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Florence Is Having A Renaissance, As Far As Hotel Social Media Goes

Where: Florence, Italy

Eventually, it's going to get pretty boring writing (and reading!) about every single hotel that launches a partnership with LobbyFriend, the newest hotel social media and city guide app to set the hotel world on fire. But for now (we hope), the excitement is still there...

If for no other reason than that LobbyFriend is so darn secretive about which hotels they've partnered with!

The Lungarno Collection, a boutique family-owned consortium boasting four hotels in Florence, Italy, will be the first European hotel brand (and only the second worldwide, that we know of) to offer the technology. Giving guests that much more of an opportunity to practice their shaky Italian.

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HotelChatter Questions / Hamptons Hotels / Hotel Deals / Hotel Rates / Marriott Hotels / → All Tags

Finding A Cheap, One-Night Summer Stay In The Hamptons Isn't The Easiest Thing To Do

Long Island is a big place. It's a place Manhattanites love to trash talk in the winter but can't wait to visit come summer. It's an endless stretch of land that sprouts from Queens, and its tip runs all the way out to eastern Connecticut. None of which should necessarily imply that finding a decent, cheap hotel there during the summer would be difficult. Except, it is.

For starters, most places require a two- or three-night minimum for any stay from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day, making a one-night getaway that much more difficult.

Plus, for whatever reason, most of the major hotel brands have completely overlooked Long Island as a viable place to establish a hotel. Add to that the fact that New Yorkers are planning freaks, so most have already booked their Hamptons hotel months (if not years) in advance, rendering the few decent hotels all sold out.

So, we ask, with good reason: where to turn?

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Hotel Deals / Manhattan Hotels / Tablet / Quikbook / Groupon / → All Tags

A Hotel in Manhattan With a New Look for Under $200 a Night (And Other Worthy Hotel Deals)

Deals: you want 'em, and surprisingly, everyone has 'em. Take a look at some of the latest hotel deals going around the internet today from booking sites, social media sites, flash sale sites and more. Don't forget to scroll down to see the HotelChatter-approved deal either. Who knows? You might just find what you're looking for. (But don't forget to tell us about your stay!)

DEALS, DEALS, DEALS*
· Tablet Hotels: This week's Private Sale offers up the Dream Downtown starting at $228 a night for a bronze room (down from $389.) We even found rooms for Memorial Day Weekend around $275 a night. Just good luck getting up to the rooftop.

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Hotel Deals / Hotel Promo Codes / IHG Hotels / Viva Vegas / Jesetter / → All Tags

Cover Yourself in Crystals in Canada or Go Cheap in Las Vegas: Hotel Deals to Mull Over This Week

Deals: you want 'em, and surprisingly, everyone has 'em. Take a look at some of the latest hotel deals going around the internet today from booking sites, social media sites, flash sale sites and more. Don't forget to scroll down to see the HotelChatter-approved deal either. Who knows? You might just find what you're looking for. (But don't forget to tell us about your stay!)

DEALS, DEALS, DEALS*

· Jetsetter: Head to Canada and spend a weekend at the Sparkling Hill Resort with views over Okanagan Lake and the Monashee range, a 40,000-sq.ft. KurSpa featuring North America's only cold sauna and interiors filled with about 3.5 million Swarovski Crystals. There are only three days left to nab a rate of $180 a night, down from $315 on the flash sale site. We are like 95 percent certain this hotel was featured on an episode of "Millionaire Matchmaker", if that helps you make a decision. (No, the match was not successful.)

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Memorial Day Hotels / Brooklyn Hotels / Hotel Deals / Holiday Hotels / → All Tags

Which Is Cheaper For Memorial Day Weekend, Brooklyn or Manhattan?

So, it's May 1, and you still haven't gotten around to booking that hotel room for your annual Memorial Day Weekend jaunt to NYC. And come to think of it, there sure are a lot of choices these days when it comes to a long weekend in the Big Apple. So here are a few suggestions for your cost-conscious travels...

Brooklyn's newest boutique gem, The Wythe, which opens today, has Memorial Day Weekend rates of $270/night, which is pretty much spot on to what we predicted a few weeks ago. What you'll get for your money: killer views of Manhattan, a trendy restaurant (Reynards), and an outdoor terrace.

But while we'd like to keep things simple and tell you it's generally cheaper to stay in Brooklyn during busy holiday weekends like these, that, sadly, is not the case.

Read on to see what other deals are floating around for the month of May!

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Hotel Deals / Miami Hotel Deals / New York Hotel Deals / Napa Hotel Deals / Hyatt Hotels / Hotel News / Hotel Promo Codes / → All Tags

Some Hotel Deals to Seriously Consider for NYC, SoBe, Napa and Hyatt

Deals: you want 'em, and surprisingly, everyone has 'em. Take a look at some of the latest hotel deals going around the internet today from booking sites, social media sites, flash sale sites and more. Don't forget to scroll down to see the HotelChatter-approved deal either. Who knows? You might just find what you're looking for. (But don't forget to tell us about your stay!)

DEALS, DEALS, DEALS*

· Travelzoo: Only one day left to book the Cassa Hotel in New York (now a Viceroy Hotel) for $179 a night. The deal also includes free WiFi. These special rates are available for stays from June 14-September 9.

· SmarterTravel.com: Create your own magic weekend in the magic city at the The Mondrian South Beach where condo units at the property are going for $159 a night during the week and $209 on the weekend. (The deal is through Jet Luxury Resorts but it's being offered to SmarterTravel.com readers.)

· Groupon: A restored craftsman-era style home has been turned into a cozy B&B called the Craftsman Inn in Calistoga, Calif. in the heart of Napa Valley. Thanks to Groupon, a room at the inn is just $425 during the week from now through May 31. That includes breakfast, a $50 spa credit and randomly, a coupon for some granola. The price bumps up to $475 for the month of June.

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Hotel Deals / Howard Johnson Hotels / Mad Men Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags

It's Easy To Get A Free Hotel Room These Days, Especially If Your Name Is Don Draper

Howard Johnson must have realized it's not such a good look denying Don Draper...well, anything. And so, after last week's episode which portrayed the Man Men character driving off to a HoJo in Plattsburgh, NY with his new wife Megan, and being denied access to the hotel's pool, the company has decided to make up for their error.

Anybody who was actually born with the name Don Draper will receive a free night at a participating Howard Johnson this summer. It's the hotel's way of saying 'sorry' to all the Don Drapers of the world—even though, in real life, they never did anything wrong. Then again, we're not complaining. If we knew someone who was named Don Draper (and, very sadly, we don't), we'd be all over this like a spoon on orange sherbet.

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Hotel Deals / Tablet Hotels / Quikbook / LivingSocial / Saguaro Hotels / → All Tags

We Love Deals, Deals, Deals All Over the Globe...

Deals: you want 'em, and surprisingly, everyone has 'em. Take a look at some of the latest hotel deals going around the internet today from booking sites, social media sites, flash sale sites and more. Don't forget to scroll down to see the HotelChatter-approved deal either. Who knows? You might just find what you're looking for. (But don't forget to tell us about your stay!)

DEALS, DEALS, DEALS*

· Tablet Hotels: The L'Andana in Grosseto, Italy, Alain Ducasse's Tuscany retreat, about two hours from Rome's airport, is on sale starting at 266 Euros a night, down from 380 on the hotel's website.

· Quikbook: The brand new Acme Hotel in Chicago (very similar concept to Ace Hotels) is available this weekend for just $129 a night. The hotel's website is offering $159. The catch is you must book before 4pm on Friday, April 27. The deal is valid through August 31.

· LivingSocial: Now that you've heard from the concierge at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, Calif., you can spend the night for just $169 along with free parking, free WiFi and a $50 food and beverage credit.

· Jetsetter: The newly renovated, Saint James Paris, the only chateau-turned hotel in the city, has rooms for $662 a night, down from about $886 a night. But that includes daily breakfast, a candelit dinner for two, a bottle of champagne and a full-day rental of convertible, two-seater Smart Car (including insurance.) A three-day minimum stay is required.

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Hotel Booking SItes / Room 77 / Hotel Deals / Loyalty Program News / Hotel Loyalty Programs / → All Tags

Book A Room On Room 77, And You'll Be Rewarded (Handsomely)

We're doing our best to keep up with the ever-shifting landscape of hotel booking sites, but there's certainly been a lot to keep track of! The latest: Room 77, which made a name for itself by being able to match up guests with the exact room they want, is now allowing guests to earn loyalty points from bookings made through Room 77. In other words, you no longer have to choose between the convenience of window-shopping for hotel rooms and the satisfaction of using the hotel's loyalty program.

This harks back to a discussion topic we started in 2010 about whether it's possible to earn loyalty points for rooms gotten through blind booking sites like Hotwire and Priceline. The line was pretty blurry back then, as we're sure it still is now, but this looks like a sign that more hotels are giving in. What's more, all the friendly competition going on between the hotel booking sites right now means that guests are the ones who cash in. Who said we can't have our cake and earn points for eating it too?

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OpenThread / Hotel Booking Sites / Hotel Websites / Hotel Deals / → All Tags

What Booking Sites Do You Use?

There's been a lot of buzz lately about new kinds of hotel booking sites that claim to give you the most possible control over your reservation, whether that means a last-minute booking or simply a lower price. Fledgling hubs like Tingo and BackBid supposedly help guests get the better deal, but they also create a lot of uncertainty around the booking process. On these newer sites, even after an initial hotel room has been booked, things remain up in the air until guests feel they can't do any better.

So, where do you fall in this spectrum?

Are you more of an old-school, pick-up-the-phone-and-call kind of booker? Or do you try to luck out with a blind booking on Hotwire? Or maybe you like to toy with fate and book your hotel on HotelTonight a few hours before check-in?

Either way, there are tons of choices these days on ways to book a hotel, and we're asking you: what are your tricks, habits and techniques for getting the best possible deal?

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Hotel Booking Apps / Hotel Deals / Booking Dot Com / Priceline / HotelTonight / → All Tags

Booking.com Throws Its Hat Into the Last-Minute App Ring

What's that saying? "Two is a coincidence, three is a trend." Yes, that one. Well, we officially have a trend when it comes to last-minute hotel booking apps as Booking.com released Booking.com Tonight for iPhone and IPod Touch. It follows pioneer HotelTonight and Priceline's Tonight Only in the seriously last-minute game (we're talking like, hours or minutes before showing up to claim the same-night reservation), but with one major twist: Booking.com Tonight is international.

It's available in the iTunes app store now, so naturally we downloaded it and put it through the paces. Does it have discounted rooms? Yes. The average discount seemed to be 20%, for those properties that are on sale. You see, this app lists hotel results for hotels whether or not they're on sale, so it's only a little bit improved on the regular Kayak or Priceline booking app. You can see a few of the NY results above.

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Hotel Bicycles / Hotel Deals / Spring Hotels / Manhattan Hotels / Morgans Hotels / → All Tags

Here's Where You'll Be Riding (For Free) During Bike Season In New York

Riding a bike in Manhattan can indeed be lethal—you've always got to keep your guard up, and you should never EVER assume a taxi driver has seen you (even if you're riding around in a neon pink unitard). But in the warmer seasons, like now, bike riding can be one of the best ways to enjoy some incredibly scenic parts of the city.

Here's our guide to free hotel bike rentals. Just remember to wear a helmet!

You might have to step up your wardrobe a little bit to compete with the fashion crowd that usually hangs around at the Mondrian Soho, but the rooms (and public spaces) are totally worth it. And free Public C7 bikes? Even more worth it.  

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