What's with NYC hotel prices in late March?

What's with NYC hotel prices in late March? - Exterior of shop with shiny neon inscriptions and vintage TV sets on street in late evening

There's a concert I want to go to on March 25, 2016, in New York City. I live close enough to drive, but far enough away that I don't want to have to drive back late at night afterwards. So I did what any reasonable citizen of the Internet would do: I looked for a hotel on Orbitz.

I was a bit shocked when everything it came up with cost in the neighborhood of $200, which is ridiculously expensive for a single room for a single night, particularly because they're offering those same hotel rooms for tonight for more like $120. Aren't accommodations supposed to be less expensive when you reserve several months in advance?!?

I can only think of two possibilities for this: either something non-obvious is going on that night (not this concert; it's not some enormous stadium-filling thing by any means) that's driving demand through the roof throughout the area... or Orbitz is trying to screw me over for some reason. (I find this less unlikely than the idea that every single one of the hotels it showed are all trying to.)

Does anyone have any idea what's going on, and how I can get a reasonable rate?



Best Answer

Possibly related is also the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, AKA March Madness. New York hosts one of the early round matches around March 18th, with another early round match being held at Providence around the same date (which is less than 200 miles away) and Philadelphia (100 miles away) hosting East regional semifinals on the 25th. It's likely that hotels are preparing to receive a large number of guests that arrive around the 15th and then stay until the 25th, since 100-200 miles is not that big a distance to drive by car or even via train or bus. In addition, there are also a number of New York sports teams that receive out of state visitors, for hockey and regular competition basketball mainly.

In addition, you have Saint Patrick's day which is just close enough to easter to combine the 2, the NCAA Wrestling Championships that fall around the 17th, and the Red Bull Soccer home opener on March 22nd.

Combine that with Good Friday and Spring Break as Karlson mentions, and you have a combination of drunken teens wanting to party, Romantic couples and family outings around Easter, People combining SPD and Easter and athletes and supporters from 5 different disciplines that all arrive in the same city around the same period. If you don't take advantage of that as a hotel manager, you're a bigger saint than Saint Patrick himself.




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Why are hotels so expensive at the moment?

A booming economy and a shortage of land also push up prices. So room rates in the crowded, still economically buoyant south of England are high \u2013 because hoteliers can charge the rates and still fill the rooms.

What is the average price of a hotel room in New York City?

Good to knowLow seasonJanuaryHigh seasonDecemberAverage price (weeknight)$292Average price (weekend night)$310

How much money do you need for 4 nights in New York?

Re: How much do money do I need for 4 nights on New York? average $200 a night for hotel, and $100 a day for attractions and $150 for budget food, and add extra for nicer restaurants, alcohol, cab rides or more expensive attractions like helicopter ride or cruise boat.



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