Originally Posted by DHAST
As far as hotels go, I am a leisure traveler. I don't stay in hotels very often, and when I do I very rarely pay rack rate for a room...Unless it's a very rare circumstance, I try to pay under $100 for a room. I just don't know how to do that with a top chain ...
I stay 150+ nights/year in the Marriott and Hilton chains, and have never paid over $79/night.
I negotiated a rate at a Fairfield Inn for $30/night, and that lasted over a year. In my current location, I'm also staying at an FI and, while it's higher than that, it's still a very acceptable rate. And fully point-earning.
They treat me like a platinum, always put me in a "suite", all the goodies available, etc. It's like home ... sorta.