Was in CM just before the Floral thing opened and hotel prices were on the rise etc, are things back to normal now? ie can I turn up and find something without pre-booking?

The are rooms available, but high season lasts through the Songkran festival in April. I doubt if prices are down too much.

> are things back to normal now? ie can I turn up and find something without pre-booking?

Yes.

But then, in general, pre-booking only makes sense for a certain type of accommodation, specifically 4-5 star hotels (and some 3 star) that are on the booking sites, and then you should make the booking on that site for the cheapest price.

For independent, older, cheaper, small family run hotels and/or guesthouses in the budget range, those never filled up anyway as most Flora visitors are Thai and they don't stay there. For those places that have their own websites you could of course call to make a booking.

Ok Recap: 'just showing up' is NEVER a good idea with tourist class 3-4-5 star hotels. Walk-in rack rates are a sick joke. And for budget accommodation you can and could always just show up.

Also low-season vs high-season price differences are FAR less pronounced (if at all existing) in most Chiang Mai hotels. Mostly it applies only to Thai holiday periods, like Loi Krathong, New Year, Songkran, etc. This in contrast to places like Phuket, where hotels can and do actually triple or halve in price overnight at the turn of some calendar date.

Cheers,

Chanchao