Living in a hotel full time can cost anywhere from $5 a night to $150,000 a night, and where you stay matters as much as what you pay. It depends entirely on the hotel. According to the video, you can stay year-round at a 5-star all-inclusive resort in Thailand or Turkey for about the same price as paying rent in London.
This article walks through nine price points, from the cheapest bed to a submarine suite, and what each tier really gets you.
Watch the full video here, or skip to the breakdown below.
The price levels at a glance
- $5 a night: the cheapest hotel life (0:43)
- $50 a night: basic but comfortable (2:24)
- $200 a night: entry-level luxury (3:38)
- $500 a night: business class hotel life (7:08)
- $1,000 a night: high roller lifestyle (8:22)
- $10,000 a night: ultra luxury suites (9:50)
- $50,000 a night: the peak of hotel living (11:19)
- $100,000 a night: the Empathy Suite, Las Vegas (12:24)
- $150,000 a night: Lover’s Deep submarine (13:56)
1. $5 a night: the cheapest hotel life
It sounds like something only the rich can afford, but if you sacrifice comfort you can do it for the price of a daily coffee. In some parts of the world $5 buys a bed, a roof and maybe breakfast. In Thailand, India and Vietnam there is a whole tourism industry for extreme budget travelers: hostels and guesthouses with a dozen people to a room, a simple bed, a shared bathroom and a fan instead of air conditioning.
In small villages in Nepal or Bangladesh, $5 can sometimes get a private room, and some places throw in a meal. Some backpackers and digital nomads live like this for months or indefinitely, bouncing between countries where the cost of living is absurdly low. Most people would never consider it, but it shows hotel living is possible at any price point.
2. $50 a night: basic but comfortable
Five dollars a night sounds like an adventure for about a week. After that anyone craves comfort and reliable Wi-Fi. In Argentina, Mexico and Eastern Europe, $50 gets a private room in a decent three-star hotel, with your own bed and bathroom and maybe free breakfast. In Bali or Bangkok it could be a boutique hotel with a rooftop pool, or even a full suite.
For long-term travelers this is the sweet spot. You are not spending a fortune, but you are not living like a broke backpacker either. You get privacy, security and a decent internet connection, which is why so many remote workers and digital nomads settle here.
3. $200 a night: entry-level luxury
The real hotel experience starts at $200. In most places it buys a 4-star boutique hotel that is livable but average. In global hubs like New York, London, Dubai, Tokyo or Singapore it does not come close to luxury. Real estate is so expensive, and so many travelers pass through each day, that decent rooms at a reasonable price are like needles in a haystack.
The global hotel economy is a game of location. Some remote professionals and entrepreneurs base themselves where $200 buys a premium lifestyle. For the money that would buy a shoebox in Manhattan, they get an all-inclusive beachfront villa in Bali with room service, free meals and clean sheets every night.
Done smartly, living in a hotel is an entire experience as well as a room.
4. $500 a night: business class hotel life
At $500 you can live in the heart of the world’s biggest cities. High-end 5-star hotels in New York, London or Singapore deliver real luxury: marble lobbies, top-tier dining, spa access and a concierge who knows your name.
For a full-time resident the interesting part is loyalty. Chains like the Ritz-Carlton, the Four Seasons and the Park Hyatt are global and remember their best customers. Stay with one long enough and you get room upgrades and personalized service anywhere in the world. This is where CEOs, consultants and executives on company-paid stays start to feel at home. You are no longer just another guest, you are a valued client.
5. $1,000 a night: high roller lifestyle
Around this price hotels stop catering to travelers and start catering to power players. You can get a room at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, an overwater villa in the Maldives or a private suite in Monaco. The service is built around your every need: a personal butler, a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce, Michelin-star dining an elevator ride away.
What changes most is who you meet. Entrepreneurs, investors and politicians are sleeping there and also networking. Friendships form in the gym, partnerships in the cigar lounge, and million-dollar deals over cocktails. People at this tier book hotels and also become part of the ecosystem.
At $1,000 a night you are in a club most people are not invited to.
6. $10,000 a night: ultra luxury suites
That works out to upwards of $3.6 million a year on hotels alone. You are likely in the penthouse suite at The Plaza in New York, a Royal Suite at the Burj Al Arab or an entire floor of a Ritz-Carlton. A private butler is waiting before you arrive, a helicopter transfer is arranged, and a concierge can get you into places money alone cannot buy.
At this level owning a home stops making sense. Real estate, maintenance, staff and property taxes feel like extra work, and every service you would have at home is already provided. Some people own no house at all, moving from penthouse to penthouse and city to city. For them hotels are not vacations, they are home.
7. $50,000 a night: the peak of hotel living
Here hotels are no longer buildings. They are private islands, underwater resorts and experiences most people never hear about. Necker Island, owned by Richard Branson, can be yours for a night at $50,000. Private yachts, helicopters and teams of expert caterers are at your disposal without asking.
This is the playground of billionaires, Saudi royalty and Hollywood megastars. By any reasonable measure it should be the peak, but it is still not the most expensive stay money can buy.
8. $100,000 a night: the Empathy Suite, Las Vegas
The Empathy Suite at The Palms Casino Resort was designed by the artist Damien Hirst. It is a two-story, $100,000-a-night suite with everything custom-made, from the furniture to the bar to sharks preserved in formaldehyde. They sit next to the foosball table. You also get a private bar and an infinity pool overlooking the Vegas Strip.
The suite is built for high-stakes gamblers who drop a million dollars in a single round of poker, and for the Hollywood elite and international business names who come to Vegas to flex. You are paying for a conversation piece, a symbol of status and spectacle.
9. $150,000 a night: Lover’s Deep submarine
Lover’s Deep, off the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, is a literal submarine. During your stay it travels underwater and gives panoramic views of the deep sea. Inside are a lavish master suite, custom furniture, a state-of-the-art entertainment system, a personal chef and a butler on call around the clock.
The video jokes that living here 365 days would take someone very rich and very paranoid. It is also the most extreme privacy money can buy: no noisy neighbors, no paparazzi and a few fish swimming past the window.
Most of us should aim for the $1,000-a-night tier first.
What a hotel bill really measures
The video’s point is that this lifestyle does not happen by accident. People who reach the upper tiers understand how to build wealth, invest wisely and create systems that make money work for them. The cheaper tiers show the other side: location choice can stretch a budget a long way.
High-end luxury, the video says, is more achievable than you think, and the way there starts with improving your financial skills.
FAQ
How much does it cost to live in a hotel full time?
It ranges from about $5 a night for a basic bed in places like Thailand or Vietnam to $150,000 a night for the Lover’s Deep submarine. A comfortable middle ground for long-term travelers is around $50 a night.
Is it cheaper to live in a hotel than to pay rent?
In some places, yes. The video says you can stay year-round at a 5-star all-inclusive resort in Thailand or Turkey for about the same price as rent in London.
What does $200 a night get you?
In most places a livable 4-star boutique hotel. In hubs like New York, London, Dubai, Tokyo or Singapore it barely reaches luxury, but in places like Bali it can buy an all-inclusive beachfront villa.
What is the most expensive hotel stay in the video?
Lover’s Deep in St. Lucia, a submarine hotel at $150,000 a night, with a master suite, personal chef and butler.
Why do people at high price points stop owning homes?
At $10,000 a night, dealing with real estate, maintenance, staff and property taxes feels like extra work. Some people just move from penthouse to penthouse and city to city.
Keep reading
- Luxury Cave Hotel China | Luxury Travel
- They Turned This Submarine Into a Luxury Hotel and It Might Be the Best Hotel Ever!
- Armani Hotel Dubai | Luxury Living
