Will hotels let you stay a few hours at a discounted rate?
I know that I would need to contact the hotel, but generally speaking, if I'm staying at HotelX from 12/28-1/3, and my plane lands at 11:30PM on 12/27, is there any way HotelX can help us? Or will I need to pay a full additional night?
We'll be visiting Manhattan this week, but I haven't made reservations at a hotel yet because I'm trying to see if there are any hotels that won't charge us a full night.
Best Answer
Yes, there are accommodations in many large cities, including New York, that hourly, daily and weekly rates.
However, unless they are specifically airport transit hotel, these establishments are not catering toward the tourist or visitor markets. You may infer the reasons for this.
Tourist and business class hotels, even budget operations sell "room-nights" only. Therefore, if you need the room anytime before check-in, you will have to pay for the previous night as well.
Late night arrivals into any city are very common and there is no motivation for hotels to offer partial night rates.
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How can I get a free night stay at a hotel?
Travel tip: how to stay for FREE at a hotelCan hotels give you discounts?
Hotels are in the business of filling up as many rooms as possible. If a room is not filled, the hotel does not make money on it. For this reason, hotels are often quite flexible on price. Even high-end luxury hotels will give out discounts to entice savvy customers to stay.Do hotels give you a discount if you check in late?
Checking in LateInquire about receiving a cheaper room rate if checking in very late. Many of the big hotel chains won't budge on room rates just because the customer will be checking in at midnight, but many smaller operations might, such as inns, bed and breakfasts or boutique hotels.The #1 Travel Hack Of 2020 - How ANYONE Can Get 50% Off Hotels
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Answer 2
Generally speaking, no. From the hotel's perspective, occupying the room at night is the main thing that they're charging for. It doesn't make much difference to them whether you arrive at 3pm or midnight; either way, you're taking up a room during the night (most types of hotel can't rent the same room to someone else who only wants it from 3pm-11pm). That said, if you contact the hotel directly, they often have some flexibility to negotiate rates, so you can ask what they have to offer, but that flexibility evaporates fast if the hotel is busy.
You could try booking sites like the HotelTonight app (I'll be super spammy here and tell you that referral code "ZLIPTON" will get you $25 off, but it's honestly the site I was going to recommend even before I realized they have any kind of referral promotion), which often has especially low prices for last-minute hotel stays, since hotels would rather sell a room to someone than let it go empty overnight. The danger is that you're waiting to the last minute, and if hotels in the area are busy, there may be no rooms or only exorbitantly priced rooms left.
If you're willing and able to stay out all night, you might ask if a hotel can guarantee you an early check-in, either for free or a smaller charge. If you can check in around 9-10am and be assured a room then, that would also solve your problem, but at the cost of a potentially exhausting and unpleasant night.
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