Booking hotels & transport in advance - Feb

We have 3.5 weeks in Myanmar in Feb. We have a rough itinerary & have started making hotel reservations. But booking in advance means little or no flexibility if we want to stay longer in a place. A lot of advice I've read suggests that we should book in advance for buses, hotels and flights. Are we likely to be on the streets if we don't book in advance? Or does it mean we may not get great accommodation? (which may be a price worth paying for a trip that doesn't feel rushed & over regimented). Thanks for any advice.

February is shoulder season so booking every single hotel/flight is not essential. Certainly book your first two nights before arrival. Thereafter book ahead,don't just turn up in Inle expecting a wide choice of hotels. Air/coach travel is easy to book when you are there.
You do not mention your style of travel-I only mention this as hotels used by group tours may be booked up earlier than budget.
SS
another scouser

SS, correct me if I'm wrong, but my impression is that the building of new hotels beginning in 2011 has finally started to catch up with demand. I was able to book my preferred hotels (via a travel agent) for November just last week. In the past, that would have been very late and I could have expected to have to go far down my list to find availability.

scouser, I agree with SS that you should be fine booking just your first few nights, then having you hotel book ahead for you next stop.

things have changed abit in the last couple years....many posts earlier this year from people who got rooms at short notice/on arrival, and I when I was in Mandalay in January, at one of the 'popular' budget places, rooms were available for walk-ins a couple mornings while I was sitting in the foyer except most cheapskate backpackers baulked at the $20-25 price tag...!!).
(and booking now for November isn't hard...last trip I booked some of my rooms in late December for early January...no dramas...others I phoned a couple days before).

As above, recommend booking your first nights, then phone ahead 2-3 days and book as you go (earlier for Inle as it book s out fastest)

I've traveled around Myanmar for 28 days in Dec 2013 (high season) and didn't have a single accommodation booked in advance. After we've arrived in a destination, we walked into a couple guesthouses and had absolutely no problem to find reasonable accomodation. That applies for hot spots like Bagan and Inle, but also for off-the-beaten-track destinations like Mawlamyine, Pyay, Kin Pun, Hsipaw, Pyin Oo Lwin...
Bear in mind, that vast majority of accommodation facilities in Myanmar are not listed in online booking services nor guidebooks. So don't be scared if you don't see any accommodation available for your destination through Agoda or the likes. You'll certainly find accommodation after arrival. There are touts waiting for every bus/boat/train and offering accommodation. You can also take a tuk-tuk and tell the driver to drop you off by a couple of hotels/guesthouses of your price point so you can choose after seeing a couple of them.
Just don't believe the advice telling you to book or you'll end up on the street. That could be true 5-6 years ago, but certainly not these days. Booking in advance ruins free-minded travel spirit and you'll miss out on best experiences, which in my experience come exactly when they're not planned.

It was not 5-6 years ago, the problem was 3-4 years ago. After US sanctions were lifted many tourists started to go and group groups also. Now I think the high prices are putting some off. If you use a tout/taxi to get to your Hotel you will pay more unless you have pre-booked. Myanmar is not so good for online bookings.

In 2011-2012 accommodations were very tight. We ran into people in 2011 who had tired every guesthouse near Inle Lake and found no place. One guesthouse owner allowed a few people to sleep in the lobby or in a closet. Lots of people slept on the floor of a monastery near Inle that year. Clearly, things have loosened up since then with new places built and permitted to accommodate foreigners.

Certainly, if you aren't picky about where you stay, you can travel without reservations even in high season. The best approach if you don't want to reserve in advance is to have your guesthouse call a place at your next stop and reserve a few days in advance. If you opt to walk up as you feel any advance planning "ruins free-minded travel spirit" you will pay more for your accommodations.

I think it is too early to book hotels now for Feb. Myanmar has an election in November so I'd wait until Christmas or after New Year to even consider booking any hotel.

For a price, I am certain you can find accommodation even in busy time. And remember that there are domestic oriented hotels that are not listed on the web.

a couple years ago there were lots of 'stories' of people sleeping 'rough'....they were always from someone who 'talked to someone' or 'talked to someone who knew someone', etc....I never read/saw any FIRST hand accounts of people who had to sleep in lobbies, etc. (if they did it was more likely because they were too picky, or lazy to keep searching)
Of course Inle can be a problem, and still is, at short notice as it is a small place with limited accomm options and a big drawcard for tourists...

At the balloon festival time, Inle had problems and yes people were sleeping at the temple. Also in Bagan I read several stories on here about people sleeping in reception and on the roof terrace. Mandalay I have found to be difficult to get rooms even 5 years ago, I had to sleep in Monty's boxroom one night. Sittwe was also a real problem, not sure about now, many Hotels were booked out by NGO workers, some of the cheaper options were really grim. Kyaukme had only 1 guesthouse.

I remember there was a guy who posted here saying he slept rough in Mandalay back in 2011 because he couldn't find a place to stay. He added later that he didn't really know where to search, and was able to find a place the next day. I remember even Monty talking about not being able to stay at his usual place at Inle. Just how bad the situation was none of us know, as none of us were in the position of needing a place to stay and not being able to find it.

But it sounds like we all agree that the lodging situation is better now than it was then.

Just a quick input
Some places like Inle and Ngapali Beach were full over last Christmas & New Year.
An Austrian(?) couple arrived at Thandwe airport expecting accommodation and after 6 frantic hours were allowed to camp out for 48 hours in a store room off a hotel reception until a room (at any price) could be found in the area
Exceptional circumstances I know but a lesson learned.
SS

Also in Bagan I read several stories

I was going as a similar question... this was helpful discussion. Thanks! Gonna wing it, as per my ususal, in the the spirit advised by poster Jansokoly. Gonna be there in October.

October is also easier than December as peak season hasn't kicked in yet...

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