Extended Stay Hotels in (northern) San Diego
 

Hello,

I will be back this summer in (northern) San Diego interning, and rather than drive and apartment hunt (for a 3 month stay), I'm deciding to forgo the hassle and fly and stay at an extended stay hotel.

The only thing is I am paying all out of pocket, and just being an intern, I'm not having much luck. The hotel my company has an agreement with offers a "Discounted" rate of $110 a night - that would be 11,000 for a 100 night stay...just being an intern and what not, there is no way I can do that.

I've looked into the extended stay America hotels, but they look kinda...chinsy.

While ideally I would like 60/night, is 70-75 too unreasonable for anywhere in (northern) San Diego? Being from Michigan, I pay $400/month for an apartment, so there is a big shock from the price of living. I've looked at craigslist, but a lot of the apartments dont go up for subletting until the west schools get out, and with us being on the semester system, theres almost a month before that I need somewhere.

If anyone has had any luck or suggestions to try, please let me know. Please let me know if looking for 75/night is too unreasonable as well. That would be for a ~95 stay night.

Thanks!

I don't think that there is a hotel that will let you stay for 100 straight nights, you're going to have to have a token check out and check back in at least once if not twice. I've also alerted the mods to move this to the California forum instead of West.

Have you tried calling and negotiating a rate with any properties directly?

Oops, didn't see the Cali forum.

I have, but most are insistent around the $100. My best luck so far has just been the normal "off-season" rate at the Towneplace Suites in Vista, which is $74/night. I can stay there for 60 days at that rate before it jumps to 119.

Sorry if this is obvious to you, but did you call the hotel and speak to a senior manager at the hotel? A front desk agent is not going to be empowered to negotiate a long term rate with you. A corporate reservations agent at the 1-800 number won't, either.

Also, consider trying hotels that are not part of a major worldwide brand family. (Towneplace is Marriott.) Unaffiliated hotels and hotels that belong to smaller brands are sometimes more willing to negotiate rates.

Maybe I'm a little naive about these sorts of things, but this must be one hell of an internship opportunity.

Not only is Southern California extremely expensive compared to most of the rest of the country, but you are looking at being in a highly touristed coastal area during the summer (peak season).

The advice to speak with a manager, not just a desk clerk is very good. Usually there is a sales manager who handles special room arrangements like these. I would initiate negotiations by telephone. Often you can get a better rate if you agree to sign a rental agreement, committing to the full period in question, and/or agree to prepay monthly.

You also might have better luck negotiating a good deal with a place that has kitchenettes, but does not specifically market itself as a long stay property (e.g., Homewood Suites,

Finally, if you're open to trying something a bit more creative, you might look at a housesitting gig (several websites that specialize in connecting parties), or check out something like AirBnB to find a room letting arrangement (in somebody's home). Might be a challenge in such a high demand area, but could be worth a try.

Good luck!

Most places have put me in touch with a sales manager, not a property manager. And exactly like you said, most places have a summer-rate for a high demand area that makes it pretty $$$. I will keep chucking away; at least for the first 60 days I have a good deal. Thanks for all the input.