Priceline Hotel: 2.5* Niantic-Norwich-Mystic (Mystic) Amerisuites

[biddingforhotel]

Well, still wondering if I can get $33 as the other guy posting 3 years ago... So, I just give it a try and bid $30 on 2.5* and got countered back $8, keep bidding $31 and got accept at $32 !!! Wow! amazing! it is even better than that $33 3 years ago ...

[GM Mike]

You've got to wonder how they make money on a $32 stay. Especially if you bring people with you. :)

[biddingforhotel]

Very true. I was wondering how they can make money from us out of $32 a night? But, one of my friends who own motels at New York state told me that the "fix cost" of hotel is fix, and the "marginal cost" is very little. e.g. He said with or without guest, the utility (electricity, water ...) cost only one or two dollars difference (well, if you ever read your water bill and info enclosed in the envelope, one gallon of water costs less than 1 cent, how many gallons we can use a night?), and extra room cleaning is $2 since the maid will clean 3 or 4 room per hour at $6 per hour rate (Don't you see in the TV the parade of immigrant being "slaved" in this country?) and they are happy to see extra guest since they are paid per hour, NOT salary!!! And, of couse, the guest may leave a dollar or two as tip which may sound very little, but is indeed a big surprise to them.) My wealthy sister always leave $20 bill, so you can see how much they love her...

Internet access? no extra charge to hotel if extra guest are here or not, the complimentary breakfast may cost a little bit more, but each egg is 10 cents, each cup of OJ, 10 cents? If you add them up, you will find that it is relatively NOTHING to hotel...

I have read all sorts of reader review on every hotel I stay and for this hotel, you see people pay $209 or more for one night at peak tourist season when NO room, yes, just NO room available not just in this hotle, in the whole town!!! That's when the hotel make BIG bucks!!! But why people would know Mystic? because people like ourself who do not have much money, but have lots of time, so after we got a great deal at $32, we have lots of time to write out long review in major travel websites that gives hotel like this FREE advertisement which we do not get paid but generate enormous power!!!

Remember we were able to get $33 to $37 at Hyatt Jersey City NJ ? Not any more... why? If you go to major travel websites, you see our great review of the place, and just for my own writing, I got thousands of readers sending me email a year, but I got NO paid by Hyatt Jersey City, only some travel website offered to provide some pay per click on the review which I refused. I believe only one can write freely would review the true of a hotel, how do you think?

[biddingforhotel]

And don't think US companies can only offshore IT jobs to China, India, Russian ...etc. Hotel also offshore their cleaning jobs!!! How? I got a very funny habit to talk to every staff of hotel I stayed, the lower rank the more interest I have. e.g. Do you know the maid cleaning the lobby at Courtyard at Princeton NJ is from Mongolia, NOT immigrant, she and other 4 maids living in a 2br apt at Plainsboro NJ are in fact rented by this international maid placement company. They were contracted to work in the US for two years ... When you hear they have paid very low, you thought Americans are "slaved" or "immigrants" are, they are "foreigners". So the hotel industry was able to bring down the cost and still make lots of money. MAR made very good profit last quarter, yet, I always paid around $37 to stay at Courtyard thru PR ... Well, Americans are "unemployed"... but the unemployment rate kept dropping to 4.8% ? funny? Because after 6 month of unemployment benefits, unemployed American become unvisible in the statistics. I asked a Economics professor at Princeton Univ, isn't that the salary will go up once the unemployment rate dropped down to 6%? He said true, but he did not realize that there are so many unemployed Americans are NOT counted.

What a surprise when we went to Mountain Creek Ski last winter and surprised to find out all the girls working there are from South America!!! They speak very little English, but so what, ski rental or selling at gift shop ...etc does not need much of English ...

So, my answer to that $32 a night question is very firm that the hotel still make "marginal profit" from us, they can not lose money. Oh, that question even triggers the wonderful Hyatt Regency I stayed at Cleveland OH for only $25 !!! That was one of the best Hyatt I ever stay, yet the cheapest ever had .....

Another counter argument is that hotel needs some mininum "human beings" to keep hotel from hazadous!! e.g. I once stayed at Hilton Garden Inn at Edison NJ, so few people, only dozen cars that night. There were fire in the area no "human being" to report, and even more funny, when I saw it by accident, we always here and there to use all the nice facility of the hotel, and there was ONLY one staff who can NOT go check because she told me she could not leave the front desk !!! So, I ran along staircase to identify the smoke came from kitchen, and she call fire department to come over. What a sad view that so few people showed up at the front door ... An almost empty nice big hotel...

They saved the hotel from fire because of me, more precisely, they save the hotel because they gave me $32 a night thru PL ... Another one did not have such luck is Summerfield Suites at Somerset NJ later became xxxxx (Gee! can't even recall the name, hasn't been there for so many years...) that they changed the policy to require two night stay, and from then on we never able to since we always did one night weekend stay. Later, I heard they have big fire and burn down the hotel ...

So, the conclusion for that question how hotel can make money from $32 guest? I think when hotel becomes almost vacant, their thinking is not how to make money but minimize the loss from hazadous caused by no "human beings" to report the problem in time ...

[biddingforhotel]

So if $32 a night, the hotel still makes some good marginal profit, would it be willing to go down futher? Cost wise, I believe even if they give you $16 a night, it will still make money. Why? If you figure out the size of square ft and a condo, you will find it is only 1/3 the size of a condo, and a condo renting $1,200 a month can make very good profit...

But, why wouldn't hotel set even lower price. Among other things is that it may impact the "rack rate", the most expensive rate of a room they can sell at the peak season. Another thing is that it may attract lots of "homeless" Americans. I know a friend who own several hotels in Williamsburg VA, he told me how he lose money to homeless families....

In general, travelers like you and us, we got up very early and after breakfast will leave hotel and got to museum, events ...etc. e.g. we did not come back to hotel till midnight after visiting Mohegan Sun. However, homeless families may stay at hotel all day long, and the lights and TV may run all day, same as water. Why water? the kids may play the toilets that each push will run 5 gallons of water... They will cook in the room that will cost much more electricity ...etc. Believe or not, homeless family may take 3 times shower a day because either free service or have nothing to do. The most terrible thing is that they may reorganize the furniture and break the furniture ...etc. They may also block hotel phone all day long ...etc.

The hotel friends in New York told me that his hotel often hang on "No Vacant" during peak season to prevent early birds which may check in "too early" to use lots of utility ...etc, he will turned it to "Vacancy" right after 10pm, then within one hour, all rooms are filled, and he said, most guest would just check in and sleep within 30 minutes!!! and maybe got up very early and check out... So, hotel business does know what kind of guest they preferred ...

So, if we (or all of your readers) can get $32 at this wonderful AmeriSuites, believe me, they did make money from us, visible or invisible. So, don't feel guilty to stay here, you are very welcome as I have been feeling very welcome staying here so far, and I bidding more nights incrementally...

So, we feel we got a steal because we got robbed by most hotels for long and got used to the inflated prices!!!

[biddingforhotel]

One last huge profit uncovered by hotel that you may not know is the "real estate appreciation"... So, you think I was crazy to give my tenant "free gas, water, electricity" in last winter of the condos ? You think I was crazy to let NYC homeless to stay at my guest condo FREE for the winter ? For past years, the 1br condo price went up from $60,000 to $70,000 to $90,000 to $100,000 ... to $200,000. So, I figured it out even if I let all the condo vacant, I still make good profit. Why not hotel industry?

I know someone rented out his $150,000 2br condo at $1,400 a month to Section 8 tenant who only pay $250 a month and government paid $1,150 years ago, and he was so bothered that the tenant could not pay him $250 each month on time, even though $1,150 already gives him good postive cash flow.... then he sold the condo at $190,000 ... the same condo was sold recently at $250,000 ... So, you see how small that $250 a month comparing to $60,000 extra capital gain?

The Williamsburg VA hotels owner friend told me that he has buyers for one at $1.8 million that he paid $500,000 ... Got it?!

So, don't feel guilty to get $32 a night at this wonderful suite hotel, as they made lots of money already, and we feel we got a steal because we have been so used to be robbed by luxury hotel like the King's new clothes....

[biddingforhotel]

I have been kind of wondering because there are around 300 views on my posting, but I did not see anyone posted to get this hotel... Why? This is great hotel with complimentary sit down hot breakfast and near all attractions in famous Mystic Seaport... and only $32!!! Unbelivably great!

Do I miss anything?

[bbbb]

Wow I don't know how you could have missed anything. Great read,thanks.

[biddingforhotel]

I mean why I did not see any of you bid this wonderful hotel? Is that gas price up? or is it because stock market collapse? When I wake up at midnight seeing so few cars at parking lots of this wonderful hotel, I felt want to tell everyone to have a weekend getaway here ...

[traveljunkie]

I just bid $32 and it was rejected :) (for 6/21 only)

[rajpura]

The attractions are not cheap. Combo tickets to the aquarium, museum are $30 for adults and $22 for kids. So for a family of 4 will pony up atleast 104 + tax, don't know if you have to pay for parking. Hotel accomodation maybe cheap but attractions are not and then gas prices in connecticut are also high. Good for families who have extra cash

Good informative post though

[biddingforhotel]

The parking is free for both hotel and the Aquarium. I got the family pass, so it is free for the rest of the year visiting the aquarium. So is the Mistic Seaport, which has free parking, and I got the family pass too, and we have visited couple times already.

This aquarium used to be teamed up with over 200 other museums that we can visit free since we were member of Liberty Science Center member, but not any more ... I guess this acquarium need to raise more money, same as the Adventure Aquarium in Camdem NJ.

[biddingforhotel]

The attractions are not cheap. Combo tickets to the aquarium, museum are $30 for adults and $22 for kids. So for a family of 4 will pony up atleast 104 + tax, don't know if you have to pay for parking. Hotel accomodation maybe cheap but attractions are not and then gas prices in connecticut are also high. Good for families who have extra cash

Good informative post though

Ok, here is the deal, if your family are really interested in visiting Mystic Aquarium but without the budget, I can try to find you a complimentary membership, so that your family can visit as many times as you wish for the year; it is worth revisiting. Then, you can use the saved money to buy a membership of Mystic Seaport Museum; it is also worth multiple visit.

There is no catch, except that you need to post when you get $32 on this hotel, and, of course, I will try to keep bidding it ... Whenever we got the hotel again at $32 (I am sure should be able to because when I was there, every time woke up midnight, I saw very few cars in parking lots) excepts some busy days with special events.

I got both the membership of Mystic Acquarium and Mystic Seaport, so next time we visit, the cost would be only hotel and gas, so I have no problem to find your family Mystic Seaport Museum membership as well if you do not have budget for that either but wish to visit.

[biddingforhotel]

The attractions are not cheap. Combo tickets to the aquarium, museum are $30 for adults and $22 for kids. So for a family of 4 will pony up atleast 104 + tax, don't know if you have to pay for parking. Hotel accomodation maybe cheap but attractions are not and then gas prices in connecticut are also high. Good for families who have extra cash

Good informative post though

This comes a bit late for this year, since the CT Open House on 6/10/06 just passed, otherwise, you can pick some museums of your choice to visit FREE!!! Well, don't forget this for next year ...