Black Friday holiday deals: should you wait or book now?

What Which? found about Black Friday holiday prices

The consumer group Which? recorded the prices of 140 holidays and flights in the Black Friday sales of 2023. In its article of 29 November 2024 it reported that 73% of them were cheaper than they were two weeks later or in January. The same article also covered discounts that depended on signing up for a free account or entering a promo code.

That is one check, on a modest number of holidays, in one year. It does not tell you what will happen on 27 November 2026. Read it as a sign that Black Friday sales can be real, not as a promise that they will beat every other week.

Why waiting for Black Friday is still a gamble

• The holiday you want may sell out, or the cheapest room type or flight may go, before the sale starts.
• The sale may not cover your dates, airport or board basis.
• The price can already be lower, or rise, in the weeks before Black Friday.
• Some of the saving may need an account or a promo code, so the price you see before that is not the price you would pay.

There is a wider point in do holiday prices go down?: prices move in both directions, and a drop can reverse.

How to use a price alert around Black Friday

1. Pick the exact holiday you want, with dates, party, airport and board basis fixed.
2. Start a tracker now, with an "any change" alert, so you see how the price behaves before the sale.
3. Decide the price you would be happy to pay and switch to a "below" alert at that figure.
4. When the alert arrives, check the price and availability on the provider's own site, and book if it suits you.

Tracking from now gives you a before and after for your own holiday, which is more useful than a general headline. Start a tracker or read how to track a holiday price.

What a tracker can and cannot see

We read the price shown for your holiday on the provider's site. A discount that only applies when you sign in or enter a code at checkout may not show up in that price. Treat an alert as a prompt to go and check, and look for any account or code offer before you pay.

Common questions

• When is Black Friday in 2026?

  Black Friday is on 27 November 2026, followed by Cyber Monday on 30 November.

• Are Black Friday holiday deals really cheaper?

  Sometimes. Which? found that 73% of the 140 holidays and flights it recorded on Black Friday 2023 were cheaper than two weeks later or in January. That was one check in one year, and it is not a forecast for 2026.

• Should I wait for Black Friday or book now?

  There is no safe answer for every trip. If the price today already meets the amount you are happy to pay, booking removes the risk of a sell-out. If not, a price alert lets you wait without having to keep checking. See do holiday prices go down?.

• Will a price alert show Black Friday discounts?

  It shows the price on the provider's page for your holiday. A discount that needs an account or a promo code at checkout may not appear in it, so check for those offers before you book.