Semih
Travel editor at Reisedrop · 2026-09-01
Minus 40, minus 60, minus 70 percent — by late November, travel providers are tumbling over each other with discount promises too. Let’s say it upfront: Black Friday works differently for travel than it does for trainers. Flight and hotel prices are moving all the time anyway, and some “deals” cost exactly the same as they did the week before — just with a red sticker slapped on top. We’ll show you where the real savings are. And how to spot a fake deal in ten seconds flat.
Where it really is worth jumping in
The most honest discounts are where fixed catalogue prices exist: during Black Week, hotels and resorts often sell off their low season — January to March, sometimes even the coming November — with genuine discounts of 25 to 40 percent. That’s not a trick, it’s occupancy planning, and you benefit from it. Holiday-rental platforms and traditional tour operators are usually playing fair too. Our favourites during discount week: winter city breaks and last-minute spring cruise spots. That’s where the Black Week price is often genuinely the lowest of the year.
And where you should stay sceptical
Flights. Sorry, but that’s the truth: airlines price algorithmically based on load factors — in nine out of ten cases, a blanket “Black Friday discount” is just marketing. A favourite trick: the discount is calculated off an artificially inflated reference price. Or it only applies to that Tuesday mid-morning flight in January that nobody wanted in the first place. Be just as wary of “up to” wording — that 70 percent discount often exists for exactly one room, exactly once. And voucher codes with a 24-hour deadline? They’re meant to push you into impulsive clicks. That is their one and only purpose.
The ten-second test for fake deals
There’s only one reliable proof: the price history. If the hotel cost 180 Franken yesterday and today is “50 percent off” at 175 — well. On Reisedrop, you can see price developments directly in the search, and the AI forecast also tells you whether the price is more likely to rise or fall. The second trick is even simpler: set a price alert for your dream trip NOW, before Black Week. If the price really drops, your inbox will tell you. No need to check every day — and no red sticker can fool you when you’ve got the real starting price in black and white.
Our Black Week strategy in four moves
First: define your dream trip now, note the reference price or set an alert. Second: during Black Week, only book if the price clearly undercuts that reference — from 15 percent, it starts getting interesting. Third: if possible, book with free cancellation, so you can snap it up AND keep watching — the best of both worlds. And fourth, one timing tip from experience: don’t wait for Friday. Many travel deals start as early as Monday of Black Week, and by Wednesday the best inventory is often gone.