Skip to content
“Last minute” still conjures up certain almost romantic images in our minds: back in the 1990s, many travelers booked their holidays on a whim. Pack a suitcase, head to the airport, and grab what seemed like a mega bargain. Sometimes it was straight onto a plane and off to a dream beach. Airport travel agencies were experts at painting large cardboard signs with special and last-minute offers. Whether the savings were really that big was another matter, but the fact remained: the strategy worked for many years.
Over time, the market changed. Tour operators preferred to sell their capacity well in advance rather than waiting until the end of the season to see whether their buying strategy paid off and all allotments were sold. Gradually, “early bird” bookers were rewarded with discounts, and early booking became the big trend.
During the pandemic and the two years that followed, the early-booking phenomenon intensified for two reasons. First, airlines and tour operators sharply reduced available travel capacity, often due to political and legal requirements. This effect lingered even in the first post-pandemic years because, as is well known, it’s easier to cut back or stop something than to rebuild it.
These still-limited capacities met an extremely strong desire to travel. Camping in the Bavarian Forest, a farm stay in Lower Saxony, or a holiday apartment on the Baltic Sea? Those were acceptable alternatives for many during the pandemic, but not forever. As soon as COVID restrictions ended, vacationers once again flocked to neighboring countries, the Mediterranean, and far-flung destinations. Those who booked early were well advised. Last-minute deals? Practically nonexistent, since people booked early both to have a trip to look forward to and to secure what limited options remained.
Eventually, this first wave of travel fever subsided and capacity at airlines, hotels, and tour operators ramped back up. We are now slowly returning to normal levels—both in terms of available capacity and travel demand.
So has the last-minute trend returned? Yes and no—it depends on who’s traveling. Families locked into school-holiday schedules still rely on early-bird discounts to keep summer vacations affordable. Financial worries in politically and economically uncertain times also discourage spontaneous travel. [1] Singles and couples, on the other hand, value flexibility and freedom of choice and hope for short-notice bargains. Only about 15 % of these groups book far in advance, while around 30 % travel last minute. Short trips are especially popular: 45 % of last-minute customers book vacations of no more than seven days.[2]
But are last-minute bargains really back, or is it just smoke and mirrors? That depends on whom you ask. Tour operators report that new bookings slowed after the early-bird phase ended, but have surged since the start of the summer 2025 last-minute period thanks to discounts of up to 40 %. Destinations around the Mediterranean are in high demand. Turkey in particular saw high starting prices that barely budged for a long time; only now, in the last-minute phase, are many hoteliers using discounts to fill empty beds.[3]
Travel agencies, however, say many last-minute promotions are little more than marketing tactics with no real benefit to customers. They describe prices during this phase as “rock bottom” only in marketing terms. Perceptions vary widely.
So what’s the truth? Online platform HolidayCheck conducted an exclusive analysis comparing this year’s last-minute prices to last year’s, focusing on trips for a family of four in April, May, and June to popular destinations such as Hurghada, Crete, Mallorca, and the Turkish Riviera. The data showed that in both years summer holiday prices fell during that time frame. All four destinations offered savings, with the deepest discounts on the Turkish Riviera—aligning with tour operators’ statements.
One key insight: there is no fixed start for the last-minute phase. Everything depends on how much has been sold beforehand. Hotels in the higher-end 4- and 5-star segment are often well booked anyway and rarely available as last-minute bargains.[4]
The face of last-minute travel has therefore changed. The super-spontaneous travelers who once booked surprise trips at the airport and jetted off immediately are gone. Last minute is no longer a bargain-bin affair; despite some negotiations, prices remain higher than in the past. Today, the focus is on the luxury of flexibility and freedom when booking.[5]
KLEBER GROUP Insights
At KLEBER GROUP, we support our clients throughout all marketing and booking phases of the travel year. This includes inspiring destination features in key travel and trade media, in both digital and print formats, to raise awareness for a destination. We also collaborate with leading tour operators to drive sales during peak booking periods. We know which distribution partners suit our clients and always develop tailored marketing plans to reach each client’s specific goal.
For example, with Taiwan we pursued both strategies: we ran a long-term campaign with one tour operator aimed at early bookers and later worked with other operators to target spontaneous travelers. In the end, we were able to significantly increase visitor numbers across all target groups.
Sources:
[1] https://www.fvw.de/touristik/vertrieb/kurzfristgeschaeft-kommt-der-last-minute-boom-das-sagen-die-reisebueros-252727
[2] https://www.fvw.de/touristik/vertrieb/exklusiver-preis-check-fuer-tuerkei-und-co-lohnt-sich-last-minute-das-sagen-holidaycheck–tda-254048
[3] https://www.fvw.de/touristik/veranstalter/diskussion-auf-fvw.de-last-minute-verkauf-nimmt-jetzt-kraeftig-fahrt-auf-253688
[4] https://www.fvw.de/touristik/vertrieb/exklusiver-preis-check-fuer-tuerkei-und-co-lohnt-sich-last-minute-das-sagen-holidaycheck–tda-254048
[5] https://www.fvw.de/touristik/veranstalter/billig-war-gestern-so-hat-sich-das-last-minute-geschaeft-gewandelt-254585
Picture rights: © iStock GoodLifeStudio