Hello my beauties and gentlemen!
I am a week away from my birthday *cues confetti* and I am so thankful to be turning 28! I have been reflecting back on my past birthday celebrations and I have had some great times with even greater friends! From Vegas shenanigans, to concert craziness, to NYC penthouse parties, I loved them all! This year I think I will keep it pretty low key with just a dinner with my closest friends and family. There is absolutely nothing wrong with an understated birthday. But I would like to share some of my tips on how to get a posh hotel room or even 2 story penthouse like I did, on a budget! Yes, I said b u d g e t.
Some of the opportunities resulted from deep research and some were by sheer luck. I will drop some of my tips and favorite places to look, and hope you too can score some lux accommodations without crying over the bill later.
Websites and Apps for discounted luxury stays
Secret Escape. I have used secret escapes once or twice and love it! It was referred to me from a friend where you can get luxury hotels at a discounted price. You have to sign up through their website, secretescape.com, to see their deals. AND BOY DID I GET A DEAL. I booked a suite for approximately $420 and planned on dividing it by the 5 of us staying there, but when I arrived I was upgraded to a 2 story Penthouse suite! Yes, 2 stories! With a full kitchen, dining room, 2 living rooms, a huge bedroom and 2 bathrooms. If only I had it booked longer than one night!
The following images of my Penthouse at the Morgan’s hotel NYC are courtesy of google image search and Pinterest since my photos were a bit fuzzy from last year.
Groupon. I have not booked a getaway trip through Groupon yet but I have used it to book hotels in NYC and Long Beach, Long Island. The rates were significantly lower than what was advertised on their website and check-in was super easy. One year I used them to stay at the Allegria, which I normally would not have paid full price for. We even got a room with a beachfront view.
Hotel Tonight. I used to give hotel tonight the side eye because I thought it would set you up in 1-3 star hotels but I was pleasantly surprised the first time I used the app! The way it works is simple: hotels loose money on rooms they don’t fill each night, so you can book the vacant rooms at a discounted rate so that way hotels minimize their loss. It does not have to be that same night either, you can book a few days out and it is usually a room for 2. So do not expect to book a room to accommodate 5 adults with this app.
Let your personality walk through the door first & open the next one
A smile and small talk can go a long way. Always be very nice to the front desk staff and it doesn’t to tip them off that it is your special day. When I booked a suite at the Morgan’s hotel for my 27th birthday, I truly think my kindness helped me get that 2 story penthouse. When I arrived, I was a bit early so my room was not ready yet. I told the check-in clerk that it is not a problem and asked if I can leave my luggage with them while I had breakfast. I chatted it up a bit with him then left. I also mentioned that it is my birthday and the day started off pretty rocky but that I was determined to make the best of it and remain positive. He wished me a happy birthday and better luck with the rest of my day. I then traveled up to Harlem for a hair and makeup appointment, and rushed back in time to meet the other girls who would be checking in soon. Once I came back, a different clerk was on duty and said the previous one was able to get me an upgrade. So as I traveled up to the top floor, I saw just how great the upgrade was!
I do believe if I had made a fuss about my room not being ready initially or if I did not stop and ask how the clerk was doing, I may have just got what I paid for. Sometimes if the hotels have a bunch of rooms available that day, you can snag an upgrade for a number of reasons.
Patience is key. When calling agents to help you find a room, be courteous and patient with them, even when it gets hard to do so. I have had instances where booking on the phone was taking longer than anticipated or the accommodations that was once available suddenly disappeared. If you play your cards right and remain level-headed sometimes the agent will use their internal discounts to help you out or find a deal that they do not usually advertise. This worked in my favor when I booked a last-minute trip to Costa Rica and ended up paying under $500+ for flight and 4 nights stay at a very lovely hotel! And we booked 3 weeks before we traveled, and you know the closer you are to the date, the higher the airfare.
Those are just a few of my tips on how I managed to get discounted NYC hotels in the past. This may or may not work for your next booking but it’s worth a shot!
Until next time lovelies!
With love,
CoCo
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