[throwaway-1283]

What is considered "insanely expensive"? Hotel prices widely vary depending on the city and time of year, and within a market there's 1* to 5* hotels.

I'm looking at hotels in Manhattan for this weekend and there's 4* hotels for $150/night. Is that expensive? That is equivalent to what some people pay in rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in SF or NY.

[annodomini2019]

Thats 4700 a month. Sure there are some people paying that a month in rent but that definitely qualifies as expensive.

[throwaway-1283]

The fact that on a nightly basis a 4* hotel in the most expensive part of NYC is comparable to the 80th percentile for 1-bedrooms in SF or NYC actually shows that it is very reasonably priced because what you're really paying for is the flexibility and convenience of a short-term stay + the cleaning/security/concierge/other amenities.

By the same logic, if you eat at a restaurant and it costs only 50% more than what it'd cost if you made it at home or order a beer at a bar and it only cost 50% more than what it'd cost if you bought it at the grocery store you'd be really happy, though chances are you're paying at least 100% more, if not more.

It would be "expensive" if you lived at a hotel in the same way it's "expensive" if for every meal or every beer you drank you had it at a sit down restaurant or bar.

[owenversteeg]

Right, I agree with you that in the case of NYC you're getting a great deal, but in other places you do pay a heavy premium for a hotel. For example, I checked a few places where I know you can get a 1br for $500ish a month, and hotels there are mostly more than $100/night, which is ridiculous.

Furthermore, I wouldn't say that the concierge or security are worth mentioning. I know personally I feel about as secure in a hotel as with an Airbnb - or at least I'm always aware of the possibility of theft from hotel rooms.

I understand labor costs etc are a big part of the price, but I wish there were more low-cost hotel options. Not hostels, but an actual room to yourself. Why does that have to be expensive? Just cut the room area in half and half the price! Yotel is nice, but they're still not cheap, and don't have many locations.

If there were low-cost hotels available, for $30 a night or so, I'd spring for them much more often. But when you can grab a nice-looking Airbnb for $25-30, vs a motel for $50-60, it's hard to justify the motel.

[ghaff]

Yotels tend to be in pretty high-priced areas. I like how they optimize for space. There’s one I especially favor in Manhattan. It’s not cheap in absolute terms. But it’s well located for many purposes. Has a nice common area. Uses the room space well. And is clean and quiet. And a relative bargain for a Manhattan.

But sure it’s in $250 or so a night range.

[irq11]

Median 1 bedroom rent in Manhattan is $3300. $4700 a month for a short term lease isn’t bad at all.

[ultrasaurus]

The average Manhattan hotel room is considerably smaller than a 1-bedroom. I don't think I could live in that for any period of time. (Also fwiw, I doubt winter weekends are high season for Manhattan)

[kenneth]

If you live in hotels you earn status, status gets you upgrades to large rooms. Room size is a non-issue for me.

[irq11]

Median studio rent in Manhattan is around $2500.

$4700 is a good price for a daily rental with housekeeping.