Long-Term Extended Stays: Rates, Benefits, Information, Questions and Suggestions
 

I have had a room @ one of the D/T's in Houston (not the " very bad hotel" ) since January 7, 2002. There are some cost advantages to letting the occupancy run continuously under Texas law (after thirty days of continuous occupancy it's considered rent, so all of the hotel sales tax and sports tax extortions are waived ) and a significantly better rate to occupy continually rather than checking in and out weekly.

Besides only getting one partner credit per stay (totally missing out on the 2X double dip through 3/31/02) The hotel is claiming that they can only submit HH points at the very end of my stay. The present hotel is claiming a 99 day maximum.

I have contactced another property which has matched the rate and at least they gave me an adequate explanation claiming the HH system will not let you check out of a property and back in the same day, to prevent abuse of the number of stays and partener credit issues. I am sure the field only allows for two digits, hence the present hotel's artificial limitation of 99 days.

The hotel is debiting the credit card every three weeks, My opinion is as they receive payment fror the services I should receive the awards.

Rather unique situation but anyone have advice ?

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"A Southwest line never gets longer, It only gets wider"



[This message has been edited by dcwcce (edited 03-02-2002).]

well, another consideration is that the maximum base points you can earn per stay is 100,000. if you stay over 100 days at $99 per day, you will not earn any more base points for that stay. So, you need to check out for at least one day every 3 months, or you will lose points. I would suggest moving for one day after 60 days, so you would start getting your 50% Diamond bonus points for the rest of your stay.

I am already diamond (legitimate) so regardless of the stay shouldn't I get the diamond premium for the points

choice of rooms on extended stays?
 

i find it an irony that when a hotel's best customers r checking in for an extended stay (lets say 30 days), the mgt has a comparatively harder time finding a room, let alone an upgrade, than if its only a night. i can only deduce that it is easy to slot someone in for a night.

has anyone suggestions on getting the room u want in such a situation? whether it be a certain floor, or facing a certain direction, or just an upgrade to the executive flr, etc?

i was thinking perhaps u can book for a few nights, then call the front desk to say u're extending ur stay? sounds a little underhanded ...

Personally I would prefer to NOT stay in the same room (or same hotel) for more than a week or two bu to answer your question, book a week and when there, talk with the reservations manager (or GM if a small-medium hotel) on what they will offer you. Often you can get benificial rates, meals, services not listed on the net or available to the general public. For example once we were able to book exec level rooms for approx 20% less than the standard rooms minimum rates if we contacted for 60 days or more etc. Also one free dinner per person per week (max $25) was included. It was a nice deal for everybody.

MisterNice

Long term DT Stays, any protocol?
 

I have spent months in Marriotts, and am now doing the same in a DT. My employees(6+) are also staying there usually 3 nights/wk. My question is this: the staff has been very gracious and set up a long-term reservation for all and have set up a "happy hour" for the group, as well as breakfast coupons for all, but many things are out-of-whack: paper spottily/never shows up in the AM, several folks get rooms over the dumpsters (not pleasant when the trash truck comes at 5:30am), and the housekeeping is inconsistent at best.
Should I just take it at face value and ignore, or do others have some advice?

Make a list and arrange a meeting with the hotels GM.

MisterNice

It must be the hotel. One of my colleagues has been staying at the DT-Santa Monica since September. The staff treats her and her S.O. warmly, like family.

The hotel even knows how to run the bills through properly, so she gets HHonors credits without a hitch.

YOu need ot let them know it's not acceptable. If they can't accomodate what you want, then go to another place. Personally, I would prefer one of the Homewood type places because the rooms are better for long term stays if one is around.

Negotiating Long-Term Stays: Benefits, Information, Questions and Suggestions
 

After an appalling 14 months I'm looking at radically changing the rest of my Life, for better or for worse ^ :td: .

I'm spending more of my time just sourcing goods and putting deals together and with the huge mortgage I've got plus all the local taxes etc here in the UK it may not work out any more expensive to stay a month in one place, do the business and then return home for a short while staying with friends / relatives. If I sell the house I'll have a decent chunk of cash in the bank and can spend the rest of my Life chasing the Sun :cool:

Anyway, I'm putting some figures together now and know some of you guys stay long term at Hotels so I have some questions if anyone would be kind enough to answer.

Presumably for a Month's stay it would be best to call the Hotel direct and negotiate a rate rather than book with Hilton, does anyone have any experience with this ? Did you still get all the HHonors benefits ? Lounge access , breakfast, HHonors points, stay credits or is it better to maybe priceline it and forgo these.

Any advice would be very welcome at this point in time.

Thanks

Nigel

Nigel,
I do this all of the time. While my stays only invlove 3-4 nights/wk, I do directly negotiate with hotels ahead of time (for a regular group of 8-10 employees as well), and ask them to list perks they will provide (breakfast, lounge, etc.) in addition to the room rate. I highly recommend it. Currently staying in a beachfront Hilton in SC for a great rate for the next 2 months, with breakfast coupons, pool, lounge, and free parking. It is always worth a hot. And you certainly should get the HH points. Hope it works out for you.

Just be careful about running into the 100K points barrier. Work out with the Manager ahead of time about getting the stays done in chunks so you don't max out halfway through your stay.

We have a couple working here, husband and wife. Both HHonors members. Staying in a Garden Inn (I think) for several months. On my advice (thank you FlyerTalk!), they arranged to flip the billing from one to the other so they would both get to Diamond and not hit the points wall.

Thanks guys

Plans are on hold at the moment as my old Mum is sick again but I will get there eventually.

As well as Hilton and Starwood I'll be looking at long term apartment rates, for instance I know that in Cyprus I can rent a 2 bed house with a communal pool for £300 GBP a month in say November, classed as off season but temperatures still around 24 C. Just a short hop to Dubai as well, this sounds better the more I look at it ^

Nigel

Extended stay possibilities with Hilton?
 

Next year, we may need to move out of our house in San Diego for 2-4 months. For such a long period we could rent a house or apartment, but I wonder if there are viable options within the Hilton group for such an extended stay? I think two things would be vital:
(1) At least basic kitchen facilities. Do any Hilton group properties/chains have such?
(2) A discounted rate for the stay - is this possible/what discount would be appropriate?
Any recommendations for other chains if Hilton does not meet these requirements?

Thanks for any input!

Homewood Suites offer full kitchen facilities. I'm not sure if there is a discount offered. If you don't find one when making reservations online, call the property and request one. Make sure they'll still offer points at that rate too, if that matters to you.

That being said, 2-4 months in a hotel suite can be expensive and uncomfortable. My wife and 4 kids spent 5 weeks at an Extended Stay America property in Charlotte a couple years ago and were ready to kill one another by the time they checked out. I'd look at furninshed apartments if I could rent one lease-free or get a 3 month lease.