Going to Vegas without a room reservation

So far, it looks like I’ll be arriving in Vegas either early or late Wednesday. Should I expect to pay more or less for a room? Also, thanks to Priceline commercials, I know that hotels are desperate to sell unsold rooms. What time do the prices drop?

Vegas prices rise dramatically when big conventions are in town, and drop dramatically other times. If you want to be in one of the major hotels, you might be surprised if you haven’t planned ahead.

Would it be worthwhile to try Priceline (or some other such site) on Wednesday, for a same-day reservation? I’ve never tried any of those sites looking for a last-minute room…

Try hotwire.com now to see what you can get (Hotwire doesn’t have prices for specific hotels, instead hotels in a general location and rating level–and you find out exactly what you have gotten after you purchase.

At least with the outskirts-of-town fleabags I stay in when I pass through the region, I’ve only noticed the price going up over time. Last time I went through there my driving schedule was a little bit up in the air and so I checked on Kayak a few times on the way down. The price stayed the same until the day of, at which point it went up by $5 (to the princely sum of $18!)

The dynamic might be a little different with the classy joints on the strip, but I think in general it’s the sooner the better.

Your check-in forum is IMHO. Moving there from Cafe Society.

I did the hotwire trick for wed to Friday, but still looking for suggestions for Friday to Sunday.

Unless there is a big convention in town, Sun-Thurs are the cheap days for Vegas hotels. If you want to stay on the strip, most of the properties are owned by 2 companies, MGM or Caesars. You can try their 2 websites to see about 90% of the strip hotels.