Post: #1

As per the title does anyone have any ideas about this? Any apps? Any hacks? These would be hotels within the United States.

Post: #2

I'd recommend hotwire hot deals. I've gotten 4/5 star hotels for <$100/night in some cities. Sometimes good deals to be had, however you never know which hotel you'll be assigned...

Post: #3

Use the iOS / Android app: HotelTonight - booked a ton of solid deals on there

I would also suggest slipping the hotel clerk a $20 bill to upgrade your room (50/50 chance of success) once you're already there and they ask you for your ID. Ask if there are any upgrades available as you do this. It will either work and you get a level up suite or better, or it doesn't and he gives you the money back.

Post: #4

Hotwire hot rate hotels are pretty good, I use the app frequently. Priceline has blind deals as well but you have to basically pay first and then they get you something if they can, whereas Hotwire lets you see what amenities the hotel has and tells you how many people recommend it (below 70% you might want to steer clear). The downside is the fees they tack on in addition to the taxes (and they take ~25% of the hotel's cut as well).

If you spend some time on AirBnB you can score even better deals oftentimes. Look for new hosts who have no reviews and try to research the property of find it on Google street view first to make sure it isn't a scam. I'm staying in one now - just a few blocks from the ocean, 2 bed 2 bath, plus a pull out in the living room and booking for a month scored it for under $90/night.

You can get free nights at hotels by signing up for credit cards affiliated with the hotel group eg IHG, Marriot, etc, spending a couple grand you'd spend anyway and then cancelling the card.

Post: #5

I've had my best luck with Hotwire. Used priceline a few times, probably saved another 10-20%, but got burned once with a bad hotel.

Hotwire if you use the 4-5 star filter you are going to get something very good. You can also play around with the parts of town filter as well and have a good guess which hotel you are going to get.

You do best to wait until the last minute. Its best to have a cancelable reservation in hand, either for cash or using points. Then wait til day before and take your shot.

Post: #6

Doesn't Hotwire charge you a user fee?

I used Hotels.com in the past and they offer great deals, book 2 nights and get the 3rd free.

Post: #7

Either hotwire or priceline, I usually try a lowball bid on priceline first and if it fails grab a hotwire hot deal. If you have enough time to make repeat bids sometimes priceline can be great, just WATCH OUT when you bid they add taxes on top of that and are usually $20 or more so bid appropriately.

I stay in nice hotels in Kansas City frequently and always for less than $80 a night, Crown Center, Power and Light, Country Club Plaza (yum fogo de chao), etc. One time I stayed at the Harrah's in North KC and it was $65 all in because I booked through the website, so for certain properties direct booking might be less.

Post: #8

Moma, the only sense I have been able to make of this question is noticing that on weekends in business-y areas very top hotels can be very cheap. Priceline seems best for these deals. Big city downtown 4.5 and 5 star hotels can be $135 which are normally 300-400 during the week. I wish I had a better hack than this but this is the best one so far.

An honorable mention would go to expedia packages. If you can buy a r/t ticket plus hotel together sometimes this creates an otherwise impossible to find deal. And as a sub-hack to the above, if you are finding flights really hard to book at reasonable prices (and you only want the flight) try expedia packages, click on only need hotel for part of stay, pick the first night only for the hotel, pick a very cheap hotel or hostel, and the flight can be hundreds cheaper with the one night than alone because it is searching different fare codes unavailable as flight alone. You don't have to stay at the hotel it won't cancel your flight like missing a leg of a flight will.

Post: #9

(02-17-2018 10:42 PM)Off The Reservation Wrote:  Moma, the only sense I have been able to make of this question is noticing that on weekends in business-y areas very top hotels can be very cheap.

I've done this in Chicago and New York with great success. No, there's not much action in the Financial District on a Saturday night, but if you don't care about that, you can have a very posh room and probably push for an upgrade, too.

Resort/party destinations sometimes have non-obvious off-seasons. The Christmas season is dirt-cheap in Vegas, top resorts can be $100/night during the summer in Phoenix with everything on half-off sales from massages to dinner specials. The days immediately following Christmas are usually pretty dead in Manhattan until a few days before New Year's.

Post: #10

My friend and I stayed downtown Chicago over St Patty's Day weekend a few years ago. I told them I worked for the government. They gave me a the standard discount for being a government employee (would have been out of state).

Had to lie, which I don't like doing, but it worked.

They asked me for my employee ID to verify...I simply acted a little dumbfounded and said I didn't have it on me. They were so busy they said forget it.

I wouldn't do it again because I don't like lying. Hate it actually.

Post: #11

yeah a relative worked at a company that owned a bunch of franchised marriott hotels.

I had a special employee card and a discount that got me $35 rooms across the US. Before all you needed was the card once a year (they issued new ones yearly) so you could probably bribe it off someone. IIRC the Ritz was like $100 a night. It worked for extra rooms a lot like how flight attendants/pilots get free flights. I stayed downtown in a nice hotel once for $35 a night in a major european city once.

They changed it though but it was nice while it lasted.

IIRC you can use the code but when you show up with no proof they then give you the normal rate.

Post: #12

If you have a particular chain like Hyatt or Marriot that you prefer to use, make sure you have their rewards credit card to build up bonuses faster. The annual fees are offset by your savings if you're a frequent traveler booking hotels/plane tickets.

Post: #13

I get discounts by having a AAA card. Even though I do not have much need for other services from AAA I get the card primarily to get hotel and Car rental discounts. During offseason I sometimes call hotels directly and have received a better rate. Sometimes booking with your airline if they offer also gets better rates

Post: #14

There are a couple of online user forums that are dedicated to trying to decode what the Hotwire or Priceline hotel you will get before you purchase it. I've used it a few times and it's fairly accurate and helps to take out some of the surprise as far as what hotel you're going to get.

Post: #15

(02-20-2018 11:38 AM)Turnus Wrote:  There are a couple of online user forums that are dedicated to trying to decode what the Hotwire or Priceline hotel you will get before you purchase it. I've used it a few times and it's fairly accurate and helps to take out some of the surprise as far as what hotel you're going to get.

This is also easy to do with 90% reliability by comparing ratings and amenities and area. If you see a 8+ rated, free internet, free parking, pets allowed 4 star in a particular area, then spot on the regular priceline list an identical hotel you can be almost sure this is it. The final test is do the math from the price on priceline comparing the percent off and the express deal price. Further verification of your theory. I have stayed easily over 100 priceline express deal nights and I have only been wrong a few times. Its easier to be wrong on three star and also get burned so I exclusively use this for 4 star +. The three star can be a total dump like extended stay america or drury or some other nasty place.

(Yes I know stars means number of services not how good it is, its just easier to get into a dump in a three star or two star than the rest, when using express deals.)

I personally don't do bidding any more I cant even find the button and it hasnt worked for me in years.

Post: #16

If you get the hotel credit card, they usually comp you at least mid level status. Marriott and SPG comp you to gold now, which means upgrades when available. Checking in latish, like 7pm, helps, because then they know no one is going to come take that suite. Hilton used to comp to gold but recently reduced that perk to only silver. If you travel a lot, most of these cards have a program where you get status if you spend $x per year on the card, but its usually a lot, maybe $30,000.

Post: #17

Also, some hotel loyalty seems to work (but note that most brands wont give you credit for priceline booked deals).

I have kept Hilton Gold for many years easily through US travel, I am not sure how many stays it takes but I get a freebie every so often and it always seems to fit nicely. HGI is a "fairly" reliable brand for US road and bla cities travel. I recently needed to spend a night in NYC on a Saturday and instead of giving these scoundrels enough tax and rates to re-outfit a small third world navy just to stay one night, I used points and stayed for literally free in a Manhattan hilton property. Zero tax, fuck the libtards who run NYC. Somehow I am getting 2 or 3 free nights a year w Hilton brands.

I'm not one of these people who track and maneuver for it, I just use the most expedient solution on each trip. As a business owner I want to save reasonably because its my money. I have zero loyalty to the so called brands almost all of them have no standards, except Trump, Four Seasons, etc. Like I said HGI is ok but one out of 10 will be a dump. Most are pure pot luck and you really have to either waste tons of time reading reviews and trying to read between the lines or just take your chances. The food is a horrifying look into the minds and diets of future cancer survivors at places like Hampton with its microwave fest in the mornings, or any Starwood except W, serving up its special blend of institutional prison food with a splash of food poisoning added for free!

I actually found a Wyndham in Boca w/ a farm to table restaurant which is a nice start to reforming this disgusting industry. To be clear, I sometimes patronize a Trump or Four Seasons and there are NO such issues, however these places are 1 not always where I need them and 2 not always in line with $$$.

In the case of Holiday Inn the express brand is ok for me occasionally and i think it takes 10 direct booked to get a free stay. I don't stay with them all that often and I think I get a freebie every 3 or 4 years w them.