hhoope01 - usually I agree with you on most subjects, but this is one I have to disagree. Splitting it into 2 reservations would eliminate the ability to check out 2 days early within the 5 day stay period without incurring a cancellation fee on the second reservation.

IME when checking out early I have not run into any problems, even letting them know the day I am checking out. When this has occurred, it is usually of an unexpected nature. The hotels have allowed me to check out without incurring any early checkout fee. One hotel, when checking out early and inquiring about the cancellation policy said, "that's for cancellations, you didn't cancel". Now each hotel may treat this differently, and the 3 times I have done this may have been anomalies, so I would recommend calling the hotel and asking them how they handle this if you are still concerned.