Finding a Las Vegas hotel room when you planned a trip at the spur of the moment can be a difficult task. Add a major holiday — like New Year’s Eve — and this task becomes nearly impossible.
Traveling has been another victim of inflation with the cost of accommodation, food and activities rising alongside the rest of the goods and services in the U.S.
A study from Hopper found that this year’s rates for rooms during Christmas rose by 32% in comparison to last year. And we can only assume that a similar trend will follow New Year’s Eve room rates.
Luckily, there are a few ways to try and find a last-minute hotel room that won’t completely break the bank.
The first, and maybe most glaring option, is that any resort or property on The Strip will be far more expensive than staying in Downtown Las Vegas, Fremont Street or off the Strip in surrounding areas like Henderson or Summerlin.
Also, you can “blind or express buy” hotel rooms on a few different third-party booking sites like Priceline and Hotwire. On Priceline, it’s called “express deals,” which you can explore here. On Hotwire, you can access the “blind buy” option here. Essentially, the option allows you to book a hotel room for a fairly decent price with one important catch: You don’t know what the hotel room is or what the hotel is for that matter.,
So, if you’re the ultimate trip-planner then this option may not be for you. But, considering you booked a last-minute trip to Las Vegas then this option shouldn’t be too bad.
Another great travel tool is BetterBidding.com. This handy-dandy website allows you to compare Priceline and Hotwire on one screen, which can make the process of price comparison much easier. It also has an online forum that allows people to share which hotel rooms they acquired with the blind buy or express options. This can be helpful when you finally decide to press “purchase” for your hotel room.
Other tips include calling and simply booking the hotel you want directly. The hotel wants your direct business with no cost or profits being lost for them. This is why you may be lucky with price matching if you found a better deal online. They could even offer certain upgrades that are not too expensive either. But, this may be slim pickings due to the holiday weekend.
Another tip is to keep in mind which properties charge for parking. This is another hidden cost that you may not be thinking about when booking your hotel. Overall, don’t be blind to hidden costs and read the fine print — especially when booking with a third-party website.
If you booked a last-minute vacation for New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas then we hope this helps you shave off the cost for your hotel. Now, if you’re trying to plan your itinerary then scroll down below for a list of New year’s Events in Las Vegas.