The Courtyard in Bloomington is the only midrange chain hotel in Bloomington. A high rack rate during special events occurs because the supply of hotel rooms is constrained. If your daughter's game is in the middle of the week, demand from business travelers and the expected softball families will be enough to support much higher room rates.

Sometimes, awards open up when other people cancel their reward reservations. You can find out by checking online for award availability. Hotels have capacity limits for awards as well as promotional rates. Areas with lots of Marriott hotels (i.e. the DC area) have a greater number of rooms available for reward redemption. In this case, it is easier to make an award reservation at the last minute.

One more tip: You can make an award reservation before you have the points to pay for it. To do this, you would click that you already have an award certificate while making the award reservation online. Then, you would not have the points deducted from your account when the reservation is made. You can order the award certificate later as long as you have the points by the day of the reservation. This lets you lock in the award before they are gone.