Meanwhile the last few trips I've been on I booked multiple months in advance. Perhaps this is the root cause in how your experience is so different?

I don't know how that would be relevant at all. If anything, booking further out probably has a better success rate, as you have more time to research the right location and property.

Hotel prices tend to rise the less notice you give before your stay. So when you (you specifically) book closer to the date of your stay, you find hotels are more expensive. This suggests that because you book accomodations much closer to the date of your stay, you find hotels more expensive than Air B&B; whereas others, who may book further out, apparently found hotels cheaper.

It's not that everyone else, or you, are necessarily wrong about which is cheaper. I suspect you just plan your trips differently or with a different timeline than other commentors.

Hmm, that makes sense, but I guess the types of hotels wouldn’t be priced as low as the Airbnbs anyway. $30 a night for example is a very cheap hotel rate but a typical Airbnb fare in Central Europe.