More often than I would like, I have to leave Puerto Rico to go to New York for work. Points flights are usually cheap (see Delta SkyPesos Worthless? Not to San Juan!). Hotels are always a challenge (see Thank You Trump! Best Marriott Anniversary Night Redemption). My preferred place to stay is Long Island City because most tourists do not know how close it is to midtown, or they would rather waste money staying in Times Square. That’s a mistake (see Sheraton New York Times Square). Once upon a time, the Hyatt Place Long Island City was the Best Deal in NY. It used to cost 8,000 points a night. Now it is 12,000. While 12k is not bad, I would rather stay at the Four Points LIC which I consider to be the Best Place to Stay in NYC. Prior to the SPG Marriott integration, rooms could be found as low as $120 including tax. Prior to the SPG Marriott integration, cash and points was actually an option (see Are Marriott Cash + Points a Myth?).
With Amazon announcing that its new headquarters will be in LIC, I fear that the days of finding a good deal in the City are over. The winners will be those that bought in LIC when it was cheap-er. The losers will be business travelers who will have no convenient options for where to stay. Perhaps it is time to start looking at routes from cities to the City from cities that start with P. Those are still going for 8,000 Hyatt points.
The Hilton Garden Inn in Long Island City is one example of a place to stay if you are on a business trip to Midtown Manhattan or Midtown East and are on a budget. In the years to come, no longer. Long Island City hotel prices will be the same as Midtown.
Terrible.