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I'm fearful of fires, claustrophobic, so I, literally, can't stay in these glassy hotels with hermetically sealed windows, where you can't even open up a window. And to think they oftentimes call these overpriced hotels, luxury hotels!
Luxury to me is a place like Motel 6, or the older motels, with their aisle balconies, where I can leave my room, have a beer and a smoke. A private balcony is even more of a luxury!
I'm fearful of fires, claustrophobic, so I, literally, can't stay in these glassy hotels with hermetically sealed windows, where you can't even open up a window. And to think they oftentimes call these overpriced hotels, luxury hotels!
Luxury to me is a place like Motel 6, or the older motels, with their aisle balconies, where I can leave my room, have a beer and a smoke. A private balcony is even more of a luxury!
The days of $100 and even $200 a night for a decent hotel room are over (unless you zero in on a special or go off season or during construction or during a natural diaster). I am seeing $300 and $400 rates in small cities like San Diego and Pittsburgh for places like Hampton Inn and Ramada Inn. And those are the "special conference rates"! Get used to it!
And even if you do find a rate that is below $200, by the time they add the taxes, Internet charges, parking charges, and the dreaded "Resort Fee" that all hotels are now seemingly charging, you will be well north of $200 anyway.
I usually pay around $200 for a nice hotel in a normal city like San Diego. You have to shop around a little. Here is my favorite north San Diego county hotel for $199. https://www.expedia.com/San-Diego-Co...rue&exp_pg=HSR
The days of $100 and even $200 a night for a decent hotel room are over (unless you zero in on a special or go off season or during construction or during a natural diaster). I am seeing $300 and $400 rates in small cities like San Diego and Pittsburgh for places like Hampton Inn and Ramada Inn. And those are the "special conference rates"! Get used to it!
I just stayed at a wonderful Inn for $85. If safe and clean and a quick breakfast is all you want you can easily find that for under $125. You might have to look around if there is some sort of big event going on in a smaller town. I'm a preservationist and prefer and write about restored historic hotels and even then I don't think I ever paid $200. They charge $300-$400 because some people will pay that much. Essentially, what you need is a place to park, a bed, a bathroom, a door that locks, a TV and wifi, and maybe breakfast of some sort...anything else is fluff that you get to pay extra for.
I usually pay around $200 for a nice hotel in a normal city like San Diego. You have to shop around a little. Here is my favorite north San Diego county hotel for $199. https://www.expedia.com/San-Diego-Co...rue&exp_pg=HSR
Shop around? When I am booking travel for work, I don't have time to shop around. I go to Tripadvisor and choose from the top 10 hotels. I don't have time to spend shopping around. Usually the hotels near where I have to be are $200 and up. Doesn't matter if it's Houston or Miami or Seattle.
When I am booking travel for my own personal vacays, none of this hotel price gouging applies to me b/c I don't stay in hotels. I always do apt. rentals.
I've paid upwards of $500/night, but that was always personal travel and 3-bedroom suites, I wouldn't try to expense that sort of extravagance.
Ever make plans to travel for a conference and find that the "special conference rates" at the hotel is higher than the regular rate for those same dates?
Worse yet, sometimes the hotel website jacks up the rates when you query is for just the conference nights, but if you make a reservation that extends through, for example, the Monday after the conference, suddenly the total stay becomes cheaper than if you checked out on Sunday morning!
For work-related travel, our company policy specifically allows for booking a higher-cost room in the case when staying at the conference hotel.
The thing to do is look for a room far away from the conference and cab/drive to the conference. But that is a huge huge hassle. You are not able to easily go back to your room, etc. The savings is not worth it, in my opinion.
Recently I had to book San Diego. All the hotels near the conference in the city were $239 and up (plus taxes, fees, parking etc.). There were some hotels 10 miles away in the burbs that were $189 or somesuch. By the time you factor in getting to and from the conference, the time wasted, the hassle, it's worth it to pay the extra money for the closer hotel.
Same Hotel Room can be booked at cheap price if one can shop around including Hotel and other websites. I remember in Paris where I found a Hotel at around 57 Euros while a friend of mine paid 99 Euros for the same Hotel on the same date.
In Conference, you are locked into one Rate and One Hotel - captive audience. Some people try booking on Phone and get ripped off.
In Conference, you are locked into one Rate and One Hotel - captive audience. Some people try booking on Phone and get ripped off.
No you're not. You can Priceline a nearby hotel and Uber/taxi/public transportation to get to the conference. Or AirBnB.
What you can't do is find hotel deals in resort towns during peak season. A few cities are like that as well. Manhattan right before Christmas has no deals. San Francisco during the summer tourist season. Affordable probably requires a lengthy commuter rail/CalTrain ride.
I do a ton of business travel. One trick of the trade if Priceline doesn't pan out is to use the negotiated rate of the largest employer in town. In 30+ years, I've never had hotel check-in ask me for an employee badge. If they did, I'd say I was on a job interview or "have meetings with..." or "working in their lab...". Only suckers pay the rack rate for a hotel room. For me, it's usually legit. If I don't know the rate code for a web reservation, I call the hotel and say "I'm coming in visiting Xxxxxx. Can I have their negotiated rate?"
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And to think they oftentimes call these overpriced hotels, luxury hotels! 
