1 Month and 3 Days with Blueground Chicago

Was able to get a great deal on a place in Chicago at the end of winter beginning of spring.

Blueground pricing methodology is a bit complicated and unorganized but in those complications and chaos, you can sometimes find amazing deals. I was able to get this highrise apartment in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago for around $1580 per month (excluding cleaning fees and utilities).

Quick Note on sorting through the chaos with Blueground:

A trick I later learned is that if the price of the unit is discounted to the lowest level and the availability is the next day the unit is usually the best pricing for that city and it will be labeled “Best Deal”. When you find the city of your choice, sort by availability, and if the first unit is also the lowest priced unit for the city this is probably a promotional deal and won’t last long. The complication comes from choosing the dates, in most cases from other short-term rental sites the best deals come from the longest stays, this is not always the case with Blueground. In most cases, if you find the matchup between the lowest price and availability this is going to be a 1 or 2-month stay only. As of this writing, this is how the site works but it is ever-changing. Just a few hours ago I noticed that you have about a 2 day grace period to keep the “Best Deal” if you’re able to find it. See the last screenshot for a better understanding.

Edit: The above is completely useless and doesn’t work anymore as of May 1st, 2021.

Pros: Great amenities and great location. The wifi was powerful and fast. The company has a subscription with YouTubeTV that was nice but what was even better, the last person didn’t sign out of their streaming services so I had access to HBO NOW, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.

Cons: Their customer service is absolute crab! Avoid talking or communicating with them at all costs. They are getting a little better but not fast enough. When I originally saw the price of the unit a was amazed and wanted to call to make sure this wasn’t a bait and switch also I couldn’t just check in the very next day and wanted more flexibility like a two or three days grace period. When I spoke to the representative she basically said the price is what the price is, it’s a great deal and she can not change the dates or help. Then she excused herself from the conversation because she had another phone call come in and it must have been more important because she quickly ended our call. I ended up getting the unit anyway. As soon as I checked in I downloaded the app. Within a few days, the app sent a notification asking if I would like to extend. My in-app reply must have sent a notice to the customer service because I received an autogenerated email from a representative saying we’re glad you would like to extend here is the website where you can search dates. The link was the same exact website I used to book the place originally. The representative did ask what dates would I like and after a few exchanges of dates and pricepoint her response was “Sorry we don’t have anything quite in your budget here is the website”. In all fairness, that same unit for the same length of time is now at $5470 a nearly 250% increase in price. But I did find a unit in Denver which will be the next post. And my other complaint is that that system does not show a way to my rent payments, so if you do choose to stay 12 months they ask for the entire year’s payment upfront, which seems like a bug and not a feature.

Below are some photos from the building and unit.