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Because sometimes you are paying for the whole experience and not treating it as a bed and shower like at a Days Inn. If I could stay at the Waldorf Astoria, or the Chateau Marmont, or another historic bucket list hotel, getting pampered and tipping everyone, it would be awesome. And I am WAY cheap when it comes to hotels normally, IF it's just for a shower and a place to crash. Part of all of this is the EXPERIENCE, especially in a conference in a new place. Get out there with your colleagues and enjoy. A conference (and I've done many) is just that, an experience. It's not the same as driving until you're tired and finding a cheap $35 room at 2 AM.
Except ... if I'm "out there" with my colleagues, why would I need an expensive place to SLEEP? (You will note that that was kind of my original question!)
(Yeah, OP here! I can't believe this thread is still going!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by kpl1228
Stayed midweek at a upgraded room at the Bellagio once......closest I came to a $400 room. The fact that I remember it a decade later and remember the incredible bed and even more incredible tub, and that I don't miss the $400 from 10 years ago, made it all worth it.
OP, you're a college professor. It's nice that you have frugal tastes and that will serve you well, but for conferences and professional outings, it sounds like you need to step it up and "stay and spend" on places and things more befitting your edjamakashun and position. Hopefully you don't also dress in jeans and t-shirts to teach in, just because suits and jackets and ties "are a waste of money."
<sigh> Really? No, I don't teach in jeans and t-shirts (although a lot of my MALE colleagues do and no one has ever said a word to them about it).
And also, honestly, no, I'm not going to care enough about an "incredible bed" (a comfortable bed is all I need) or an "incredible tub" to be thinking about it 10 years later. I simply cannot imagine spending hundreds of dollars extra so I will remember a bed and a tub 10 years later. Again, THAT'S JUST ME.
And again, as I said earlier (many dozens of posts earlier), it's clearly a matter of priorities. FOR ME, a hotel room really is simply a place to sleep (and maybe watch a football game on ESPN for a bit before I fall asleep -- but even THAT isn't absolutely required!). I want the room to be clean and quiet, but anything else -- including even Internet service, since that would be available in the conference rooms -- would not be necessary. Desirable, maybe, but not necessary. I would MUCH rather spend $150/night and save the $250/night for something else, like my house or my retirement account. AGAIN, that's just me.
As I wrote a long time ago, I ended up booking the conference hotel, which will be nice (and a bit under $200/night). I can deal with that. And I'm really looking forward to the conference!
I don't think so. In Japan you can usually get a single room which is about five feet wide with a single bed. A clean comfortable bed where you are not going to have sex or share it with someone.
Some of us would rather have the money than a 300 sq ft room for hundreds of dollars.
Actually, single rooms in Japan are pretty good except for the size.
Good A/C, decent mattress, etc. None of them is expected in budget hotels in the US.
You really have to stay in 4-star properties with good reviews in the US if you want to sleep comfortably.
Japan is a far more advanced country, there's really no comparison!
You really have to stay in 4-star properties with good reviews in the US if you want to sleep comfortably.
Japan is a far more advanced country, there's really no comparison!
I sleep pretty comfortably in your average 2-star Comfort Inn type motel, especially since they usually have a climate control dealie near the window that gives off some nice white noise.
Japan is a mixed bag in terms of "advanced" compared to USA, if you've even bee there in the winter and stayed in a smaller hotel you'd be wishing for some construction with insulation and double pane windows. I was ready to go sit on the heated toilet seat just for warmth. We were once in a smaller town and went to get money, but both the local banks' ATMs has closed for the night. There are also a lot more places in Japan that don't accept credit cards, like small shops that aren't in bigger cities.
A lot of the agriculture seems really old school as well, and this could be because used to seeing farms of much larger scale in USA that can afford to automate everything. It's a lot more common to see people out there tilling or whatever using hand tools that look like they belong in the Smithsonian.
...And also, honestly, no, I'm not going to care enough about an "incredible bed" (a comfortable bed is all I need) or an "incredible tub" to be thinking about it 10 years later. I simply cannot imagine spending hundreds of dollars extra so I will remember a bed and a tub 10 years later. Again, THAT'S JUST ME.
And again, as I said earlier (many dozens of posts earlier), it's clearly a matter of priorities. FOR ME, a hotel room really is simply a place to sleep (and maybe watch a football game on ESPN for a bit before I fall asleep -- but even THAT isn't absolutely required!). I want the room to be clean and quiet, but anything else -- including even Internet service, since that would be available in the conference rooms -- would not be necessary. Desirable, maybe, but not necessary. I would MUCH rather spend $150/night and save the $250/night for something else, like my house or my retirement account. AGAIN, that's just me.
As I wrote a long time ago, I ended up booking the conference hotel, which will be nice (and a bit under $200/night). I can deal with that. And I'm really looking forward to the conference!
All well and good. I especially like how you now emphasize - - - BY USING ALL CAPS - - - that you're now just talking about your own individual preferences. Except the title of the thread isn't why YOU (see, I can do it, too) wouldn't spend $400 for a hotel room, it's asking who on earth would; thereby implying that anyone who doesn't believe as you do is an idiot. And actually, it wasn't even an implication; in a later post you actually said that it was insane.
BTW, I'm going to Hong Kong in March and I'm staying at The Peninsula Hotel. I suggest that you don't look up the prices or you might have a heart attack.
All well and good. I especially like how you now emphasize - - - BY USING ALL CAPS - - - that you're now just talking about your own individual preferences. Except the title of the thread isn't why YOU (see, I can do it, too) wouldn't spend $400 for a hotel room, it's asking who on earth would; thereby implying that anyone who doesn't believe as you do is an idiot. And actually, it wasn't even an implication; in a later post you actually said that it was insane.
BTW, I'm going to Hong Kong in March and I'm staying at The Peninsula Hotel. I suggest that you don't look up the prices or you might have a heart attack.
That's really how I read it also.
lol, op I had to giggle a bit about the tub. I have pictures of a tub and a shower in a room I stayed one time. the shower was the size of my kitchen, and had one of the "jet walls" that shoot water at you in every conceivable direction. I'm telling you, I felt so good after a hot shower in that thing I really wanted an extra day just to stay in the room.
I went on a trip to Las Vegas one year with my girlfriend and her mom. She treated mom to a luxury type vacation for her 80th birthday. we stayed at the Palazzo, I'm telling you we couldn't get her out of the hotel and darn near had to drag her out of her room.
I know quite a number of people for whom the hotel and the room is of primary importance, especially on vacation.
In Indianapolis, there are four (?) hotels that connect to the convention center via sky bridge. My son has an annual convention there and we stay in the Hyatt Regency. Be aware that the downtown is close to one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the USA (or at least it was when I naively ventured through it while taking my daughter to the science museum several years ago). Take a look and see which hotels are attached or are very close. I think we’ve paid under $200/night at the Hyatt on 4th of July weekend. I know people who stay at the Embassy right there, and that’s more expensive. Good luck!
All well and good. I especially like how you now emphasize - - - BY USING ALL CAPS - - - that you're now just talking about your own individual preferences. Except the title of the thread isn't why YOU (see, I can do it, too) wouldn't spend $400 for a hotel room, it's asking who on earth would; thereby implying that anyone who doesn't believe as you do is an idiot. And actually, it wasn't even an implication; in a later post you actually said that it was insane.
BTW, I'm going to Hong Kong in March and I'm staying at The Peninsula Hotel. I suggest that you don't look up the prices or you might have a heart attack.
<sigh> Seriously, MMoB (whose posts I generally LIKE, as you know)? If you'd read the whole thread, you would know that I apologized more than once if I offended anyone. Honestly, at this point it's just silly to me that people are STILL writing about being so offended by anything I wrote about "overspending" on a hotel room. The fact that I, as a total Internet stranger, believe that spending $400/night for a place to SLEEP (which again, FOR ME, yes, notice the all caps, is all a hotel is), is, well, insane, really means that I am insulting you personally? Um, I don't KNOW you, I don't really care how much you want to spend on a place to sleep (because to YOU it may be MORE than "just a place to sleep"). I can't believe that you were really insulted by anything I said?
And no need for me to look up your hotel cost. If you want to spend a ton of money on a hotel room, go for it! Clearly you will find it worth it. I wouldn't. C'est la vie.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eliza61nyc
That's really how I read it also.
lol, op I had to giggle a bit about the tub. I have pictures of a tub and a shower in a room I stayed one time. the shower was the size of my kitchen, and had one of the "jet walls" that shoot water at you in every conceivable direction. I'm telling you, I felt so good after a hot shower in that thing I really wanted an extra day just to stay in the room.
I went on a trip to Las Vegas one year with my girlfriend and her mom. She treated mom to a luxury type vacation for her 80th birthday. we stayed at the Palazzo, I'm telling you we couldn't get her out of the hotel and darn near had to drag her out of her room.
I know quite a number of people for whom the hotel and the room is of primary importance, especially on vacation.
And again ... GOOD FOR YOU (and I mean that seriously!). I simply would not want to spend hundreds of dollars extra for a shower that "shoot[s] water at [me] from every conceivable direction." That may be very important to you. OK, that's fine. It's simply NOT what I would care about or want to spend extra money for. FOR ME (oh shoot, I'm using all caps again), it would not be a good use of my money, especially when I am going somewhere for an academic conference and won't be spending much time in the hotel room at all (other than sleeping ... oh wait, wasn't that my point?).
But honestly, how many times can I write that we all have different priorities? Was anyone SERIOUSLY offended by the thread title ... by an Internet stranger? Really?
Those are rhetorical questions, but if you want to carry on about how "offended" you were by my remarks, feel free. I will simply enjoy my conference in Indy this year.
Sorry, you can probably tell from the thread title that this is a bit of a rant.
I am a college professor and I usually go to 1-2 academic conferences per year. Usually the conferences negotiate "special" rates for the conference, but for one that I'm going to in late March 2018, it's still close to $200/night after you add in the 17% tax (it's in Indianapolis, which clearly has very high hotel taxes!). The sad thing is, I am coming to realize that that is actually a GOOD price for a hotel room!! (The conference rate is $164/night, but that's a bit over $190/night with the taxes.)
Trying to save a bit of money for my employer, I looked online for hotels close to the conference hotel (which is the J. W. Marriott downtown, not to be confused with about half a dozen OTHER Marriott hotels in the vicinity). The nearest hotel was something like $159/night plus taxes, which was not enough to make me go there since the conference hotel is $164/night. But at first, on a map I saw that the Westin in Indianapolis, just a few minutes' walk from the conference hotel, was $115/night. Yippee!!, I thought. But no, that was clearly an Internet error (and a GIGANTIC one!!). When I went to the hotel's site (the CHEAPEST site for its rooms), I saw that the rooms were actually around $400/NIGHT -- for a place to SLEEP!!
Maybe I am completely naive, but I was astonished at this. I guess business travelers pay this (since their corporations are actually paying)? That's the only thing I can think of as I try to understand how anyone in their right mind would spend $400/night on a place to SLEEP. And yes, I know I keep saying that, but seriously, for me that's all a hotel room IS -- a place to sleep. OK, I might watch a bit of ESPN on TV before falling asleep (especially if my favorite team is playing), but otherwise, I will mostly be OUT of the hotel room during the day.
Am I nuts to think that I should be able to get a decent room -- I mean, seriously, a place to SLEEP -- for, say, $150/night?!!
The amount you are willing to pay is in direct relation to how close you want to be to riff-raff? A $400/night room will probably not have a bunch of loud bikers partying until 4:00am or a hooker working out of the next room.
The amount you are willing to pay is in direct relation to how close you want to be to riff-raff? A $400/night room will probably not have a bunch of loud bikers partying until 4:00am or a hooker working out of the next room.
But it MAY have the rich kids celebrating their HS graduation next door! Been there, done that! (they went to 3am despite multiple calls to the front desk and I had to get up at 4)
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I can't believe this thread is still going!)
(they went to 3am despite multiple calls to the front desk and I had to get up at 4)
