Originally Posted by BigLar
First of all, you're misunderstanding how the per diem works. Each area of the country has a government-calculated lodging and meals & incidentals (M&I) rate. For Binghamton, it happens to be $110/day.
So, whether I sleep in my car and subsist on Ritz crackers or stay at the Ritz and dine on caviar doesn't matter; the perdiem doesn't change. Only by decreasing my expenses can my net income increase, just like everybody else.
As far as spending my points on free nights, the whole purpose of staying at a Marriott property is to
get Marriott points, so I can spend them in places that, it turns out, will
not be Fairfield Inns.
If a stack of folios covering 300+ nights at FIs over the last 2 years or so doesn't convince him that I'm a regular customer, just staying there for free won't help much, either.
Besides, I'd run out of points in a month or two, and then what do I do for the next six months or a year if he doesn't go for it?
For me, the whole purpose for staying at a Marriott property is to get status, which can make business travel go just a little bit smoother. The points are nice, too.
I wasn't suggesting using points for months on end. I was suggesting using them to stay cheap and get a foot in the door and then negotiate when you are a familiar face. A stack of folios only proves that you stay at
other properties.
However, I just did a quick perusal on Expedia of hotels in Binghamton for random mid-week days in April and May. The Fairfield, as well as the Courtyard, frequently came up as sold out. Perhaps the manager was actually offering you the rack rate as a Platinum benefit.
In your case, the Red Roof or La Quinta will probably be your best choice.