Las Vegas Hotel Deals

Last update: November 2021

Stay for free on your next visit

Here's our best tip for Las Vegas hotels for cheap:  Casinos will send you offers for free or deeply discounted rooms for your next visit if you simply sign up for a free Player's Card and use it a little when you're playing slots or table games.  Sometimes they'll make these offers even if you never use the card at all.  As I write this I'm staying for three nights for free, on a weekend, at a casino that I think I played maybe an hour or two of blackjack in two years ago.  Sign up for a Player's Card at every casino you visit, whether you're staying there or not, and whether you expect to gamble there or not.  If you do gamble, either table games or slots, be sure to use the card.

This doesn't help you for the visit you're about to make, but it's the #1 way to get a great deal on your next visit.

Timing is Everything

Weekday vs. Weekend. Friday/Saturday rates are often two and a half times as much as Sunday-thru-Thursday rates!  If you're able to stay between Sunday through Thursday, by all means do so.  Not only will you save on your room, but you'll also find lower limits on table games, and the casinos and restaurants won't be as crowded so you'll be able to enjoy yourself more.

Cheap Times of the Year.  Whenever business is slow, hotels drop the rates to induce more business.  These are the best times of the year to score deals:

• December before Christmas. Rooms at some classy hotels go for as little as $20, even on weekends!
• July & August.  It's 100 degrees outside, so that discourages some tourists.

Expensive Times of the Year.

• Major holidays, like Memorial Day (late May), July 4th, Labor Day (early Sept.), and New Year's Eve.
• Superbowl Sunday (usually the whole weekend of the Sunday in February)
• Convention times (CES in early January, and Comdex in mid-November)

Be aware of Resort Fees

Nearly every hotel/casino in Vegas charges a bullshit "resort fee" of $20-50 per night, that's separate from the room rate.  At least they don't multiply it by the number of guests.

There are a few ways around the resort fee:

• Comps.  If you gamble, the casino might waive the resort fee if you ask.  See my comps page for more.
• Bribes.  When you check in, sandwich a $20 bill between your ID and your credit card and ask if it's possible to waive the resort fee.  Instead, you could ask if there are any complimentary room upgrades available, which you might enjoy more than having your resort fee waived.  This bribery works at most strip hotels, most of the time.  I've done it successfully myself.
• Stay elsewhere.  Hotels without an attached casino often don't have resort fees.  There's also Airbnb.

The hotels say the resort fee gives you things like WiFi and fitness center access, which isn't really true: they can't tie those amenities to the fee, because everyone has to pay the fee, so there's no such thing as not getting those amenities.  If the fee were optional, and not paying it meant that you didn't get the extra services, then they could say that the fee got you the services.  But since the fee is mandatory, it's not buying you extra services; everyone gets those services because everyone has to pay.

Location matters

The Strip — Strip hotels are generally the most expensive.  On the strip, Strat, NY NY, and Excalibur often have the lowest prices.  Circus Circus is just as cheap but dumpier and smokier.

Downtown — Downtown digs are generally cheaper than the Strip, and downtown is only 1.5 miles from the Strip (and there's a bus that runs 24/7), so you'll never be far from the action.

Off-Strip — There are many hotel-casinos near the strip but not quite on it.  See my list of near-strip casinos.

Get a room upgrade for $20

A little-known tip is that you can usually get a nice room upgrade by tipping $20 to the front desk. Put the $20 between your ID and your credit card, then casually ask if there are any complimentary room upgrades available.  Most front desk staff will give the $20 back if they can't help you. More about this at FrontDeskTip.com.

Vegas Hotel Search Engines

Some of these let you search for either strip-only or downtown-only.

• Expedia
• TravelNow
• Travelocity

See my Vegas map so you can see where these hotels are.

Hotel taxes

The tax rate for hotels on and near the Strip is 13.38%.  Elsewhere (like Downtown and Boulder Highway), it's a little less, 13%.  Resort fees are subject to the hotel tax, too.

Death of the $16 room at the Western

For years, my favorite deal was the $16 room at The Western, the sleaziest and most dangerous casino in all of Vegas.  I took advantage of a $16 room there as late as 2001.  It was $16 even on the weekends!  However, by 2007 the price had gone up to $35/night weekday and $55/night weekends, and then the whole place went out of business not long after that.

I was tipped off to the Western before my first Vegas trip by reading the hilarious story Las Vegas on $19 a day.  Here's the hilarity that ensued when I tried to make a reservation by phone.