Tag: HotelTonight
View All TagsHotel Booking Apps / HotelTonight / HotelChatter Interviews / Europe Hotels / Budget Hotels / Hotel Deals / Hotel News / Sam Shank / → All Tags
What's on Deck for Tomorrow at HotelTonight
We mean "tomorrow" as in the future.
"Back where it all began." HotelTonight founder and CEO Sam Shank reflects for a moment, and takes a bite of a kettle-cooked potato chip.
We're chilling at the bar in the far back of the bustling lobby of The Ace, where, in late 2010, Shank launched HotelTonight and which now inspires the interior design of the HT headquarters on the other side of the country.
Has it already been more than two years?! HT still seems like the hot new thing, though they've grown to a staff of over 80 and now support 5 languages and 6 currencies for properties on sale in 12 countries. Their most recent "big news" came only last week, as they welcomed hotels in Rome, Florence, Madrid and Barcelona to the app and showed off their snazzy SF digs in a episode of TechCrunch's TC Cribs. Heck, you know we're already fans; last week we booked three nights in two countries using HotelTonight.
Under-The-Radar-Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Best Western Hotels / HotelTonight / → All Tags
Spotlight on These 4 Under-The-Radar NYC Hotels
How many NYC hotels welcome you like this?
We’re always asked where to stay in New York City and now, more than ever, the choices are plentiful. Everyone is hyper-focused on the new builds coming to town, but there are also some that don’t get the love and attention they should. We’ve got four that fall in both these categories—new jacks and under-the-radar specialsomethins.
·The Tuscany:
This new sister hotel to the St. Giles Court threw open its doors in January. Appealing to guests digging its midtown location (the Chrysler and Empire State buildings are blocks away), the 123-room 1920s landmark building was once a Doral and then a W Hotel. But they’ve dialed the clock back and discovered treasures including original raised ceilings and fireplaces. The lobby restaurant is called Audrey in homage to Ms. Hepburn who once sipped coffee there back in the day.
The hotel’s infamous “Cherry Room”, scene of boisterous soirees, will transform into a sophisticated restaurant when the right celeb chef is selected. Also high-end are spacious rooms (starting at 375 square-feet), keeping the building’s NYC resident beginnings. Red velvet chaise lounges, leather headboards, original hardwood flooring, and Molton Brown amenities help maintain a classy atmosphere.
Rates begin at $269 per night, though we've seen specials on HotelTonight as the property is in still working out kinks.
Viva Vegas / HotelTonight / Room Upgrades / Resort Fees / Caesars Hotels / → All Tags
Vegas' Resort Fees Killed Our HotelTonight Booking Buzz
Last week, we headed out to Las Vegas for an impromptu trip to catch Boyz II Men at The Mirage. Since we were only in town for one night and had about $100 in credits to burn on HotelTonight* we decided to use the last-minute mobile booking app to book our room.
So just as we were nearing Barstow on our road trip to Vegas from Los Angeles, we looked at HT and saw Caesars Palace open for only $91. We booked immediately and continued the rest of our road trip in rather high spirits. (It may have been because we were playing our fave early 90s hits the whole way there but never mind that.)
Yet when checked in at Caesars, they informed us that our room would be in the hotel's older Roman Tower. Thanks to VegasChatter, we know it's not in great shape. So we asked about upgrades. Turns out we could have the brand-new Octavius Tower for an extra $60 a night. We looked at our friend and said, Why not? That's just an extra $30 a night for each of us. Remember, we didn't have to pay for the room since our credits covered that.
We also inquired about possibly upgrading to the Nobu Hotel but even though rooms were going for a skint $189 a night, we would have had to cancel our HT booking, losing all our credits and then re-book.
So with our upgrade to the Octavius tower completed, we were given our keys to a room on the 64th floor with a pretty decent view out the side of the Bellagio fountains. Happiness! Except...
Art Basel Hotels / Miami Hotels / South Beach Hotels / HotelTonight / Hotel Deals / Jetsetter / Jetsetter Now / → All Tags
Last-Minute Art Basel Miami: Drama on Our Final Night
Our room at The Betsy
If you want to talk about high hotel rates, let's talk Art Basel Miami Beach. The annual contemporary art event—which encompasses several art fairs, art installations around the city, and a gajillion parties—brings in the big spenders and the struggling creatives alike for four days of fun in the sun.
The official days are Thursday-Sunday, December 6-9, but we've been in Miami all week hotel hopping, so we decided to throw caution to the wind for a little experiment: last-minute, day-of hotel reservations for what are the highest peak days in Miami's calendar. We're calling it "Operation Last Resort."
This is our final night of Operation Last Resort, after last-minute stays of the good (at The Dream) and the bad (at The Shelborne). The roller coaster only intensifies with some serious drama that all started with our decision to try another last-minute booking app: Jetsetter Now.
Art Basel Hotels / Miami Hotels / Menin Hotels / South Beach Hotels / HotelTonight / Hotel Deals / → All Tags
Last-Minute Art Basel Miami: Two Nights of Regret at The Shelborne
If you want to talk about high hotel rates, let's talk Art Basel Miami Beach. The annual contemporary art event—which encompasses several art fairs, art installations around the city, and a gajillion parties—brings in the big spenders and the struggling creatives alike for four days of fun in the sun.
The official days are Thursday-Sunday, December 6-9, but we've been in Miami all week hotel hopping, so we decided to throw caution to the wind for a little experiment: last-minute, day-of hotel reservations for what are the highest peak days in Miami's calendar. We're calling it "Operation Last Resort."
Day two of Operation Last Resort, or really it's days two and three since we booked two nights at this next property. Sadly, all last-minute stories can't be as great as Day One, and ours is a cautionary tale.
Again using the HotelTonight app, we went for two nights at Miami Beach's The Shelborne for $428, plus tax totaling $484. Now add two days of $25 resort fees and the real total is actually $534. Believe it or not, this was actually the cheapest option for these dates. ACK-Art Basel!
Art Basel Hotels / Miami Hotels / South Beach Hotels / HotelTonight / Hotel Deals / → All Tags
Last-Minute Art Basel Miami: Using HotelTonight to Score a Dream
If you want to talk about high hotel rates, let's talk Art Basel Miami Beach. The annual contemporary art event—which encompasses several art fairs, art installations around the city, and a gajillion parties—brings in the big spenders and the struggling creatives alike for four days of fun in the sun.
The official days are Thursday-Sunday, December 6-9, but we've been in Miami all week hotel hopping, so we decided to throw caution to the wind for a little experiment: last-minute, day-of hotel reservations for what are the highest peak days in Miami's calendar. We're calling it "Operation Last Resort."
HotelTonight / Halloween Hotels / Hurricane Sandy / → All Tags
Hotel Tonight Has a Halloween Trick For NYC
While we think Hurricane Sandy has been one hell of a Halloween trick, it appears that today on All Hallows' Eve, Hotel Tonight became the innocent-looking neighbor that offers unwrapped candy to trick-or-treaters.
We received the above email and thought "Wow, there's some good deals here!" And like a big kid searching for the full-size candy bar in a bucket o' treats, we saw good rates--rooms in Atlanta for $79! Dallas for $55! Even San Francisco, where today they had an banging Halloween Day ticker-tape parade celebrating the 2012 World Series champion's, the Giants, beds for $105! These were the Snickers, Reese's, and Baby Ruth's of hotel deals.
So what's the problem? We'll show you.
Hotel Booking Apps / Jetsetter / Hotel Deals / HotelTonight / → All Tags
Tap Tap Tap for a Room Tonight on Jetsetter's Updated App
As if this hasn't already been an early autumn packed with mobile app announcements, another big update hit the web today. Gilt Groupe's hotel booking site Jetsetter released an update to their iPhone/iPod Touch app. With it comes the introduction of a new, huge feature: Jetsetter Now.
The trend continues! Jetsetter Now joins HotelTonight with last-minute deals so last minute that they're only for—you guessed it—that night. Even Booking.com and Kayak have tried to get in on the "tonight only" fever, but with limited success.
Jetsetter Now's advances other these other sites include photo-capture of your credit card details for even faster bookings (no typing in numbers--just snap it) and Passbook integration (score!). Download the Jetsetter app for free in the iTunes store. It's free to browse, but you've got to join through a link to buy. If you've been able to resist signing up these last few years, here is that necessary link.
Hotel Booking Tips / Mobile Booking Apps / Hotel News / HotelTonight / Sam Shank / → All Tags
5 Tips For Using The HotelTonight Mobile Booking App
We've talked so much about HotelTonight, the mobile booking app that gives you discounted rates on that night's stay, so much that we've just assumed everyone and their smartphone-holding mother knows how to work it.
Yet time and time again, we keep running into friends who booked rooms last-minute for far higher prices than necessary. When we ask them, "Did you use HotelTonight?" They tell us, "No, what's that?" D'oh.
Since we've recapped what HotelTonight is and how it works here (and here), we'll spare you regular readers the how-to. But what we will share today is 5 Tips for Booking on HotelTonight.
HotelTonight / Mobile Booking Apps / Hotel News / Hotel Booking Sites / → All Tags
HotelTonight Spreads Its Last-Minute Deal Loving Even Further
It's no secret that we consider HotelTonight one of our go-to booking apps when in need of a hotel room in a hurry and at a discount. And fortunately for us, and for you fellow deal-seekers, the mobile app keeps on expanding.
Today, in addition to announcing that the app has surpassed three million downloads, HotelTonight also announced its presence in 10 new cities in the US and the UK. Right now you can get hotel rooms tonight in St. Louis, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Liverpool. Manchester and Salt Lake City will be added in early September.
In total, HotelTonight has deals in over 50 destinations in US, UK and Canada. Next up? The Continent we hope!
Stay tuned tomorrow and Friday when we'll have more on our own booking experiences with HotelTonight!
Mobile Booking Apps / Kayak / Hotel News / HotelTonight / Hotel Technology / Hotel Booking Tips / → All Tags
Kayak Now Offers Same-Day Hotel Booking on Its App (But It's Not as Fun)
We've been so caught up in the buzz over HotelTonight we didn't even realize that Kayak has also begun offering same-day bookings for hotels rooms via their mobile app.
The booking function du jour allows you to search hotels near you using the app's GPS function but whether or not you're getting a deal is still up in the air. Tnooz.com reports:
The Kayak take on same-day bookings is far lower-key than the others hitting the market. Users have an option to check for same-day availability, get results and are then either redirected to one of its partners for the booking or, in some cases, can book direct within the app itself.
HotelTonight / Hotel News / London Hotels / Mobile Booking Apps / Hotel Technology / → All Tags
Cheerio! HotelTonight Lands in London
We've long recommended the mobile booking app, HotelTonight for folks in need of a last-minute hotel room for less than the rack rate but we've been dying for HotelTonight to expand beyond the U.S. Looks like we won't be waiting much longer.
After breaking into Canada the other month, HotelTonight has finally jumped the pond to London. Available starting at noon every day local time, HotelTonight is offering discounts at a mix of quality London hotels like The Belgraves, St. Martins Lane and Town Hall. Even better, HotelTonight is offering an introductory credit of £15 off the first booking by using the promo code UK15.
Right now, we're seeing The Belgraves for $188 (that's in USD), the Blakes for $375 and Park International for $205. Belgraves for $188? In London? That's kind of awesome. (Curious as to what we thought of Belgraves? Read our review here.)
