How to get a cheap hotel when they are all expensi

[dancingirl21]

I posted earlier about Vegas for H's 30th. Now I've discovered there is a Formula 1 race in Austin Nov 16-18. I can get flights with miles, the tickets are fairly pricey, but this would be his dream event to go to (outside of actually going in Monaco). Problem is, hotels are literally hundreds per night. I saw the La Quinta for $550/ night.

I don't want to book flights before having a hotel secured. But, since I'm booking with miles, I would need to do this fairly soon.

Any ways to score a cheap hotel? I'm pretty much screwed, huh?

[pamela]

Look farther out. You're going to have to drive to the event anyway, might as well drive a bit farther.

[MadamePresident]

You're probably not going to find cheap hotel tickets for the Form 1 Race. I would just find the best you can and figure it will be worth it. My husband really wanted to go as well, but unfortunately the timing wasn't going to work for us.

[Deleted]

$550 for La Quinta blows my mind. I'd look further away or maybe try VRBO or Airbnb.

[Deleted]

Oh oh, can you camp?

[dawnyp]

When there are events in town the hotels jack up their prices. I once paid $500 for a Best Western because of a sporting event I was attending. You can try looking further away but even hotels an hour away may be taking advantage.

[dancingirl21]

Sept 28, 2012 13:52:54 GMT -5 @notquiteblushing said:

$550 for La Quinta blows my mind. I'd look further away or maybe try VRBO or Airbnb.

I know, my eyes bugged out when I saw this.

What are these other things you speak of? I've never heard of them...

[dancingirl21]

Sept 28, 2012 13:53:21 GMT -5 @notquiteblushing said:

Oh oh, can you camp?

We are not campers. Good suggestion for someone who might enjoy that, though!

[Deleted]

Oh bogus. I just looked up a campground and they're not accepting reservations on those dates. Guess it wasn't an original idea. Make some friends in Austin between now and then?

[Deleted]

Sept 28, 2012 13:58:08 GMT -5 dancingirl21 said:

Sept 28, 2012 13:52:54 GMT -5 @notquiteblushing said:

$550 for La Quinta blows my mind. I'd look further away or maybe try VRBO or Airbnb.

I know, my eyes bugged out when I saw this.

What are these other things you speak of? I've never heard of them...

VRBO.com is vacation rental by owner and Airbnb.com is similar except sometimes all you get is a room in someone's house.

[Deleted]

Is this in LV or Austin? In Austin, you can expand your search to Round Rock and/or San Marcos. These are about 30 minutes outside of Austin. I would also try hotwire or bidding on priceline.

[dancingirl21]

Sept 28, 2012 14:08:01 GMT -5 @missy1 said:

Is this in LV or Austin? In Austin, you can expand your search to Round Rock and/or San Marcos. These are about 30 minutes outside of Austin. I would also try hotwire or bidding on priceline.

It is in Austin.

[dancingirl21]

I also looked at places around an hour outside Austin, and they are all high too. Like $350+.

H's father has some sort of fancy Marriott card/points program and he has let us use that for trips before. I emailed to see if he has any deals with them right now. He loves to coordinate and help with things like this, so I think that's sort of my last ditch effort.

[mrssandro]

What sites are you using? I scored a nice hotel at the Airport in my last visit. Less than $100 a night. I used Hotwire.

[dancingirl21]

Sept 28, 2012 14:54:55 GMT -5 mrssandro said:

What sites are you using? I scored a nice hotel at the Airport in my last visit. Less than $100 a night. I used Hotwire.

Hotwire, Priceline, orbitz, expedia. Prices are incredibly inflated because of this international formula 1 race.

[mrssandro]

Check out Bastrop. It's a small town right out of Austin. (30 or so minutes) I grew up there. They have some hotels.

[isabel]

You might consider looking out in Lakeway/Lake Travis area. It's about a half hour or so from where the race will be, so the hotels around there may not have jacked up the prices so much. I'd also seriously look at vacation rentals in those areas as well.

If I still lived there I'd rent you a room.

[isabel]

Sept 28, 2012 14:08:01 GMT -5 @missy1 said:

Is this in LV or Austin? In Austin, you can expand your search to Round Rock and/or San Marcos. These are about 30 minutes outside of Austin. I would also try hotwire or bidding on priceline.

Round Rock, maybe, depending on how far out you went. I would NOT look at San Marcos unless you want a lengthy drive. It's a ways out there compared to the race site.

ETA: Bastrop is a good idea as well.

[audette]

In Austin for the F1 race?

Good luck.


My company's main office is in Austin. Our office manager has given the no-go on meetings that week because of the hotel costs. _If_ a room is to be found, $500+ is the price range you are looking at.

Like others mentioned, you could look at surrounding towns, but everyone else will be doing that (Round Rock, Hutto, Manor, Bastrop, Georgetown, etc). If you have a military connection and are OK with a drive, there might be space in lodging on Fort Hood (1.5-2 hours away), and the prices there are less likely to be impacted by the race.

But, honestly, I'd be prepared to pay a rediculously amount, or to drive 1.5-2 hours each way to get to the race (and get down to a not rediculous, but not cheap rate doing this).

[Deleted]

Not my first 10 choices but also check Waco or San Antonio. Neither are too far of a drive.

[Deleted]

I'd say go to Vegas and watch the race there. I was in Vegas for the World Series and got free drinks in the sports lounge the whole time. We didn't even gamble that night.

[heliocentric]

I don't think you can. We looked and even months ago the prices were insane.

I also looked extensively at rentals on VRBO and other sites. A rental that would typically go for $125 a night would have a minimum of 4 nights and be $500+ a night for the race weekend.

We decided to skip Austin and bank on the race in NJ actually taking place next year. We live in NJ, so this is easy for us. Can you consider that? I'm sure prices here will be jacked up, too, but there are many more options, including staying farther away and taking the train. Plus it's a road course, which I like.

The only thing I didn't look into was a house swap. Maybe someone wants to get away from the chaos that weekend and would be willing to swap with you. I've never done that, so I can't say if it's a truly good idea or not.

[Deleted]

Craigslist for a room or an apartment sublet.

[vegas]

Sept 28, 2012 18:10:44 GMT -5 @songforyou said:

You tried offering your own price when you used Priceline, also?

I have been finding really good deals lately on the flash travel sites, so I would look there, too.

This is what I was going to suggest, the "name your own price" via priceline. Don't check the prices of the listed hotels, actually bid on an unnamed hotel. If you go 4 star or higher you could get a really nice place. We scored an awesome deal on a downtown Hilton through priceline for 4th of July weekend a few years ago. I think it was like $80 a night for the weekend? Check out betterbidding.com to get an idea of zones and what to bid.

[emilyinchile]

Try roomorama.com - another apartment rental site like VRBO and Airbnb. I just looked, and for those dates there are a couple apartments in Travis Heights (no clue if that's helpful) for $200/night and another more in Austin itself for $232.

[Deleted]

Definitely try Priceline and Hotwire, and consider staying a little further out.