What is the best way to book a hotel on the strip - agency o

C. Osbourne · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

Hello fellow travelers.

I'll be attending a trade show in Las Vegas at the
end of this month. and I'm faced with the daunting
task of booking my own hotel room. I'll be at the
convention center for three days in a row, and would
like to be out on the strip, at least walking distance
from the tram, or monorail.

What I need to know is what is the most efficient
and inexpensive way to book a room?

Possibilities include use an on-line agency, such
as orbitz, or should I go directly to the hotel's
webpage?

Or is calling the hotel's 800 number better?

For that matter, what medium priced hotel is the
best buy?

Thanks for any sage advice you can provide.

Archived from group: alt>las-vegas

BR Eagle · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 482

wrote in message $Zf3.2050@trndny01...
> C. Osbourne wrote:
>> Hello fellow travelers.
>>
>> I'll be attending a trade show in Las Vegas at the end of this month. and
>> I'm faced with the daunting task of booking my own hotel room. I'll be
>> at the convention center for three days in a row, and would like to be
>> out on the strip, at least walking distance from the tram, or monorail.
>> What I need to know is what is the most efficient and inexpensive way to
>> book a room? Possibilities include use an on-line agency, such as orbitz,
>> or should I go directly to the hotel's webpage? Or is calling the
>> hotel's 800 number better? For that matter, what medium priced hotel is
>> the best buy? Thanks for any sage advice you can provide.
> Download Travelaxe at travelaxe.com
> Denny in Mass
Then check the hotel/casino's website. If travelaxe has a lower price, call
the hotel and often they will match the lowest price.
To gauge what hotel is 'medium priced' check out www.cheapovegas.com

fxd99 · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 411

C. Osbourne wrote:
> Hello fellow travelers.
>
> I'll be attending a trade show in Las Vegas at the
> end of this month. and I'm faced with the daunting
> task of booking my own hotel room. I'll be at the
> convention center for three days in a row, and would
> like to be out on the strip, at least walking distance
> from the tram, or monorail.
>
> What I need to know is what is the most efficient
> and inexpensive way to book a room?
>
> Possibilities include use an on-line agency, such
> as orbitz, or should I go directly to the hotel's
> webpage?
>
> Or is calling the hotel's 800 number better?
>
> For that matter, what medium priced hotel is the
> best buy?
>
> Thanks for any sage advice you can provide.
>
Download Travelaxe at travelaxe.com
Denny in Mass

salmoneous · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 231

There was a time when I liked travelaxe. But I haven't found it to be
useful for at least a year and a half. First, almost every rate it
finds turns out to not be avaiable. Second, with pretty much all the
hotels going to a lowest-rate-guarantee program, there just aren't
better deals out there than what I have found at the hotels' websites.

I do like to use Expedia/Hotels.com for searching to see what is
available and general price ranges for a planned trip. But when it
comes time to book, I check the online rate. As I said, it's been a
while since I've found an online rate that is better than what I get
direct.

One other thing I do is check www.vegashotelspecial.com (be sure to get
the name exactly right or you'll end up at some lameo commercial site)
and check to see if the hotel has any online codes or specials running.

tc1820 · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 193

C O. said the trade show is at the convention center and wants to use
the monorail for transportation. Not all hotels have mono stops and
some that do, have stations way in the back and can be a long hike to
get to. Harrrahs and IP are easy to get to but Ballys is a trip. And one
doesn't want to stay across the street at Ti or Caesars, that could take
25 minutes to get to a monorail station from your room. Might want to
get a Vegas map and eliminate hotels that are not convenient. Tom in Ct

AlanRRT · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 48

BR Eagle already told you about Cheapovegas.com, that's your best bet.
Each hotel review has a link to the hotel's web site. Go to the web
site of each hotel you're interested in, and look for a link that says
"Promotions" or "Special promotions." I've found that's the best way
to find room bargains, often (but not always) cheaper than the travel
web sites.

Auggie · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 47

"C. Osbourne" wrote in message@skypoint.com...
>
> Hello fellow travelers.
>
> I'll be attending a trade show in Las Vegas at the
> end of this month. and I'm faced with the daunting
> task of booking my own hotel room. I'll be at the
> convention center for three days in a row, and would
> like to be out on the strip, at least walking distance
> from the tram, or monorail.
>
> What I need to know is what is the most efficient
> and inexpensive way to book a room?
>
> Possibilities include use an on-line agency, such
> as orbitz, or should I go directly to the hotel's
> webpage?
>
> Or is calling the hotel's 800 number better?
>
> For that matter, what medium priced hotel is the
> best buy?

Alot of this depends on how long you have until the convention....

1) You should sign up for the email newsletter/guestbook on the websites for
the hotels you are interested in. They will email you deals and offers
usually for the next 2-3 month period (so if you are going in October, they
won't be sending you deals that include October until late July at the
earliest)

2) Download TravelAxe at www.TravelAxe.com
The program searches the hotel websites and other travel search sites (like
Orbitz, hotels.com, etc) and gives you the best rates that it can compile
from the information they provide. Of note: sometimes the rates aren't
always available or the travel site gives TravelAxe a rate that would be
included in a package... But it can be handy to give you a good idea of what
the different hotels there are and what rates they charge (you can view them
in a big table) and can give you atleast an idea of what to expect

3) If you get a better rate than what is offered through the hotel then call
the hotel and ask them to match the rate by booking directly through them.
Most hotels do this and so its not a problem. Just be sure to be clear that
you are asking them to match their own rate... if you call up a hotel and
just say "I got this rate of $50 a night for July 10-15th, can you match
that" doesn't help much becuase they don't know if you are talking about
THEIR hotel or another hotel. So be specific.

4) If you want to book something now and then keep looking for a good deal
(especially if your trip is a few months away) then you should for now only
book through the hotel (by calling or through the website). If you book now
through a travel agent or some of the travel websites they may not let you
cancel or change your reservation without some kind of penalty if at all.

5) Check out websites like:
http://www.vegashotelspecial.com/
and
http://www.lasvegastalk.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=14
Other people who get deals and discounts emailed to them will often post
them online so others may use them. But check first the requirements of the
offer and if anybody can book it.

6) Don't buy Vegas offers and deals off eBay. Some people sell offers,
deals and discount codes through eBay but almost all of the offers on eBay
will come from the two sites listed in #5 above.

7) Convention Center/Monorail/Hotels
If you go to:
http://www.vegas.com/map.html?vc1=1&vc2=tool_txt_map1_2
You can see a map of the strip and where the hotels are in relation to the
convention center. The monorail itself runs down the side of the strip that
the convention center is on, so if you stay at any of the hotels on the left
side of the strip (in relation to the map) then you'll have to cross the
road and go through the other hotels to get to the monorail (that might not
sound like much... but the way its set up the monorail can be quite a hike
from the front doors of some of the hotels to where you actually board).
The following hotels have monorail stations: MGM Grand, Bally's, Flamingo,
Harrah's/Imperial Palace, LV Hilton, Sahara.

Cool

Because its a convention you should check with the conventions
co-ordinator to see if they have cheap rooms set aside for attendees. Many
of the smaller and specialty conventions will often have blocks of rooms set
aside for attendees and so you can sometimes get a great deal for a decent
hotel.

9) For all of this about rates and deals and such: Alot of this depends
when you go/when your convention is running and how many people are in town.
If its a big weekend (IE: 4th of July) or its a big convention or running at
the same time as a big convention then odds are you are going to have a hard
time finding any sort of deal or discount, and rooms that you might be able
to book for $50-60 midweek at a decent strip property might be going for
$150-250 a night for the same days when there is a big event in town.

Don Strevel · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 153

If you live in the US, call them on the 1-800 number. It is possible to get
great savings. Check out their site as well.

--
Many Thanks, Smile

www.mysecretvegas.com
"Justin Vegas", Don Strevel, Las Vegas, NV.
info@mysecretvegas.com for an autoresponder message.
"glassman" wrote in message $An1.762@fe08.lga...
>
> "C. Osbourne" wrote in message
> @skypoint.com...
>>
>> Hello fellow travelers.
>>
>> I'll be attending a trade show in Las Vegas at the
>> end of this month. and I'm faced with the daunting
>> task of booking my own hotel room. I'll be at the
>> convention center for three days in a row, and would
>> like to be out on the strip, at least walking distance
>> from the tram, or monorail.
>>
>> What I need to know is what is the most efficient
>> and inexpensive way to book a room?
>>
>> Possibilities include use an on-line agency, such
>> as orbitz, or should I go directly to the hotel's
>> webpage?
>>
>> Or is calling the hotel's 800 number better?
>>
>> For that matter, what medium priced hotel is the
>> best buy?
>>
>> Thanks for any sage advice you can provide.
>>
>
> The Hilton and the monorail are both right there. You can roll out of
> bed, and be at the convention center. Although not exactly on the strip
> and not in the class of Bellagio and such, it's a perfectly nice place,
> and you can still spend all your free time roaming the strip.
>
>
> --
> JK Sinrod
> www.SinrodStudios.com
> www.MyConeyIslandMemories.com
>

glassman · Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 119

"C. Osbourne" wrote in message @skypoint.com...
>
> Hello fellow travelers.
>
> I'll be attending a trade show in Las Vegas at the
> end of this month. and I'm faced with the daunting
> task of booking my own hotel room. I'll be at the
> convention center for three days in a row, and would
> like to be out on the strip, at least walking distance
> from the tram, or monorail.
>
> What I need to know is what is the most efficient
> and inexpensive way to book a room?
>
> Possibilities include use an on-line agency, such
> as orbitz, or should I go directly to the hotel's
> webpage?
>
> Or is calling the hotel's 800 number better?
>
> For that matter, what medium priced hotel is the
> best buy?
>
> Thanks for any sage advice you can provide.
>

The Hilton and the monorail are both right there. You can roll out of bed,
and be at the convention center. Although not exactly on the strip and not
in the class of Bellagio and such, it's a perfectly nice place, and you can
still spend all your free time roaming the strip.

--
JK Sinrod
www.SinrodStudios.com
www.MyConeyIslandMemories.com