Where to sleep on the cheap: NYC homestays and budget hotels

Before I moved to NYC, I did the typical tourist thing a few times and stayed at midtown hotels rife with dust mites and other tourists.

Because people visit NYC to see other people who are visiting NYC, right?

Then I spent a few spring breaks traveling with groups from college. We visited with a mission: to work at a non-profit by day and spend every other minute doing something urban and exciting. We didn’t plan to get much sleep, so no one was picky about lodgings.

And this is how I ended up sleeping at an old firehouse-cum-flophouse with toilets that didn’t flush and open shower stalls. And have I got a contact dermatitis story for you!

I also once stayed at a Y.M.C.A. Don’t believe the song - it’s not that fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A.

Here’s a question from Sid:

Greetings. I am Sid. I would be visiting NYC for a week sometime in Oct (This is my first visit to US). I wanted some info on finding homestay / budget hotels in NYC. Any pointers would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

My response:

Questions like these are tricky, as acceptable price ranges vary from person to person, and there are scams to watch out for. I’ll do my best to try to cover what I know, but I admit a lack of experience in this area. Readers, feel free to share your own advice in the comments section.

The first place I’d check for homestays is the “sublets/temporary” housing section on Craigslist. Your best bet for a short stay is finding someone who sublets a room in the apartment where they live. Some people do this for extra income and have made it quite the well-oiled business. You don’t want to harass this person too often, but it’s one way of getting insider advice. They also may throw in food as part of the deal, which is nice.

You can search other homestay options (some of them free.99) at CouchSurfing and Airbnb. These sites require some research and correspondence, so I wouldn’t expect them to give you quick, last-minute solutions. Also, keep in mind that you may get a futon or a sleeping bag or a hammock as your sleeping arrangement. Carefully read about the set-up, and make sure you can deal with it.

This is the part where I feel like I should remind someone out there - whomever that may be - that staying with a stranger doesn’t necessarily mean that your mutilated body will be found six weeks later in a Costco parking lot in New Jersey.

Many bodies are never found.

Seriously, people are inherently good and most likely will not kill you. Follow your instincts, but have some faith.

So budget hotels. They’re not the ones in midtown. Check out Yelp for cheaper options in more offbeat places in the city. I know there’s one on West 107th Street yards away from my first apartment. My parents once stayed there. I have a friend who recently stayed somewhere in Brooklyn, which worked for him.

Yelp is another great place to check out hostels. There are quite a few on the Upper West Side and throughout the city. Read the reviews to find what’s right for you. The Jazz on the City and Jazz on the Park hostels are always full of satisfied-looking customers.

There’s one place I have to advise against. Bowery’s Whitehouse Hotel makes for great stories…of loud, drunken people coming into your room. Peeping Toms watching you take a shower. Scratchy blankets made of Brillo pads and fungus. I would avoid that place, but it’s an experience.

I hope you find a safe, inexpensive place to lay your head. One that doesn’t give you a skin infection.

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