How to Find a New York Budget Hotel

In New York, hotels are everywhere. The handful of listings in the guidebook are nowhere close to the number of hotels that are actually available. Even sites such as Expedia which have hundreds of listings and "deals" with hotels have relatively few low budget listings. A few lesser-known tactics will reveal some inexpensive hotels that haven't had the fortune to land a listing in nymag.com but are still great places to stay.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Search Google Maps. Go to maps.google.com and type "hotel, New York." These are hotels that are listed in the phone book but don't have the budget to get themselves listed in or to participate in a promotion. The map will give you a geographical sense of the city and where you might like to stay.
   
   Look on side streets, and in neighborhoods adjacent to popular areas. For example, instead of staying in Soho, stay in the Lower East Side or Chinatown.
   
   The advantage of Google Maps is that you can make your own map of possible places to stay. To create a map, click on the red dot. In the balloon that pops up, click "Save to My Maps." Also put the places you want to go on this map to reveal what might be a good location to call hotels.
   
   Also search "inn," "hostel" and other synonyms.

2. Check slightly lesser known websites. Yelp, while known for its restaurant reviews, also provides insight on hotels. In addition, due to the young, creative nature of the bloggers there, you are likely to get some places with a little more character and quirkiness.

3. Once you are in New York, keep an eye out for hotel signs. Drop in and ask for a rate. You can switch to another hotel for the second half of your stay, or collect information for a future trip.