when do you book hotels and flights as conference organizer?

[rabbitandfox23]

Hi all, I'm following up on a previous thread I created about nudging potential speakers to a conference I'm organizing. Thanks for your helpful advice on that!

I had another question for those of you with more experience running conferences. My conference is about a year out. I have a full list of speakers confirmed as well as the funding for the event.

When do you book hotels and flights? As soon as possible? Or do you wait and see if prices fluctuate?

My impression is that prices for hotels are pretty standard and are preset according to seasons and major events, so I might as well book now.

But for flights, is there a chance that prices of plane tickets will fluctuate and could indeed go down a few months from now?  I just don't want to jump the gun and buy tickets that are currently priced high.

I would appreciate any advice on this!

[Parasaurolophus]

We book them years ahead of time for our association conferences. You have to, in order to negotiate better rates.

I'd recommend contacting the hotel ASAP and seeing whether you can negotiate rates for the period in question. If it's a small group, probably not.

[Morden]

Hi rabbitandfox23, I'm not sure I understand the question. Are you talking about pre-booking a block of hotel rooms for conference attendees (essentially guaranteeing a price, but individuals book from that block prior to a set date) or are you talking about booking (and paying for) rooms for your invited speakers? I think Parasaurolophus is talking about the former. For a smaller conference, we book a block of rooms probably around 2 years out and then link to the venue on our website to try to direct conference attendees there; just a word of caution, you want to make sure that you negotiate the contract carefully, so you (as the conference organizers) don't wind up having to pay for a bunch of empty rooms. That's why there'll often be a date after which conference pricing for rooms doesn't apply; the block of rooms is released so the hotel can book other people. If you're booking and paying for your invited speakers, there's no real reason to wait, and if there is a small group of them, you might be able to negotiate a bit on the rate--or if you can't get the rate changed, you might get something extra for them--like breakfast or parking or whatever.
As far as flights go, there seem to be sort of seasonal sales, but I really don't travel enough to pay attention to when they happen. In general, though, the closer in time, the more expensive the fare (barring last minute deals)--and you really don't want to gamble on scoring a last minute deal if only because the uncertainty will drive your invited guests crazy.