Helping young people find accommations in NYC
 

I'm helping a young friend at work to plan a trip to NYC. She is having guests visit her from Australia. SO there will be 8 young people on a very tight budget, looking for somewhere to stay.
They don't really like the idea of hostels. They'd worry about their stuff all day.

Does any one have any other ideas for 8 young people where there stuff will be safe all day. If they rented a room, would thay always have to say how many are staying? Or are there college dorms? I'm grasping here. But they think I can help them because I've travelled a bit.

I'd really love some ideas..
Also they will be piling into to cars and need some where to park them while in the city. I've already told them it will cost them a bundle to take them into the city. Are there safe alternatives?

Any way to help these young poeple would be greatly appreciated.

Why are they driving cars if they are on a tight budget? Where are they coming from? Australia? You can't drive from Australia to NYC!

How long are they staying?

They should probably split into two groups of 4 and rent two apartments.

They should not try to fool the landlord by not revealing how many people are actually renting the place. They could get booted out in the middle of their stay.

How young is young? Most hotels (maybe all?) will not allow them to rent a room if they are under 21.

Also, have you or they checked into security at the hostels? Many that I've looked at lock up completely during the day so that no one is allowed in.

They might look into rooms at the YMCA also.

For alternate parking ideas, where will they be driving in from?

One last thing - do they have an idea of what type of budget they have for room(s)? Total per night, and how many people are willing to share a room? They might do well with an apartment rental, depending on how many days they'll be there. That would also allow them to save money on meals. www.newyorkhabitat.com is one option. Another is Radio City Apartments.

I once stayed in an upscale hostel called Hotel Habitat or Habitat Hotel. Tiny rooms, shared bath, but super clean (marble baths!) and I felt very safe there on my own.

What's the deal these days at the YMCA? Private, lockable rooms and shared baths.

Can you give us a bit more info?

How many days? When? How young is young? And finally why on Earth will they have cars in NYC??

I will have to go back to my freind to get more answers. But to start, I also asked why they were driving when the airfare is so cheap. But with eight of them, piling into a couple of cars is cheaper. They are driving from Toronto.
SO I agee, driving is cheaper for them, simply because there are so many of them. I'm not sure how many day.s Probably 3 or 4.

My young friend is 21, but I'm not sure of the others visiting from Australia.

They aren't sure how safe there stull will be at the hostels...

I do not travel this way, but because I do travel they've asked me to help.

Perhaps the Y is worth checking out. And I also thought of college dorms.
I haven't got a clue where they could leave their cars, but do agree it's cheaper for them to drive from Toronto.I'm wodering if they cold leave them outside the city somewhere without having to worry.

Thanks for the web sites. I will check them out. I appreciate the ideas.

Yes - they could leave cars outside the city at one of the major train stations and then take the train into town - better than paying $30+ per night for parking. They just need to understand the risks in leaving cars overnight in deserted stations.

If they're under 21 they will have major problems - esp with so many of them. Hotels simply won;t rent then rooms - or will require very large security deposits on their credit cards.

There are some very inexpensive european B&B type hotels downtown - but they may have to share baths - but again - we need info on how much they can actually spend.

I rarely reco this - but they may be better off staying in very inexpensive places in Jersey and commuting in by PATH or ferry. But again - any hotel will be hesitant to rent to so many kids and will put large holds on their credit cards.

A hostel is really best - and being so many perhaps they could get one or two rooms to themselves they can lock.

I would doubt they will be able to rent a car either, probably the best way would be to take the bus from Toronto, and probably will save them money in the end, gas is also EXTREMELY expensive this summer.

Most of the car rental companies require the driver to be over 25. Also since they are coming from a Australia, it would be immpossible to check out the drivers liscense.

They might look into flying on Jet Blue out of Buffalo, which also might be a cheaper alternative.

Thank you so much for all the great advice, even though it may not be what my friend wants to hear ( Sorry for all the typos last night...I was too tired).

I didn't realize they would have trouble getting rooms because of their age. I was hoping they woulnd't have to stay outside the city.

I'll ckeck to see how old they all are.

I at frist thougth of them flying, but it' but it works out more for 8 of them. My friend has her own car, so I don't think it involves renting any cars.
I'll find out more today, and hopefully someof them are older.

Thank you.

I do not know any car that will hold 8 people. And there may be insurance issues with young people from outside US/Canada to US. (3 issues - age, nationality, across border).

Bus? Train?

And regular hotel rooms in NYC, in addition to being expensive, are generally on the small side - whereas in some places you can easily put 4 people in a room, this is less possible in NYC.

We really would need more details to provide help.

How long are they planning on staying in NYC?
Ages
Accomodation budget
males and females (there are women's residences but not for men)

Assuming they're 21, staying across the river in New Jersey is one option. Hotels there have parking.

The Travel Inn is the one hotel in NYC that has free parking. Great location for them and budget hotel with large rooms. Not sure about under 21s and it gets booked quickly.

Check insurance costs for young kids from Australia renting cars in Canada. May not be so economical. Alternate idea is driving to Buffalo and flying from there depending on cost of rental.

For 8 young people on a tight budget, a hostel is exactly what they should use, and at the HI/AYH facility, they and their belongings should be safe.

http://www.hinewyork.org/

Tha facility at 103rd & Amsterdam is 2 short blocks from the 103rd/Broadway stop of the 1/9 subways. There are electronic cardkey locks on the doors. They should be able to get a room big enough for all of them (and only them) so no one else will be in the room. Take padlocks and use the lockers if some extra precaution is needed about their "stuff". In addition, they would each have their own bed. No one except registered guests are allowed in the dorm areas. It's a safe place with good deals for young travelers ... discounts at various stores, restaurants, museums, and organized activities focused on younger peoples likes.

I'm better then twice their ages and have used the facility.

There is, or was, a "Chinatown bus" serving NYC and Buffalo & Toronto, worth looking into. Even if they do drive, it would be best to leave the car at a station outside NYC and take commuter rail into the city.

Second the hostel on 103rd. I live not far from there and often see european kids staying there trekking around. They seem very happy with the accommodation - and it's close to the subway, a bunch of buses and Central Park.

Thank you all again. I'm really tring to help these young folks. I now have more information.
There are 8 in total, male and female. Three are Canadian and have cars. They are expecting company ( five people ) from Australia. SO, there won't be any added expense of renting cars. They will pile into the 2 cars owned my Canadians. I usually would suggest flying too, but I have to admit, for 8 of them on a tight budget, piling into 2 cars is really the cheapest way to go. Except for the parking. If they could find a reliable spot , that problem would be solved. McLaurie,I'll check out the Travel Inn.

I mentioned today to my friend that since there are 8 of them, perhaps they could get a hostel room to themselves.
I don't think they even know their budget, only that coming all the way from Australia ( the 5 of them.) they really don't want to miss NYC.

Two of them are 22, the rest 21 and under. SO hopefully the 22 year olds would not have a problem booking something. I honestly didn't know it was a problem for young people.

As for how long? I think 3 or 4 nights.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. It's certainly enough infor to get them started.

They need to get started soom. Decent inexpensive places in NYC get grabbed up VERY quickly - and they don;t want to be sleeping in the Park.

I don't understand the concern about leaving their stuff in hostels. What do they have that is so valuable? For a short trip like this I assume only clothing?

I don't see how they can park two cars within theh city on a tight budget. That's just not reasonable. I really think you need to find a place outside the city for the cars, if not for the kids themselves!!

The best hostels fill up quickly, so if they decide to go this route, I'd move quickly. You might check the forum at the Lonely Planet website which is aimed at younger budget travelers (similar in format to this one).

I would not recommend trying to sneak people into a hotel room. But they could try to find 2 'quads' in a low-end hotel somewhere.

You don't need to be 21 to reserve a room at a YMCA. Here's the West Side YMCA (at Central Park & W 63rd St.). It's very nice.

http://www.ymcanyc.org/sub.php?p=abo...est/guestrooms

I was shocked to see that the West Side YMCA now only has two person rooms and they are $88 a night with communal baths down the hall. At least that's all I could find on their website. For $176 a night you can get a double, double room at a number of hotels instead -- and have a private bath.

A long way from when I spent $6 a night for a single room there in my college days!

Go to Expedia website and type in dates and NYC. Then ask them to sort by price. There are lots of rooms in NJ for about $100 - with 2 double beds - do not know how they feel about sharing a double bed.

Research these and check which ones charge for parking, which ones have reasonable access to public transportation in NYC and/or shuttle service to public transportation. I would not take website's word for this part, since we have found shuttles sometimes disappear in translation from website to reality - so make some phone calls.

And find out what exactly "very tight budget" is - while it is certainly possible to do NYC on a more modest budget, it still is a very expensive city and they need to be reality-based in actual dollar (US, not Canadian) amounts.

Thanks again folks. Because these are young people, they do not have travel experience. Therefore, they don't have any idea what their budget should be. I'm just trying to get them started. The advice has helped.

Suze, there possessions are of value to them. Being inexperienced , they don't know what to expect. But, I too , have heard that security in hostels can be a problem.
They just want to see the Big Apple and have a good time and hopefully have a stress free holiday. They are responsible young people, and wouldn't want to be sneaking in the others.

Wow, the 'Y' is expensive!
They very well may have to stay outside the city.

Thanks again for all the help.

"Having heard" of problems with security in hostels is both too generic and possibly outdated. Definitely have them check the Thorn Tree forums posted above (or do it for them). You can probably get specific information about the hostels in NYC. Also, don't overlook the possibility also suggested above of getting one or two private rooms in a hostel.

Hostels exist specifically for this type of traveler, and they're used extensively by youth from all over the world to travel when they otherwise would not be able to afford it.

Consider how much different the experience would be to come "home" to your hostel by walking through the city late at night, vs. having to haul it back to New Jersey or other out of town area on a train after a night of having fun.

As to not knowing what their budget "should" be, that's not so much relevant. Either they have the money to spend, or they don't, so what they actually have should be dictating their choices, right?

I would love to see how many people have experienced things stolen from their rooms at the Four Seasons or The Plaza compared with the ones who had things stolen at the hostels. I think the fear of their stuff being stolen is pretty unfounded.

Perhaps they should be looking at the rest of their budget too. First, the US dolar - though pitiful vs the euro - is much stronger than the Canadian or australian dollar. Second, even simplt things in NYC are more expensive - esp in US dollars.

I'm not trying to be discouraging. I hope they come and have a great time - but they need to do some sort of a top-line cut at a budget - so they don;t think they can live on $20 per day.

The place at 103/Amsterdam can be found at:
http://www.hostels.com/en/availability.
php/HostelNumber.1850

They do have rooms for 8 at $32 per person as well as secure lockers etc.

What´s with the under 21 thing? I´m 20 and have been considered an adult since I was 18 in Europe. So people will think of me as a kid in NY? Is it only a problem for large groups?

No, it is not just a NY thing or a large group thing. First, although in US people are legally adults at 18, they can not drink legally in any place in US until age 21, can not rent a car from most companies until age 25, and face age restrictions on some hotel rentals until age 21.

It is almost impossible for someone under 18 to rent a hotel room (we discovered this when doing research for our son 2 years ago), and some hotel chains or individual hotels set age as 19, 20 or 21. Not that they check age ID for everyone - if you show up, look presentable, and have a valid credit card, they may choose not to enforce rule - but they can and sometimes do.

Many hotels in the US have been burned by groups of young people partying (and causing thousands of dollars in damage) during spring breaks. Or even just renting rooms for keg parties that no one's parents would let them have at home.

Therefore - if it's an expensive hotel, or if you are a young single or a young couple well-dressed and with good credit you generally will not have any problems.

But groups of young people - esp if casually - not to say sloppily dressed - wanting to stay at inexpensive hotels are very suspect - and most hotels will not take them - or will require large holds on their credit cards.

Unfortunate - but this has been becoming more and more common - and who can blame the hoteliers for not wanting to have their rooms trashed and other guests annnoyed.

As for drinking - the reason for that is to cut down on the huge number of accidents - and deaths - of and caused by teens driving drunk. (Until recently drunk driving was not taken seriously in the US as it is in europe - but was considered a right by many adults - who did it repeatedly with practically no consequences. Now - at least - we're beginning to do something about it.)

I would suggest a hotel thru Priceline for Jersey City. It is very cost effective and allot of people use it as an option when getting something in Manhattan is too expensive.

Review this board and see how many people have gotten the Hyatt Regency for under $60+taxes per day. Even with transportation costs, they should still come out way ahead. Plus, they should be able to find somewhere cheap nearby to park the cars.

http://p070.ezboard.com/fpricelinean...abiddingfrm266

This link show great feedback for the Hyatt

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ew_Jersey.html

Here is a quote from one of the reviews which notes how easy the transportation is:

<i>The Hyatt Jersey City is a great place to bring the family for shopping and sightseeing in NYC. Couldn't be more convenient relative to the Path subway to the World Trade Center. It is a 4-minute subway ride at an affordable $1.20 cost. Better yet, get a 7-day MetroCard Pass and use of the Path and New York City subway and bus systems is unlimited. Even more fun, ride the water taxi or ferries that dock on an adjacent pier and head-out to all parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.</i>

A million years ago--okay, ten--I stayed with a college group at the Vanderbilt YMCA. It was clean and convenient and inexpensive, and maybe it still is. We shared baths (like a dorm) but had rooms for four that locked just like a motel room. Good luck.

There is no way a hotel will rent to 8 people when only one in the group is over 21. Not going to happen.

I highly suggest going the hostel route.

As far as the car situation, I would park the cars in New Jersey and take NJTransit into Manhattan.

ONce again, thank you all so much. I've passed all the information along to the young lady and she's please to at least have options that she hadn't thought of.
It's good to hear that hostels are a good choice. I've never stayed in one in North America.

As long as they have a clean , safe place , they'll be fine.
Thanks again.

&lt;&lt;Suze, there possessions are of value to them. Being inexperienced , they don't know what to expect. But, I too , have heard that security in hostels can be a problem&gt;&gt;

I understand all that... The point I was trying to get across is if this is only a 3-4 day trip, they shouldn't need many &quot;valuables&quot; with them.

Using a money belt is always smart. So what would be left behind in a hostel for the day would simply be the next day's clothing. I would hope they aren't traveling with fancy electronics, expensive cameras, etc. and if they are they should carry them not leave them in the hostel.