Booking in advance for Easter?

I visited Syria in October 2008 and stayed at Ghazal Hotel, Ishtar Hotel and Cairo Hotel. They are in my opinion good and clean hotels with low prices and friendly staff. You probably only need to book the hotels in Damascus and Aleppo in advance but book now. When I made a reservation (more than 1 month in advance) Ghazal Hotel had no single or double rooms available only dorm beds.

Maybe some of you can answer another question, similar to the one the OP just asked. Is it necessary to book hotels in cities like Latakia, Hama, Aleppo and Damascus in advance when travelling in the end of february/early march?

There is a big travel fair right now in the Netherlands, and someone from a Syrian travel agency was on tv saying his country has one of the highest percentage of room occupancy! I'm aiming at cheapish hotels/hostels, with a maximum of 20/30 euro's for one night. Is it possible to get a room on arrival quickly without walking down a city for hours to find available rooms, or is it wise to phone/mail some days ahead?

Damascus might be tight-ish, especially when you are bound by a budget, but i really can't see a problem anywhere else. Certainly I didn't have one, and we needed 2 rooms most of the time. There is always a room somewhere. Also, if you book ahead you may well end up and pay more than if you arrive on the day. If you want to be real sure, phone a few days before you arrive but not more.

I agree with above posts .In general outside Damascus there is no need to book hotel room in advance.
There are some exceptions.Last summer i had problem getting a room in Palmyra during the silk road festival,and the camel race.Few people reported to me that they could not find a room when they called in person at Riad or Cairo hotel in Hamma due to too much demand on these popular hotels in high season,or Easter time