A group of us are going to Vegas the 2nd weekend in October (Thurs-Sun actually) and we've been researching prices for awhile and a couple of months ago they were relatively cheap (around $800 for 2 people at Mandalay Bay, flights included). Now, it's upwards of $1100 for the same hotel.

When is a good time to book? Will it go up more? Or should we hold out a few weeks in hopes it will go down? When is the latest we should try and book?

Thanks!

Are you set on Mandalay Bay? It's at the end of the strip.
Wynn and Encore are far superior hotels and if you sign up for the e-mail, they have incredible deals..
They keep on sending me $109 till end of Sept. mid-week with $50 resort credit..Thurs-Sun are the pricest of days..don't know if they have a convention going on.
I love this hotel..truly a 5* hotel and the food is exquisite.
Also, the Palms is a lot of fun..a couple of blocks off the strip but very hip.
did you try expedia.com?

www.wynnlasvegas.com

Look for hotel discount codes on www.smartervegas.com and www.travelzoo.com

How are you researching rates? Usually, it's best to book directly with the hotel, as often rates go down and down as your dates approach.

If you can use Southwest, check there for fares and fare sales.

Before booking a package, check for hotel reviews and package deal reviews - some have ins/outs.

There are often really good deals for hotels on Hotwire or Priceline, but you need to study Biddingfortravel or Betterbidding first.

Everything turns, though, on what's going on over your dates. Check the Las Vegas convention website. If there are a lot of large conventions during your dates, rates will be much higher.

When you're shopping packages, you never know whether it's the hotel or the air fare creating the price fluctuations, and you must book directly with Southwest. Southwest also offers packages, but double check prices separately.

I agree with everyone above...shop around and you should be able to find something much cheaper. However, you're going over a football weekend and the deals are usually not as significant (especially on the strip).

No we are not set on Mandalay Bay at all. I don't care where we stay, just not somewhere like Paris or Bally's or any of those older ones in the middle. I wondered if we should try and book directly with the hotel. One of the girls I'm going with keeps thinking we need to do a package deal, but I'm thinking that may not be the best route.

And as far as the weekend we are going - football has something to do with the prices??!!

I have been on their web-site and could not find 109.99 a night but got a good package deal at New York New York.

Paris is nice hotel and a great location. As for football, in case you did not know, Nevada is the only state that legally allows sports betting. So, in addition to the normal weekend crowds, people such as myself fly in to bet on College & NFL games.

Try the Venetian Web site, I've been receiving some wonderful offers from them. Not sure where you're fying from but Southwest Airlines offers some very good packages.

Enjoy!

One of the "Center strip" hotels is Bellagio and it is magnificent. Check with them.

Absolutely check Bellagio, Caesar's and The Mirage. These are all center strip and are great, I think.

October rates probably won't go down until late August. 2nd week of October has traditionally been a huge conventions month in Las Vegas. Last year it was more wide-open and this year will probably be the same, but hotels are probably taking a wait-and-see attitude before bringing prices down. It is always one of the more booked-up weeks of the year.

Don't book a non-refundable air package right now, but you might go ahead and book some changeable/cancellable rooms....just so that you're sure to have something. Then you can cancel when a package deal pops up, or if you decide not to go.

Usually package prices go up and down as airfare prices go up and down, rather than the hotel prices. Probably you checked on a day when airfares were on sale, then checked again after the airfare sale had ended. What city are you flying from?

you have to sign up for their e-mail at Wynn and you will get e-mail and fancy invitiations with great deals.
I checked expedia for the second week of Oct. mid week and I thought that the Palms at $66 a night off the strip was one of the best deals..this is an incredible hotel/casino.
Bally's was $109 and Mirage was $79..
Mid October starts revving up the big convention scene..

Don't dismiss Paris--it's a great hotel in an excellent location for access to other hotels and their prices are usually very good. I've stayed there a few times and I'm very fussy. The Venetian has great rooms (all in a bedroom-living room suite set-up). Price-wise it's comparable to Caesar's and less than Wynn, but I think you get more space for the money and there are deals around. Signing up for hotel emails in general can be a great way to get news about deals.

Definitely consider Paris. I found a discount code once day browsing MSNBC, $60/weeknights, $75/weekends. Once there, we were able to upgrade to a LeMans Suite for a few nights for a few dollars more - which was AWESOME. Though, when we transferred to the "standard" room, that was just fine as well, and we discovered later they had given us a "Red Premier" at no extra charge.

We really enjoyed Paris and were almost sorry to leave and move to Wynn.

Thanks everyone. We are flying in from Kansas City. It's so surprising to me how much flights are! I had no idea mid October was convention season.

So...if prices will go down late August, should we wait? I'm not concerened about getting a decent deal on a hotel, I'm more concerned with flights. What will airline prices do that close to the trip?

Since I live in KC and go to Vegast 2-3 times a year, here are few tips:

1. Check SW airlines for package deals
2. Sign up for SWA "Ding" on-line and watch for daily offers to Vegas....we always fly SWA to Vegas because they are the only non-stop service & we can usually get flights for $200 or less
3. As mentioned by others, go to the various casino websites and sign-up for on-line promotions. Based on your comments, Ceasars, Bellagio, Paris, Mirrage, Ventian, Wynn / Encore & MGM Signature should fit the bill

Enjoy!

Flights are $240 from Kansas City, round trip.

We decided just yesterday to check for a Vegas mini-vacation for August, and found what worked best for us is to pay for flights on Southwest - Denver/Vegas (vs using other airline FF miles); and booked a nice size room right thru the Mandalay website, with perks offered.
The trade off is: it is rather warm there now, and with the economy being what it is..the deals are for the current season.
The fall in Vegas brings more groups, usually.Good luck with your plans.

Tom's daughter--I truly envy you if 100 degrees is only rather warm to you!! I had to go to Vegas for several days in July one year and it was 110 when we landed about 1AM and never got much better!! Yeah, it was that good old dry heat...like an oven instead of a jungle. Good luck to all!