Switching hotels mid-trip--would you do it?
 

DD (24) and I are beginning our plans to visit New York in mid-May, probably for six nights. We are planning to see shows, sightsee, shop...the usual. Between the two of us, plus DH (who is not going) we could likely cobble together free stays for several of the nights using points from Hilton, Marriott, etc. But this would require switching hotels mid-trip, of course, probably several times. Would you do this? Or is it too big of a hassle? Just looking for opinions. Thanks!

Several times in six nights would be too many for me, but for two or three times I would pack light and do it. It could be interesting spending time in different neighborhoods.

HTTY

I used to do this all of the time on business travel, switching hotels every night. Like you said, you maximize the number of "stays" very quickly. You also tend to get any check-in goodies each night, and on business travel if you learn you can go home a day early, at least you're already checked out of the hotel. Some of my co-workers thought I was nuts, others would do the same thing. (I also usually do the same thing on vacations, but that's because they are driving vacations and we spend each night in a different city.) I think the key is to travel light, never really unpack, and have a car during the day to keep your bags in. When visiting a major city like New York I wouldn't switch because I generally wouldn't have a car.

What you could do to see if you personally find it to be too much of a hassle is stay at one hotel, but pack up your bags every morning and put them in the car. These days checking in & out usually it pretty quick so if you're OK with the daily packing & unpacking, then next time you can give it a try. If you find you're not OK with it, at least your reservations won't force you to keep it up all week.

Hey - one switch after three days no problemo. One switch every two days takes a hearty traveler, but I don't mind doing it if it's using points, etc. :)

Sorry, mis-read your original post. For using free stays at most I might switch once. You can likely book consecutive nights at the same hotel, some free & some paid, and any reasonable desk clerk should work with you to seamlessly check out and back in so at least you're not paying out of pocket for every night.

I would do it. Hotels in New York are expensive and I don't have an issue with switching to save that much money. Most hotels will either hold your bags for a few hours after checkout, or hold them for a few hours before checkout so where to store your bags shouldn't be an issue.

I'd just take a few minutes upon checkin to pull out the clothes you want to wear until you checkout, then leave everything else alone. Just designate one bag for dirty clothes, maybe rearrange halfway through as the dirty bag gets full and the others empty out and it'll take you very little time to unpack/pack at each hotel.

I would stay in the same place - just much less hassle. If yuo can get free by swithcing once I would consider it. More than that and you are spending too much time dealing with hotels (and you may have to moce out before you can move into the next - aconstantly checking and tracking luggage.)

I'd do it once, but I'd resist doing it more often.

I've certainly done this, but not voluntarily. Only when I had no other choice (hotel was booked other days, etc.). However, I'm also cheap, so I'd do it once if I could get mostly free days. But only once. It means you don't have access to a room for most of a day and lose hours of your vacation. To me, not worth it even for a free room.

Thanks for your thoughts. I consider myself to be pretty frugal, especially when traveling because good deals can be had with some legwork, so I am having trouble reconciling my need for a good deal with possibly wasting some very valuable NYC vacation time messing with this.

Been there and done that in multiple citys, including NYC and LA to get the most out of my points and to boost the numbers of stays for a particular change. Go for it and save the bucks for shows and food!

There is always more money - your time is limited. (I remember my grandmother - who grew up in a railroad lfat on 106th st and lived modestly her whole life - say, "it's only money and in the long run much less important than many other things" - like family, friends and the very valuable time you can spend with them. When old, no one ever says I'm sorry I spent time with my family.

forget the few dollars and enjoy yourself.

Hello, Musicfan & DD:

I would not switch. Save the cobbled stays for another trip...one night here, one night there (again no switches).

For NYC, choose your hotel: Marriott, Hilton, whatever....Choose your room/view, go to NYC, settle in & have a great time knowing you do not have to pack up & move to another hotel. Your room will feel like home after Day 1!

But, that's just me.

BTW, mid-May is my favorite to be to be in NYC.

Enjoy!

Ocean

Switching once in 6 days wouldn't be a problem, I would think. In September we were in New York City for 10 nights. We wanted to use Priceline but couldn't get a 4 star for the 10 nights. We did eventually get Priceline for 8 nights and got a good deal through Quikbook for the other 2 nights. It worked out great for us and we enjoyed staying in 2 different parts of the city.

I don't think I would, but six nights in May can be very expensive in NYC. Maybe I would do it one time, but not more than that.

Book cancellable reservations wherever you'd like for now and keep looking for discounts. I found a 'secret sale' hotel on quikbook last May that was a 3* Hampton Inn in Chelsea (or some such, it could have been a different but similar hotel closer to MSG, but of the same ilk) for $129.00 before taxes.
t was a fairly new hotel and the rate included breakfast. Doesn't get better than that.

Travelzoo is a good place to find discounts about a month before your scheduled stay. Maybe a great discount will sweeten the pot a little to encourage you to stay put in one place for your stay. Good luck finding the perfect spot!

I would not hesitate to do it once during a 6 night trip but probably wouldn't do it more than that. I just got back from Las Vegas on a 4 night trip and switched hotels once to take advantage of comped rooms. More than once would be too much of a hassle.

Once -- absolutely -- for free in New York. For me there'd be no question. But I would NOT change more than once.

Multiple changes would just eat up too much time. Plus check out and check in times are usually 3 to 4 hours apart so you might have to leave your w/ the bell captain at one or the other hotel and return for it later.

So - to save hundreds of $$$, I'd certainly be willing to move once, but not every couple of days

I wouldn't do it more than 1x in a six day stay. Also only if it puts you in a different neighborhood of the city to be more convenient to seeing different things.

I think it depends on a lot of things. Some people live out of a suitcase anyway, never really unpacking and "settling in". If you're one of those people and if you wind up getting the whole stay free, why not? Caveat for me would be what hotels will it get you? If you only have enough points for poorly located hotels (ie over by the Javits Center or in the financial district when everything you want to do is in midtown), free isn't worth much. Just take into account that unless you plan well, checking in and out and moving each day can take time and perhaps cost unecessary expense if you wind up taking taxis with luggage. I think staying midtown and in a trendier downtown location like Soho or Tribeca would be fun for this trip.

We do fairly frequently (although not in NYC), usually to save money. Once, absolutely. I might hesitate at twice.

Yep. Would do it and have done it. One trip I was at the LaQuinta on points and switched to the Hilton for a Priceline room. It's not a problem at all. That trip also confirmed I prefer the convenience of a mid-point hotel (free wifi, breakfast, access to business club and free printing of theatre tickets) vs having to pay for everything at a "nicer" hotel.

I actually think it would be quite a bit easier to do this in NY than elsewhere because Manhattan is so compact. True you'll go 3 or 4 hours without a room, but leaving one hotel and getting to and checking into the other shouldn't take more than a couple of hours at most.

Thanks for all the responses--lots to think about here! Unfortunately, I don't think we will be able to get all six nights free no matter what we do, which is fine. And I love and have used Quikbook, Travelzoo and Priceline, all of which offer lots of low-cost options in New York. And I am considering staying in a more "neighborhood-y" type area rather than the tourist center. For those familiar with maitaitom's recent trip report, The Chelsea Pines Inn might be a fun option as well.