point is $128 in September.
Event‑centric spikes
Mid‑west markets Omaha, Nebraska, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, experience sharp price spikes tied to major events. Omaha’s rates sit between $95 and $126 for most of the year, but June jumps to $182 for the College World Series. Milwaukee’s June and July rates rise to $163 and $194 respectively, aligning with the city’s Summerfest music festival. Outside those months, both cities remain affordable.
Flat‑rate markets
Some large markets show little seasonal variation. Los Angeles, Dallas, and El Paso move only 13 percent, 19 percent, and 10 percent respectively over the year, reflecting steady business demand and consistent weather. Honolulu’s rates swing just 23 percent, but its lowest month is $169 – the third‑highest low in the data set – due to limited room supply.
Practical takeaways for travelers
Forty of the fifty markets studied are cheapest between November and February, while the remaining ten, largely in the Sun Belt, are most affordable in the summer. For the ten cities with the greatest price swings, selecting the optimal month can save 40 percent to 64 percent compared with the most expensive month, without needing promo codes or negotiations.
Engine’s methodology used median nightly rates from business‑account searches made 10 to 180 days before check‑in. Prices reflect public shelf rates, not negotiated corporate discounts, which are typically lower.
Travelers looking to stretch their budgets should first identify whether their destination is a “seasonal” market with large swings or a “flat” market with steady rates. In the former case, timing can be the single most effective cost‑saving strategy.
Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.
