Can I Find $225 in Seattle?
My husband and I are currently in Seattle, lodging at a hotel we've enjoyed in the past. It's centrally located, not a chain and most importantly has a decent continental breakfast.
However, they've jacked up the price of the valet parking to $75 per day, which is before tipping! We're here for three nights, so that's a waste of $225! There's nowhere else to safely park, so you're a captive consumer.
$225!
This is actually how much we were going to spend on the entire hotel bill, as it's mostly covered by credit card points.
I spent the first hour of our mini-vacation moping about the room, but then realized I could turn it into a challenge. I'd already planned on hitting the thrift shops while here, so maybe I could put extra effort into sourcing items to resell -- specifically to make a $225 profit!
Can I accomplish this goal? Who know, but I can have fun trying!
Wish me luck.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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I'm really enjoying the challenges you have been doing - so fun to see what you can do!
I look forward to seeing how you meet this challenge, Katy. And I know you will!
Excited to see what you can find to sell. Your eBay postings inspire me.
Oh dear! I've been caught in similar circumstances. So frustrating. But if anybody can raise $225 reselling, you can! I'm looking forward to seeing what you find.
I am in the midst of doing laundry. I have just switched from washers to dryers. In between I went and got gas, got dairy aid at Walgreens, and some groceries at Food4Less. I didn't make it into the house with the bag from Walgreens, so I sure hope it's in the car and not left somewhere.
The generic dairy aid was buy one, get one half off, so I bought two boxes. I bought the individually wrapped packets so I can carry them in my little purse. I keep bottles on hand, too, for at-home consumption. I hope I didn't lose them! I'll check when the laundry is done.
I didn't get any particular deals at Food4Less, except for an extra large bottle of creamer -- the value size -- which was also a dollar off. And some apple cinnamon breakfast cookies 50% off, but let's face it, that's an indulgence.
Other than that, I washed the scarf I found and put it in the Goodwill bag, and I defrosted my fridge, which will help it run more efficiently.
I am having pain issues with both my shoulder and my hip. I have an appointment to have the shoulder examined, and I'll have to make another to get my hip looked at (one body part at a time seems to be the rule for orthopedic appointments!) Even so, I'm going to tell the shoulder guy about my hip and see what happens.
If anyone can do it, you can Katy! Can’t wait to see what you find. Good
Luck! Enjoy your Seattle stay even with the hiked price.
Go get 'em, Katy! If anyone can turn thrifted items into income, it's you!
I agree that $75 for parking is a ripoff royale! But just think of it as insurance against having your vehicle vandalized. Even a small bit of damage would cost a whole lot more. Alas.
I'm currently on a similar quest, trying to make $400 from side-hustle mystery shops in order to pay for a very expensive dinner in 2 weeks. Starting on 3/9, I'm currently at $217, so I may not make it, but I'm still ahead by $217....
Hey, Betta, you're over halfway there! Good luck. You can do this!!!!!
I was appalled when my son was a patient at MD Anderson in Houston last summer where parking was $20 a day for valet. It was the same if you did self park and there all day.
Last summer we stayed at a hotel near the Dallas Marketplace where parking was $30/day self park. No break for hotel guests.
I hope you’re successful in your thrifting
It should be against the law to charge patients and their visitors to park.
Two summers ago we had 2 cars at a hospital every day for 6 weeks. Imagine the cost of that if we had had to pay! Thankfully it was free valet parking. The valets knew me, as well as the ladies at the check in desk and the floor nurses!
Goodwill bins south of downtown
Fremont troll under freeway access ramp
New waterfront after viaduct removed
Lovely international district
Uajamaya (sp?) close bygonger
Oh, that's horrible. Feeling like your being fleeced doesn't help you feel like you're having a relaxing stay. I am certain you can make your challenge work.
This is a good reminder to check for hidden costs up front!
Personally, I’d consider this an annoyance and move on and enjoy the trip. That’s an extra $225 for an experience, and you can retrospectively assign some eBay profits to this experience. Sometimes you have to let things go.
Best of luck on another fun challenge. You can do it!!! Go Katy!!
If anyone can do it, *you* can, Katy! Have some fun and try not to dwell on the valet ... you certainly don't do this sort of thing often!
I will watch for your update. I too will need to be very thrifty on any nights away and an unplanned $225 would be a pain point.
Just got done eating BREAKFAST, I kid you not. I suppose it could be considered brunch at this point. Work was insane, and I needed to stop at Safeway afterwards for my Starbucks Double shot stuff (which is still way healthier than Mountain Dew LOL)
Scanned a billion receipts for Pogo, Fetch Rewards, Receipt Pal, Receipt Hog, and Coin Out. Now deciding if I want a second crossanwich...Safeway Select one as much cheaper than Burger King (and better tasting).
It should be on the hotel, offer a spa day on Facebook and let them accompany you to the pool and hot tub and whatever refreshments they have free in the lobby. Throw in a couple of towels and 225…worth every penny.
This happens all the time! You think you've figured out the cost of something but there is another "fee" that you had no idea about! So frustrating.
This vaca challenge makes my frugal heart swell!
Go get 'em Katy!
The valet secured parking is necessary in Seattle. Last time I was there, we parked in a unsecured lot and came back to a car without tires, on blocks. Ugh.
Cheering you on!
OMG!
We go free parking in a Seattle municipal lot of some sort on Juneteenth last year. A nice surprise!
At least you have the car so you don't have to haul your purchases on the plane.
We don't have any fancy-schmancy hotels with valet parking where we live. The hospital (the regional trauma center) charges a maximum of $12/day (>7 hours). The minimum charge (up to 3 hours) is $6. There's a couple other rates in between. Free for seniors 65+ and handicap; veterans get a discount. Free for everyone on the weekends and holidays.
Started drinking almond milk as it appears I'm now lactose-intolerant. Basically only use it for cereal and hot tea, so I don't use a lot of it. Have generic lactose pills in case I'm going to be eating dairy; and carry a couple immodium as back-up if needed. I use the sweetened vanilla and buy the shelf-stable one to minimize space in the fridge. Stumbled on a deal!
Blue Diamond (shelf-stable) sweetened vanilla almond milk = $2.83/quart.
Marcel's Perfect Pantry sweetened vanilla almond milk at Dollar Tree = $1.25/quart. Both taste the same...grabbed all that Dollar Tree had. (BTW, they also have other limited varieties of both almond milk and oatmilk.) Will continue to watch for it at Dollar Tree (the variety I want isn't available on their website), and keep stocked ahead.
Hosting my DSIL (DH's DS) for Easter. Keeping it simple. A chicken dish with chicken provalone, proscuitto, and spinach; broccoli salad, homemade bread and coconut cake. Debating on whether or not to make baked corn.
Always baked corn!! Nothing better.
That hotel parking rate is ridiculous. I had a parking win today so I am sharing my good parking luck. I was downtown for a meeting. The garage rate was $24/2 hours. That seemed high knowing it would likely be more than 2 hours. I circled the block and found a surface lot for $7.50 for the day. Definitely worth a 2 block walk. Have a nice trip!
I love your thrifting challenge idea - good idea!! I'm rooting for ya.
Won’t be staying there again?
I know you can do it Katy! $75 per day seems pretty excessive. Another thing I would do is load up on breakfast so you hopefully won't be hungry until dinner. Use their amenities as much as you can, too.
I am a Motel 6, Sleep Inn, kind of gal so I haven’t had to pay for parking as a general rule EXCEPT the airport!!! Atlanta airport is a fricking nightmare!!!
You can do it Katy- there’s a GW bins south of downtown and a HUGE goodwill on Dearborn
The mandatory parking fees makes me mad too. My friends & I stayed in a waterfront property in Key West 3 yr ago. The parking was 35$ per day. The Resort Fee is another aggravation. Just another way the hotel can make $ by tacking on extra fees like the airlines. Charge for every little thing. The high end hotels seem to be the worst about charging these fees.
Same at a hotel we stayed at in Washington DC. $30 a night and that was almost twenty years ago. I can only imagine what it is now. We were so mad we didn't take the train...about an 8 hour ride from where we live because we never used the car the whole time we stayed there, just used the city subways as the station was about a block away. Live and learn.
There is no such thing as a free lunch or in your case free parking.
It may be too late for this trip, but I always use SpotHero for parking when I know it will be costly. You reserve a space online - just enter the hotel name - and it will give you affordable options within walking distance. I use it for sporting events and in lieu of parking at airports as well.
Oh my, $75/night for parking. Ack! We have contemplated visiting Seattle but after reading that I'm not so sure.
I suspect that Katy will turn this lemon into lemonade and find some items worth reselling. I love the way your mind works Katy.
Looking forward to the follow up of this!
Hey Katy--I have another challenge for you! Ask at the front desk if there are any discounts etc on the parking. It may be run by a second party but it's worth a try. You never know till you try! Keep us posted!
I asked when we checked in.
Yes! You’ve got this! Can’t wait for an update.
$75.00 a night is insane! More than what they charge in NYC. Good luck on your challenge.