New York Hotel Prices

[+ Lucky]

The price of a New York hotel is higher than ever. For my next visit, I used Priceline, and paid more than I have ever paid. And this for a three star! The hotel's rate on Expedia is $343. I paid $250.

New York in January is starting to look better. I will brave the wind and cold to see my theater productions, but I can't spend myself silly.

[+ Travis69]

Perhaps you should run a Rentboy ad while in NYC to offset some of your expenses. Just use some photos of a 20 year old Belami model, keep the lights low and ask for the money up front. If it works I want my 20% cut.

[Irtwo]

Lucky, always use the site linked below before bidding on Priceline. It tells you what hotels will come up and what prices people are getting on their Priceline bids. Your bid sounds very high.

 

http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/forums/68/New-York-State-New-York-City

[+ Lucky]

Yes, I do use that. It has become less useful as so many leave the site due to the bitchiness of Sharon, who runs it. For this trip, it was not particularly useful as little information was at hand from winning bids.

[robberbaron4u]

Only The Pierre will do for a theatre outing as, in its interior decoration, it is a "set" in itself . . .

[LurkerSpeaks]

there is a "new" app for smartphones called Hotels Tonite. If you can wait until the day of, to book hotels, it gets some great rates for last minute stays. some are good for one night only. Others are good for multiple nights. Check it out..

[adriano46]

I had to book a hotel last week, and went to all of the sites mentioned above, and still walked away with a room for twice what I would normally pay, but this time would not book unless I had the right to cancel, and get my money back (EXPEDIA has eaten up tousands from me for cancellations caused by business plans changing etc...) I too was astounded at the prices of a hotel for 1 or 2 nights in NYC this year. If you add in the cost of theatre tickets (which have fone through the roof for 2 orchestra seats) one or two meals, the idea of a nighttime snack from Rentboy ends up costing you (hotel+tickets+meals+snack+) upwards of $1,500-$2,500 a night.

[ncc1701d]

Yes, I do use that. It has become less useful as so many leave the site due to the bitchiness of Sharon, who runs it. For this trip, it was not particularly useful as little information was at hand from winning bids.

 

And I thought it was just me. But that site is definitely way less useful than ever...much less traffic/posting to reference from, and her insistence on certain "rules" that is irrelevant is getting quite annoying, even for a rule person like me!

[+ Charlie]

Now that the Yankees are in the playoff for the penant and possibly in the World Series after that, it will probably get worse for the next few weeks.

[Muscle Lover 2]

Have you considered, or tried, craigslist's Vacation Rentals section? I've been thinking about a long weekend in NYC before the end of the year also and was wondering if these were legit. Prices much more reasonable.

 

http://newyork.craigslist.org/vac/

[adannyboy]

Location also has a lot to do with it. Have you tried some spots a little further out? Long Island City/Astoria is easily accessible to the theater district within 15 min by train. also the upper east side or Central Harlem can be a little more affordable.

[+ newatthis]

Yes, I do use that. It has become less useful as so many leave the site due to the bitchiness of Sharon, who runs it. For this trip, it was not particularly useful as little information was at hand from winning bids.

 

And I thought it was just me. But that site is definitely way less useful than ever...much less traffic/posting to reference from, and her insistence on certain "rules" that is irrelevant is getting quite annoying, even for a rule person like me!

I just ignored Sharon's bitchiness because she provided so much useful information and help. But it's been a couple of years since I stopped posting there, mainly because it took l lot of time to write up my bidding experiences in a way that would be helpful to others. I mostly use priceline for cities I've bid in over many years and know well and where I have my own records to guide me.

[Irtwo]

I just ignored Sharon's bitchiness because she provided so much useful information and help. But it's been a couple of years since I stopped posting there, mainly because it took l lot of time to write up my bidding experiences in a way that would be helpful to others. I mostly use priceline for cities I've bid in over many years and know well and where I have my own records to guide me.

 

I hadn't used the site myself for a few years, but I remember this same issue was going on back then, surprised it still is!

[fedssocr1]

I think if you want to be in Manhattan, then you pay a premium. Maybe stay on the Jersey side and train in? Or one of the other boroughs?

[adriano46]

It is very true that you can stay more cheaply in the outter boroughs, but when many here (including me) decide to treat ourselves to a NY holiday, it often includes some cultural part (eg. Broeadway, Lincoln Centre, the museums) and would include also dinners (yes, there are great restaurants in Brooklyn, not so sure on the Jersey side, and Queens is more eclectic), and then the question of hiring a guy for a few hours. Some months ago one member ere had difficulties finding any escorts willing to travel to Queens (OK, Flushing and Laguardia Airport) for only an hour or two); if you really luck out and get a hotel in the boroughs that is only a few stops from Midtown (and they do exist), then you may luck out. But otherwise, you will be paying for some time it seems premium prices, and that will mean making some sacrifices (no meals? no theatre ticketsd? no muscular jocks??)

[RockHard]

I just ignored Sharon's bitchiness

 

It's amazing how well-known this bitch is for being a cunt. Her cuntiness is mentioned on every travel forum. I've never visited her site and I have no personal experience with her, but she's famous.

 

Can't help Lucky with discount hotel sites. I've never used them. I always end up paying through the roof for the look and feel of luxury, but at least I get the room that I want to live in for a short time. Considering how little time I spend in a hotel room, the cost is never justified, but at least it's a tax deduction. Maybe not for long.

[AdamSmith]

http://www.uspacifichotelnyc.com/

 

Nice spartan but very clean place in Chinatown for $68/night double bed if you can tolerate a shared bath. (I stayed there for a week early this year and found no trouble with that arrangement, which consists of 4 bathrooms on a hallway servicing like 10 bedrooms.) (Those of us who stay out late and get up late seem to have a particular advantage in regard of everyone else already having left by the time we awake and want to visit the potty!) Rate is slightly more (can't recall how much) for their limited number of rooms with private en-suite bath.

 

There is a hotel across the street whose name I can't recall offering all-private-bath rooms for not much over $100/night.

[travlr814]

A couple weekends ago I went to NY for my semi-annual theater weekend. I was shocked when I started pricing hotels in Manhattan. On a friend's recommendation I stayed at a very nice hotel in Secaucus NJ. It was very easy to drive to (avoided the worst of city traffic as it wasn't far off the Interstate) and the rate that weekend was only $150/night. That was the prepaid rate on a weekend where there weren't any games/functions scheduled at the nearby Met Life Stadium. What made it so convenient was that a NJ Transit bus stops right in front of the hotel every 20 minutes between 6am and 1am. For $7.90 round trip the bus has you at the Port Authority in less than 20 minutes. It's a comfortable ride as the bus only stops twice between the hotel and the PA. The last bus leaves the PA at 1am, leaving lots of time after the theaters let out. It worked out great for me and with the money I saved on hotel I was able to squeeze in a second showing of "Newsies!".

[+ Lucky]

Some interesting ideas on how to save money. I understand that Manhattan gets premium prices, and I have always been willing to pay them. The thrust of my thread is how high that premium is getting to be. Like most folks, when I visit Manhattan, I want to be in Manhattan. But I have stayed in Brooklyn and Jersey City when I had to. Even they are now quite pricey.

I read that 13,000 new hotel rooms are being built in New York- some of them very tiny. But I have also stayed in those tiny Japanese businessmen hotels and survived it. As the Hard One says, you don't spend that much time in a hotel room.

[Guest]

Yes, I do use that. It has become less useful as so many leave the site due to the bitchiness of Sharon, who runs it. For this trip, it was not particularly useful as little information was at hand from winning bids.

 

I, too, can't stand Sharon's bitchiness. I use http://www.betterbidding.com instead. She once had a cow when I told her that my traveling partner bid for our hotel room after my bids failed. She said I was cheating and violating the rules, which is simply factually incorrect. The better bidding site is a bit more unwieldy because they don't separate by city, but it's a site that I prefer to to support. The guy who runs it basically gives similar advice. An advantage of this site is that it also identifies hotwire hotels for you, using the amenities (no guarantee, of course, but it's quite accurate).

[Guest]

Location also has a lot to do with it. Have you tried some spots a little further out? Long Island City/Astoria is easily accessible to the theater district within 15 min by train. also the upper east side or Central Harlem can be a little more affordable.

I was thinking of going to NY, and noted a much less expensive Starwood property in Harlem, compared to Manhattan south of Central Park. Someone told me that this area, which I thought was dangerous, is now fairly safe. It's

Aloft Harlem

2296 Frederick Douglass Boulevard

New York, New York 10027 United States

Maybe our New York City viewers can chime in as to how safe this neighborhood is these days. Also, I was tempted by the much lower prices in nearby Queens, which seems to be only a few subway stops away:

 

Four Points by Sheraton Long Island City/Queensboro Bridge

27-05 39th Avenue

Long Island City, New York 11101 United States

Phone: (718) 786-8500 Fax: (718) 786-8700

SPG Category 3

4.23 km / 2.63 miles from center of new york.

[AdamSmith]

Aloft Harlem

2296 Frederick Douglass Boulevard

New York, New York 10027 United States

Maybe our New York City viewers can chime in as to how safe this neighborhood is these days. Also, I was tempted by the much lower prices in nearby Queens, which seems to be only a few subway stops away:

 

Harlem is shitloads nearer than Queens. And as for safety around your address on Fred Douglass Blvd., first place it is reasonably safe nowadays even for the whitest honkey, which I am, most hours of the day until some considerable way past midnight.

 

Second place: if uncertain, you need only to have hired some beautiful big black escort to squire you wherever you wish to go.

 

That can work like a charm!

 

P.S. Esp if this could be a destination: http://noparkingbar.blogspot.com/

[adannyboy]

Harlem is shitloads nearer than Queens.

 

Depending on where in queens. I'd say both places mentioned (Queensboro Bridge and Frederick Douglass Blvd) will take you about the same amount of time to get to Times Square.

As for safety, you're fine as long as you play it smart. ie, not stumbling back to the hotel by yourself at 4am. I live near Queensboro bridge and most areas between the train stops and the hotels around here are pretty well lit and safe.

[+ WilliamM]

In addition to January and February, many New York city hotels drops rates from about Dec. 15-25. I know it's not an ideal time to be away from home, but some Broadway shows will be closing around the first of the year, as usual...so it's good in that way. Prices do rise sharply again after Dec 25.

[+ Lucky]

In addition to January and February, many New York city hotels drops rates from about Dec. 15-25. I know it's not an ideal time to be away from home, but some Broadway shows will be closing around the first of the year, as usual...so it's good in that way. Prices do rise sharply again after Dec 25.

 

Since the shows I want to see are offered in slow times as well as fast, it makes no difference to me if it is cold outside. I still have all of my winter clothes from when I lived in New York. If the hotel price is dramatically lower, why not go when it is cold?