Hacker News Reader

Comment by kenneth | Hacker News Reader

I live out of hotels pretty much full time. Really, it's not as expensive and as bad as you make it seem. My average nightly rate averages out to just slightly above my rent, and I have a lot more flexibility. At the end of this month, I'm ditching my place and going full time, and I'll actually be saving money overall, and I can be anywhere in the world without the feeling of my empty apartment burning a hole in my pocket back home.

Not every city is New York or SF with their crazy hotel prices. In expensive cities, I'll use points to save money.

View on HN

What cities do you prefer and how much does it cost you, out of curiosity?

I'm on what's considered a fairly good wage for my area (Melbourne), but if I were to do this it'd cost me close to 70% of my take home salary. Whereas I could rent a beautiful apartment right near the city for about 30%

I make a SF-level income, and swapping SF rent for living in hotels full time doesn't break the bank if you enjoy spending time around the world, in many places which are significantly cheaper than SF. I could save a ton of money by renting at local prices instead of staying in hotels while I travel, but I like the lifestyle so I'm not bothered by the cost differential. Basically I compare my lifestyle of luxury hotels around the world, compare with SF apartment surrounded by filth in soma, and at a similar price range the former makes me much happier.

My average nightly spend is about $119 all-in (I track it all in a spreadsheet). Market rent for my apartment in SF would be $4,500, i.e. $148/night, assuming every night is used. If you do any amount of traveling, the cost per night used of your apartment increases.

$125 can buy you some really really nice hotels. I've stayed at 5-star properties in Bangkok at that price. And if I'm willing to go limited service or 4 star (but still nice, I have standards), I've done stays as cheap as $45 in Bali, $65 in Kuala Lumpur, $80 in Bangkok, $125 in Taipei, etc. In China, I've stayed at St. Regis and Ws for barely over $100. I can pretty much always get something nice for under $200. I learn the tricks to lower rates through promotions and other programs like Citi's 4th night free or through TAs who have access to special rates.

Given how much time I spend in hotels, I have top status with three different chains (Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton, and mid-tier status with IHG). That means I always get the best room available, and I've gotten some absolutely ridiculous suite upgrades (twice the size of my apartment). I also usually get free breakfast, access to a club lounge with free afternoon food and booze, late checkout, welcome gifts, and other perks.

With Hyatt and Marriott I have a dedicated team member to take care of any issues or requests. Basically, I get treated like a king by all of them, for the same price as my rent in SF.

For me, living in hotels full time, vs. $200+/night used in rent in SF… the decision was a no-brainer.

How did you end up with top status on so many? Just unavailability of your preferred chain at different locations?

Hyatt and Marriott I earned. Hilton and IHG I "bought."

Hyatt: 80 nights in their hotels last year (5 from CC) Marriott: 105 nights in their hotels last year (10 from CC, 1 from birthday) + required $20k spend for Ambassador status

Hilton: credit card for Diamond IHG: credit card for Platinum, $200/yr to add Ambassador status

211 total hotel nights last year.

There's 365 nights in the year, enough to earn top status on every chain you want. I plan on adding Shangri-La to the mix this year.

Do you just work remotely then? That's pretty cool if you can work somewhere else and draw an SF-level income.

Just curious, how do you handle mail and packages?

I struggled with this a lot in my first few years as a digital nomad, having mail delivered to my parents house, bills often lost, etc... Then someone told me about virtual mailboxes. https://www.postnet.com/virtual-mail/ . You pay 15 bucks a month and they can act like your home address, accepting all your mail. For an additional fee, they can either scan the mail, or forward it physically to wherever you might be at the moment.

To the outside world it looks like your permanent address. I use mine to buy health insurance through Obamacare and also have registered my car to this address.

So, I still have an unused apartment where I go collect my mail every month. Once I move out at the end of this month, I plan on sending most mail to a virtual mailbox. I may have more important things sent to friends in San Francisco.

The other big annoyance about living as a full-time nomad is laundry. So far I've managed with a mix of laundromats, laundry shops, and the occasional hotel laundry when it's reasonably priced (rarely).

I'm a nomad and I converted a lot of my wardrobe to wool with brands like Wool and Prince and Unbound. I can wear a shirt for a long time before it needs dry cleaning.

I find dry cleaning to be cheap compared to the time I would spend doing laundry activities.

Ironing an expensive dress shirt with a rusty iron at an Airbnb is not something I want to entertain.

I haven't found a good solution for workout clothes though so I usually stay in an Airbnb with at least a washer.

Not sure if there are analogous workout shirts and shorts but the ExOfficio Give-N-Go boxer briefs are the most travel friendly item I own. They're sorta like Under Armour material but even thinner and lighter so they can be hand washed or air dryed insanely fast. Definitely looking to get more clothing that fits in that category.

More info / Wirecutter review: https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-mens-and-womens-under...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com