Wick3 said: "Mike Barrett said: "Oh, the Paramount for $99 is beyond ideal. I’ll check it out for sure, thanks so much! Not against last minute trips, either :)"
Yes that's a great price! So I haven't used hoteltonight app since summer 2016 and back then I recall the fees were minimal (around $15-$20) but it looks like hoteltonight charges a $20 fee and on top of that, some hotels charge a resort/service/destination fee of around $40. Crazy! So even if Paramount states it's $99, total will probably be around $160/night. I just checked other hotel sites like expedia and hotels.com and certain times sq hotels now charge a resort/destination fee in addition to the room rate. Crazy! i don't remember this back in summer 2016. From googling it, it looks like some NYC hotels started imposing this extra destination fee back in 2018.
Note not all Times sq hotels have this resort/destination fee. In the hoteltonight app, it looks like Hampton Inn Times Sq, Washington Jefferson Times Sq, Four Points Sheraton Times Sq, Doubletree Times Sq, and a few others do not charge this resort/destination fee."
Destination fees are the WORST, though you're right that you can avoid them. I stayed at the Marriott Marquis this past weekend for the first time ever, which had a fee though I used points for a couple of the nights so that eased the pain a bit. And you can bet that I was down at the bar fully utilizing that $30/night credit! That's the key with those fees if you have to pay them - make sure you take advantage of the credit so you get your money's worth. At the Marquis I could use it on a spin class, a tour ticket, or food/bev.
I'm a Marriott guy myself so I stay pretty loyal to that family. Oftentimes I will stay downtown on weekend trips because the rates tend to be cheaper. There's a Courtyard on Greenwich that I stay at a lot, there's tons of Subway lines in the area since WTC is right there, and you may get lucky and get a nice Freedom Tower view. Often they'll have a rate that includes the breakfast buffet (which is meh, but it's something). Like someone else mentioned, I'll usually book something so I have it secured and then keep checking until the cancellation deadline in case a better deal pops up closer to the actual dates.
and if there's two of you who don't want to share a Queen bed, they do offer bunk beds, too. If you don't mind that - the price and location is right. 
so any NYC plans are currently out of the question, at least for a few months lol. I wanted to bump though as I found all the responses here incredibly helpful for not only myself but id assume with others too. With Thanksgiving and Christmas only getting closer, figured this thread could use a bump, maybe even routinely post new offers and everything for all the non NYC broadway attendees. Hoping to get to NYC soon, but nonetheless, thanks again everyone for all your help! 
