"New York City is a lot of things, cheap not among them." That line was a standard for me back in the days when I worked in a famous Manhattan hotel. It was a bit of a lie. The Big Apple if full of great deals, incredible bargains if you know where to
look. For example, just today I bought a 4 gigabyte SD card for $10, basically a
wholesale price. It's made by a manufacturer you would know, and I
bought it at the most famous high-end electronics store on the planet,
which you might not even know if you're not a professional. But I have strayed from my point: A guide can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars, plus a lot of time and trouble.
Back in my hotel days, people would
constantly complain about the high cost of doing business in or visiting
New York. Partially out of spite that folks who could afford a $600-per-night hotel would gripe about paying 20 bucks for a pizza, I didn't mind
-- I admit -- sometimes steering them to expensive places when I knew
that cheaper and better alternatives existed. Actually, hotel
management made staff to do this because if someone got sick at my
favorite little pizza place on 3rd Avenue, they might sue the hotel. If
they got sick at Pizzeria Chaino, they would sue Pizzeria Chaino.
I'm sure liability concerns played a part in hotel
management's decisions regarding what we were and were not to recommend
to guests. It might have had something to do with corporate partnerships,
too. That's what the cynic in me says, anyway.
Here's the funny
thing: A lot of those people could have saved themselves hundreds or
even thousands of dollars by hiring an independent tour guide -- not
the big red bus kind, but one who works for themselves. There are
literally hundreds of us in the City That Never Sleeps. A tour guide
can key you in to everything from the best (truly the best, not
corporate approved) places to eat and shop, to the most interesting
attractions to how to navigate public transportation. Plus, a guide can
keep you from wasting valuable time by designing a tour that fits your
schedule, interests, and budget. The fact that tour guides can point
out all kinds of interesting architectural and historical details is
just a bonus. Our real worth shows itself in the mobile concierge
services we provide.
You wouldn't travel into the wilderness
without a guide, I would hope, at least without basic knowledge of maps
and wilderness survival. Why would you travel to a big city without a
guide? You're almost certain to get eaten by the wolves if you do,
especially in New York.
Don't waste your time buried in your map and paying rip-off-the-tourist prices -- take an NYC walking tour .
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