Hotels

Zee09

$200 Site Donor 2023
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I have watched way too many old movies.
Think back to the golden days with posh NY Hotels that cost a fortune.
I was booking a house rental in Florida. Very few left for this last minute trip.
The one I wanted on Bookings had the owner completely do herself in and was clueless.

Typed in the ad was don't run through my house, we love our house, do respect it and
on and on and on. Don't put glasses on my antique tables etc.
When I rent something and leave you never know I was there-period. You don't even need the cleaning
service you charged me $300 for. Truth... And remove your antique tables lady...geez

After that I got a hotel.... I tried to pick a nice one but I'm not after the best of the best and am frugal on
stuff like that. But bigger than normal and nice.

Gone are the glorious hotels of the movies and they weren't in rural America anyway.
So I went over and punched in luxury hotels in NYC.... Expecting the most expensive-period.
I just did it to look at the room pictures.
I don't want to mention why as we know why but NY Hotels are dirt cheap. I guess our current situation
killed them. Prices were cheaper than a Super 8.... wow.... crazy..................

Remember the oil tycoons of a century past getting those $5000 rooms?
 
I still travel a lot. I'm just driving now instead of flying.

I typically like the Hilton family of hotels. I always go for the Suites when they are available. However, I'm a Hilton Diamond member and I do get the better rooms.

Other folks like the Marriott family of hotels. I don't. Where I go, they are the worst. YMMV.

Case in point: Stewart airport in Newburgh, NY. On Rt 17K on one side of my hangar there is the Courtyard by Marriott and on the other side, the Hampton Inn by Hilton. The Hampton is superb, with nice big walk in glass door showers (not tubs) , big clean suites and so on. The other is run down, neglected and unmaintained and quite frankly, disgusting. Both are priced the same.

It pays to read the reviews on specific hotels, and to choose luxury when you can.
 
I still travel a lot. I'm just driving now instead of flying.

I typically like the Hilton family of hotels. I always go for the Suites when they are available. However, I'm a Hilton Diamond member and I do get the better rooms.

Other folks like the Marriott family of hotels. I don't. Where I go, they are the worst. YMMV.

Case in point: Stewart airport in Newburgh, NY. On Rt 17K on one side of my hangar there is the Courtyard by Marriott and on the other side, the Hampton Inn by Hilton. The Hampton is superb, with nice big walk in glass door showers (not tubs) , big clean suites and so on. The other is run down, neglected and unmaintained and quite frankly, disgusting. Both are priced the same.

It pays to read the reviews on specific hotels, and to choose luxury when you can.
Agreed. I looked at all the big names in Palm Coast Florida and was unimpressed. Clean is what matters to me and from my last experience I requested the top floor. I figure no one over me making noise is a good thing. I can't believe I picked Best Western Plus over the big guys.
But from the pictures and some reviews it looked good. Weird...
 
I still travel a lot. I'm just driving now instead of flying.

I typically like the Hilton family of hotels. I always go for the Suites when they are available. However, I'm a Hilton Diamond member and I do get the better rooms.

Other folks like the Marriott family of hotels. I don't. Where I go, they are the worst. YMMV.

Case in point: Stewart airport in Newburgh, NY. On Rt 17K on one side of my hangar there is the Courtyard by Marriott and on the other side, the Hampton Inn by Hilton. The Hampton is superb, with nice big walk in glass door showers (not tubs) , big clean suites and so on. The other is run down, neglected and unmaintained and quite frankly, disgusting. Both are priced the same.

It pays to read the reviews on specific hotels, and to choose luxury when you can.

Im also Hilton Diamond. Some of the hotels are done up well. The Waldorf-Astoria is pretty good. We had a nice suite there once with a view of the Chrysler building. Very fancy.

The Drake and The Palmer House in Chicago are still done up fancy. Same for the Carew Tower in Cincinnati, and the Capitol Hilton in DC.

Lots of hotels just have the standard room setup now with pressed wood furniture and marginal at best bed and bathroom setups. Hampton as done a lot of refurbishment over the last few years. Not many that are relabeled Ramada or similar old chain hotels. Sounds like the Courtyard you are mentioning is that type of setup...
 
I just read where developers are going in, buying distressed hotel properties for like 30 cents on the dollar and converting them to small market rate apartments. The housing shortage is driving this along with hotels that are behind in their mortgages.
 
Check out the new Hard Rock in Daytona Beach. This one is JUST a hotel, no gambling at this time. They even shut down "THEIR" section of beach to driving! I have no idea of pricing.
It's getting REALLY nice here now and there is still plenty of beach to drive on, like 26 miles of it!
Marguritaville is probably a bit too yuppified right now, but it's on LPGA Blvd.
 
Enjoy the prices while you can. I can imagine once things get back to normal everyone will be wanting to get away on a vacation and they'll be gouging us with prices.

I'm not going anywhere on vacation, anytime soon.

There's an awakening in the greater NYC area that will have looong term financial consequences. Put aside the over 1 million flight from the state to other more cost friendly states. The massive rents and NYC overhead is no longer needed to the extent it was pre-COVID. Companies learned I can reduce my footprint by 75%, and have overall happier employees working from home and on a location when needed. NYS loses a ton of revenue. The commuter market is way down. The tax revenue lost in NY on commuter tax is huge. NYC is currently a shell of itself and the current policies are doing zero to turn that around.

IMHO NYC is well on the way of Westchester County. Great place to live if you are poor or very wealthy. The area in between is not worth the losing struggle to keep up financially.
 
There's an awakening in the greater NYC area that will have looong term financial consequences. Put aside the over 1 million flight from the state to other more cost friendly states. The massive rents and NYC overhead is no longer needed to the extent it was pre-COVID. Companies learned I can reduce my footprint by 75%, and have overall happier employees working from home and on a location when needed. NYS loses a ton of revenue. The commuter market is way down. The tax revenue lost in NY on commuter tax is huge. NYC is currently a shell of itself and the current policies are doing zero to turn that around.

IMHO NYC is well on the way of Westchester County. Great place to live if you are poor or very wealthy. The area in between is not worth the losing struggle to keep up financially.
I think working from home will become the new normal for office workers. Before they would say it's not working. Now they have proved it wrong. Less people on the road means less traffic, roads will last longer and air quality is much better. Governments don't like it since they are losing on gas taxes and other related taxes.

If some employers force people back into offices, then those people (especially the younger workforce) will seek employment elsewhere that incorporates working from home. I'm 65 kms (40 miles east of Toronto). House prices in Toronto are nuts, bidding wars, some houses selling for 250-400k over asking in prime areas for old houses that are plagued with potential problems. People have been leaving Toronto and moving anywhere else housing is cheaper. Now the prices out here have gone nuts too. I'm just glad I don't have to buy a house in this economy.
 
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