gawr0008

I'm planning a bachelor party for my friend. My friend wants me to find an apartment/ condo In the French quarter to rent for 4 or 5 days. There will probably be around 10 to 15 people who will want to come. We are thinking we want to go from April 30th to May 4th.

My question, is it possible to find someone who would be willing to rent out their apartment/ condo to a group of guys on their bachelor party in the French quarter? Or should we look for cheap hotel rooms in the the French quarter? I guess we do not have to be right in the French quarter, but we want it to be walking distance. Any ideas of costs? Or rental agencies in that area?

Any comments and help will be greatly appreciated.

kevinbryon

The problem you are going to run into is that you're visiting during the 2nd weekend of Jazz Fest (May 1-5), which is easily the the most popular time of year outside of Mardi Gras. And even though you're still a good 3.5 months away from your trip, you'll be hard pressed to find ANY rentals, let alone something that's going to accommodate 10-15 guys. Obviously looking can't hurt, so hit up VRBO or a similar site (just Google "New Orleans vacation rentals", there are a handful of options). You could also use Craigslist, but be careful, as it's often used to scam people.

My suggestion is to purchase a few hotel rooms, cram a bunch of guys in and split the cost. It's likely to be cheaper and all you're really going to do is sleep and shower there anyway, so why spend a bunch of extra money on something you won't take full advantage of.

PS. If you want a great list of places in the FQ to hit, let me know.

DebitNM

Many apartment/ house rental include lease that specifically prohibits just this sort of thing. I doubt you will find anything big enough IN FQ anyway for that many people. Rent rooms.

nytraveler

I don;t think you will find it possible to rent an apartment - probably only an entire house. (Landlords usually won't allow rentals to so many people.)

But be prepared for the house owner to ask for a very large damage deposit unless you lie about why you are renting the house.

bardo1

This is exactly what you asked for. In the center of the FQ, great reviews, welcomes bachelor parties (and adjusts the security deposit accordingly), $49/night per person weekdays and $59/night per person weekends. Good luck!

http://www.vrbo.com/391406

AAFrequentFlyer

bardo1

you have the pp rates correct but you failed to mention the base rates and cleaning fees.

BACHELOR PARTIES: $499/night base rate + EACH PERSON is $69/night (NO STRIPPERS! NO OUTSIDE GUESTS! NO WILDNESS!)

AAFrequentFlyer

10 guys = $499 + $690 + cleaning fee (varies) per night.

Great looking house, but not sure if it's within most budgets, especially for 5 days, which would come out to ~$6000 plus rental fee.

dwdvagamundo

I'd reschedule for sometime later in May when Jazz Fest is not going on.

kevinbryon

I agree with dwdvagamundo. New Orleans is one of those cities that's worth visiting any time of the year. You'll find prices for things drop significantly if you wait as well. My buddy and I are actually going the weekend after Jazz Fest this year and we've both already spent about 65% of what we did last year on hotel and airfare.

SusanCS

DebitNM is right. In the French Quarter there are VERY rigid regulations/laws about who may and who may not rent their own property. I'd advise you to check very carefully before renting anything there.

bardo1

Missed that about the base rate on the VRBO house. Still.....it seems like a very good deal. Assume the worst cast cleaning fee of $499. That's $6500 divided by 15 people equals $434 per person total for five nights. That's less than $87/night per person....

WorldGallery

Unless you are set on those dates, my advice is to pick another weekend. Jazz Fest brings some of the most expensive hotels prices of the year. Even the old, basic hotels in the French Quarter (or area right around the FQ) will double or triple in price. If you find a price that looks to good to be true for a hotel, then the hotel is in an area that you wouldn't want to stay in (New Orleans East on streets like Read Blvd or Chef Menteur).
Last minute deals are rare and group rates do not apply during Jazz Fest. If you search on VRBO, make sure to put in your exact dates so that you can see the actual prices for your dates.

AAFrequentFlyer

bardo1

no it doesn't. I based my original calculations on 10 persons. If we're talking about 15 than the total cost will be around $8200 for 5 days. (not sure if taxes are added). Anyways, that comes out to ~$110 pp per night.

As I said, the house looks great and perfect for a bachelor party and great FQ location, but are all 15 willing to shell out that kind of money?