The Money Mustache Community

Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: LAL on July 13, 2014, 08:27:21 PM

Title: Hotel stays
Post by: LAL on July 13, 2014, 08:27:21 PM
Am I crazy but many of my friends think nothing of spending $100-200/night on a hotel/vacation rental.  To them anything under $200 is a deal.  I never spend over $100 and find it more than adequate.

What do most mustachians spend?
Title: Re: Hotel stays
Post by: RyanHesson on July 13, 2014, 08:53:05 PM
I don't travel much. It's hard for me to justify spending a month's rent on 3 day's hotel stay.

Only time I traveled that I paid for it myself (IE, not work, with my parents as a teenager kind of thing) I paid $420 for flight/hotel for 3 nights. Not sure what part was flight and what part was hotel. We booked 2 days before we left so I think it was pretty cheap because they just had excess space on the flight and rooms in the hotel.
Title: Re: Hotel stays
Post by: ketchup on July 13, 2014, 09:30:27 PM
We usually pay about $50-90 per night depending on the area we're in.  This includes pet fees if applicable, as we're usually traveling with dogs.  When possible, we go to places like Motel 6 that don't charge pet fees.
Title: Re: Hotel stays
Post by: Zikoris on July 13, 2014, 11:32:54 PM
Depends where you are. We just got back from a big trip yesterday, and paid :

Budapest, 1 bedroom apartment, ~$40/night
Vienna, 1 bedroom apartment, ~$50/night
Zurich, hotel, ~$120/night
Paris, very nice 1 bedroom apartment (chandeliers and stuff), ~$115/night (this was an expensive last minute fix to a serious problem - we rented a place on AirBnB that turned out to be a HUGE lemon and had to find a new place to stay on the spot at 10PM, in the middle of a rainstorm, with limited French speaking abilities, and no phone - fortunately we've been to Paris before and are familiar with neighbourhoods and stuff)

I really don't like to pay more than $100/night, and prefer closer to $50, but it's a bit of a stretch in some European cities.
Title: Re: Hotel stays
Post by: Snow White on July 14, 2014, 01:19:35 PM
We try to avoid hotels if at all possible and generally do better renting a house/condo or apartment  through Home Away but we are usually traveling for a week or two at a time. There is usually a number of nights minimum that won't work if you need just a day or two.  The home rentals save us money too as it is easier to eat most meals in or to reheat leftovers. 
Title: Re: Hotel stays
Post by: MgoSam on July 14, 2014, 01:23:26 PM
I always look to pay $60 at most, regardless of where I am. In Vegas I am there for about 2 7day stints each year, we stay at a motel near where we need to be for about $58/night. The only time I pay over $100 for work is in Chicago, and that's cause every exhibitor stays at either that hotel or a similarly-priced one.
Title: Re: Hotel stays
Post by: Thegoblinchief on July 14, 2014, 01:26:05 PM
We are usually traveling to visit family or friends and I'm young enough I can handle 13-14 hours of driving per day, so we avoid hotels for the most part. If all you want is a room, the cheapest possible, under $75 in the US. If you are going to be some place for a while, however, spending a little more to get something with a kitchenette can save you money versus eating out for all 3 meals.
Title: Re: Hotel stays
Post by: Mrs. Frugalwoods on July 14, 2014, 01:33:51 PM
We have the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest credit card, which equals free stays at Starwood properties (Westin, Sheraton, The W, Four Points, Aloft, etc). So we use that anytime we can. If there's no Starwood property in the city we're visiting, we've had great luck with Airbnb--rooms for a fraction of the price that often include a kitchen, which is a major bonus!

My husband used to travel for work A LOT (still does some) and so we were able to rack up major Starwood points through his business travel. We also use Starwood for our international travel--they have properties worldwide and the points transfer 1 to 1 regardless of currency conversion rates.
Title: Re: Hotel stays
Post by: anisotropy on July 14, 2014, 01:46:45 PM
wow you guys are pro. Hotel cost has always been high when I/We travel.

I remember when I went to Prague in 2012 the hotel was about $140/night, and I thought to myself , wow so much cheaper than Copenhagen.

We had just come back from Vancouver, the hotel cost is astronomical compared to what you guys mentioned.

Zikoris,
Please teach me how!
Title: Re: Hotel stays
Post by: Numbers Man on July 14, 2014, 02:35:44 PM
I like to spend under $100 a night but that number can be difficult when traveling to NYC or Las Vegas since I like to stay at 4 and 5 star hotels. I use priceline to shop for hotel rooms.
Title: Re: Hotel stays
Post by: Zikoris on July 14, 2014, 02:35:54 PM
wow you guys are pro. Hotel cost has always been high when I/We travel.

I remember when I went to Prague in 2012 the hotel was about $140/night, and I thought to myself , wow so much cheaper than Copenhagen.

We had just come back from Vancouver, the hotel cost is astronomical compared to what you guys mentioned.

Zikoris,
Please teach me how!

We used AirBnB for our apartments in Budapest and Vienna, which is often a good option.

We used EasyHotel in Zurich - they're a budget hotel chain associated with EasyJet that has a lot of locations in Europe, and I'd definitely stay in one again if AirBnB wasn't a good option. They range from about $30/night in Budapest to $120/night in Zurich.

We tried and failed to use AirBnB in Paris, but stumbled across a good option instead - some hostels in the city also own one or two apartments that they rent out, in addition to the hostel bunk beds. They don't advertise, but it's worth asking, since they tend to be around AirBnB rates and you can come and go as you please (hostels normally kick everyone out for several hours a day while they clean).

If you're looking to stay in Vancouver, check out some bed and breakfasts around the Cambie and Broadway area - there are a lot of the huge old heritage houses that have been converted into very nice Victorian style bed and breakfasts for much more reasonable prices.

Now if I can just get my flight costs down :(
Title: Re: Hotel stays
Post by: Villanelle on July 14, 2014, 02:42:59 PM
This depends entirely on where I'm traveling.  There are place where $125 is a great deal, and places where I'd not spend over $60.

Airbnb, booking, and vrbo/homeaway are great for keeping costs down.  I also like Trip Advisor and sorting by bargain to see what they offer that is cheap but well rated. 

I've used Pricline in Vegas and stayed at a 4 star hotel (Aria) for crazy cheap.  I was being reimbursed but I still couldn't bring myself to spend anywhere near my maximum reimbursement amount.  Since I didn't pay, I've forgotten the exact price, but it was so cheap that when I bid, I assumed there was zero chance of me getting a room.

For an upcoming Scotland trip, we are doing all small B&Bs and I was pleasantly surprised at the prices, even given how expensive the area is and how crappy the dollar to pound is. 
Title: Re: Hotel stays
Post by: anisotropy on July 14, 2014, 03:57:40 PM
[We used AirBnB for our apartments in Budapest and Vienna, which is often a good option.

We used EasyHotel in Zurich - they're a budget hotel chain associated with EasyJet that has a lot of locations in Europe, and I'd definitely stay in one again if AirBnB wasn't a good option. They range from about $30/night in Budapest to $120/night in Zurich.

We tried and failed to use AirBnB in Paris, but stumbled across a good option instead - some hostels in the city also own one or two apartments that they rent out, in addition to the hostel bunk beds. They don't advertise, but it's worth asking, since they tend to be around AirBnB rates and you can come and go as you please (hostels normally kick everyone out for several hours a day while they clean).

If you're looking to stay in Vancouver, check out some bed and breakfasts around the Cambie and Broadway area - there are a lot of the huge old heritage houses that have been converted into very nice Victorian style bed and breakfasts for much more reasonable prices.

Now if I can just get my flight costs down :(

Cool thanks. Ya we stayed at Canada Place this time :|

I think I've stayed at EazyHotel once in London. I was only there for one night. It was clean, didn't come with any windows though.