Getting good hotel deals

Hi

I am going to Vegas in November and as yet have not arranged any accomodation.

Would anyone recomend waiting until the day of check-in to book a room. My thinking is that I could get a good rate from a hotel trying to get rid of it's last few rooms, can it work like that?

I am not bothered about moving hotels during my stay, I would like to stay a few of the nicer hotels and get as good a rate as possible.

I appreciate your thoughts.

Kevin

[Scrooge]

Not the best idea in the world,even though there are over 140k hotel rooms in Vegas the town can sell out on any given day.What I would say is check a site like yahoo travel for a base rate,meaning something to compare other rates with.Next check the hotels own website.Lastly check http://www.travelworm.com ,they seem to have the best consolidated Vegas rates right now.

[Nottingham Nick]

I will give you my thoughts before Dave comes in with the right answer.:D

The secret is always to shop around. Sometimes you get great deals last minute, sometimes you don't... the problem if you leave it until the last minute and there aren't the right deals to be had, then you have run out of options. it is a gambel, but then you are going to the city of gamblers. [}:)][}:)]

IMHO the best thing to do is choose a hotel or several hotels, and decide how much you would consider being a good rate. Get on the mailing lists of the hotel(s) of choice. You do this by visiting their website and signing up. You will then receive regular 'special offers'. Some are last minute, but some can be booked well in advance.

Remember... Vegas hotel rates vary more than any others in the world. As a rule of thumb, Monday to Thursday are the cheapest, with a leap at weekends. It all depends on what is going on when you visit, if there are loads of mega conventions or huge exhibitions, then rates will go through the roof. If you are lucky to hit a quiet time (if there is such a thing any more) then you may hit it lucky.

I am sure that, as this forum developes, lots of hints and tips will be posted.

Nick

[Scrooge]

Please remember though..Vegas rates going through the roof for the most part are still cheaper than SFO or NY.

I can't find any cheap hotels in NYC for October, so I'm booking one I like, where I don't have to pay till I check out, and I can cancel with 1 days notice. If I get a good deal somewhere else, I'll take it

So if you can, book a fall back hotel where you wouldn't mind staying if all else fails.

HTH

Hi FV,

As a general rule it can be quite hit or miss regarding waiting til the last minute to secure hotel deals. I generally find the deals get better the earlier you book, however you can often find some last minute specials.

Give TravelAxe (http://www.travelaxe.com/) a go. It's a great program that searches a lot of the reservation sites on the internets and compares their deals. Remember that if you book direct you'll often get the best rate and can sometimes hammer them down on price!

Good luck

Alex

With Vegas i always book early.

I've been caught out a couple of times with late booking and finding all the decent places to stay are either full or only have the all singing all dancing suites available for thousands of dollars a night.

Book early!

[Scrooge]

This problem is only going to get worse.

With New Orleans get hit by hurricane katrina last year it pretty much knocked them out of the convention biz,the only place with enough spare capacity to take all the conventions was...Vegas...and for some reason the convention people like coming here,so once we get them they tend not to leave,except of course for Comdex and that honestly broke my heart [:w].

However all those convention goers need to sleep at night so they take up room's that tourists would have taken,hence in the next year or so we will see another series of hotel expansions along with more convention space.

I booked my NY hotel on http://www.quikbook.com. I can book now, pay later. I will then cancel if I find a better deal.

I'd certainly agree with booking something you like now and cancelling the reservation nearer the time if something better /cheaper turns up (most hotels allow you to cancel up to 24hrs ahead without penalty).I too am going in November and had to shuffle my dates because of some convention in the first few days of the month that seemed to be pushing prices up significantly.The room type I've booked at the Bellagio has gone up $30 a night since I made the booking (which is cancellable)so I'm happy at the moment.Obviously if any promotions/better options occur nearer the time I can cancel and not loose out.

You'll need to shop around, especially if you arrive at a weekend - many hotels don't seem to accept check-ins on a Saturday - sometimes a Friday too....

[Scrooge]

Claire,you'll find that that is mostly for the biggest holdidays only,new years weekend and superbowl,then it's a friday check in deal.

quote:Originally posted by LipstickWith Vegas i always book early.

I've been caught out a couple of times with late booking and finding all the decent places to stay are either full or only have the all singing all dancing suites available for thousands of dollars a night.

Book early!
[/quote]

I totally agree with Lippy. If you want the decent accommodation, you just need to bite the bullet price-wise:D

[Scrooge]

As with everything in life,if you want something good you will have to pay for it.

Originally posted by jetwet1
Claire,you'll find that that is mostly for the biggest holdidays only,new years weekend and superbowl,then it's a friday check in deal.

Hasn't been my experience Jet. My visits have never coincided with either of those holidays, yet I've come up against this problem each time, for many of the hotels I've tried!

Kevin,

Have to concur with everyone else's views - shop around and even when you find a deal you're happy with, keep looking! I'm off there in September - well, just a couple of nights stopover really, and haven't been impressed with anything I've so far found, price-wise.