I charge my hotels to my client, but they are manufacturers usually away from large cities, so the preferred (image) hotels list my company has is useless. I stay in chain hotels. I thus prefer points and then during vacations, I stay at the best properties the chains have to offer worldwide. I live by the golden rule, I spend money like it was my own. I even use hotel coupons for additional savings, even though it's the client's nickel. Being thrifty has allowed me to stretch my vacations, allowing my wife and I vacation trips to LGA, BCN, ATH, NRT, GIG and GCM this year alone. Like the barrister (lawyer) we met in Rome last year who was staying at the Lord Byron, supposed the highest quality hotel in Rome, he was happy with his great skyline view of Rome for $450/night. My wife and I were happy with the balcony view of Rome life at a $65/night 7-room hotel one block from the coliseum. Our memories of Rome will include the sight, sounds and smells of the city, not the number of people paid to wait on us. Quality is a measure of meeting one's requirements and people will have differing requirements, and requirements may depend on who pays the hotel bill. Quality and Points can both be of value, however image alone shouldn't be associated with quality. I value quality hotels, but hotel image is near zero value to me.

Edited for some syntax and spelling errors.

[This message has been edited by outoftown (edited 12-08-2001).]