Tips for negotiating a long term stay
 

I'm coming to the end of a rental agreement in about week and need a place to stay for at least two or three weeks (and perhaps as a long as six) until my apartment near campus is ready for move-in. If it was just me to consider I'd do a PL stay. But I've got my beloved feline to accommodate, too, so pet fees of $10-20/night will really kill any decent PL stay I'm likely to get.

I've certainly been trolling the sublet and shared housing ::shudder:: listings on craigslist, but I think it's better for my sanity as well as Bella's if we just bite the bullet and go the extended stay hotel route. Here are the standard rates for all the properties within convenient reach of campus:

Courtyard Portland Airport -- 109.00
Fairfield Inn Portland Airport -- 104.00
SpringHill Suites Portland Airport -- 129.00
Residence Inn Portland North Harbour --139.00
Residence Inn Portland Downtown/Lloyd Center -- 129.00
Courtyard Portland Southeast -- 113.00
Fairfield Inn & Suites Portland South/Lake Oswego -- 119.00
Fairfield Inn & Suites Portland West/Beaverton -- 119.00
Residence Inn Portland South/Lake Oswego -- 139.00 // 70.00 Entertainment rate
Courtyard Portland Beaverton -- 113.00
Courtyard Portland Tigard -- 139.00
Residence Inn Portland West/Hillsboro -- 139.00
Courtyard Portland Hillsboro -- 219.00
SpringHill Suites Portland Hillsboro -- 134.00
TownePlace Suites Portland Hillsboro -- 119.00

Promo code LTS reduces these rates by ~$10/night, but they're still too rich for my blood. Perhaps I should call the hotel directly? If so, how do I begin to negotiate down from these rates for, say, a 21-night stay with the possibility of extension?

I assume you have looked at the Publicly Usage Codes sticky thread and tried some of those?

Not sure I can help you a whole lot, but I would guess that the $70/night Entertainment rate is about as good as your going to get. So if that one is too high an expense, then you probably need to be looking outside Marriott.

The Towneplace usually has a 30+ days rates that usually are significantly lower. If you are planning 21 days with possibility of extension you might just put in 30 days and see what the rates come out to be.

For anything longer than 2 weeks, always call the hotels sales manager and ask to discuss long term rates. If they hedge on specific prices for the whole stay, negotiate a sliding scale 14 nights at $89, the next 5 nights at $84, next 10 at $79, etc.

Often, before I do that, I ask front desk staff about occupancy rates during the week and on weekends. If they're running 85% or higher, you're ability to negotiate decent rates get slimmer and slimmer.... :)

A lot of times, look for a hotel that just opened. Their occupancy rates are typically pretty low because nobody knows about them (yet).

Steve

FWIW, if you plan on having your cat there legally, then the only properties of the ones you listed where pets are welcome are the Residence Inns and Townplace Suites. After you do a property search, in the left hand frame, click on Pets Welcome to find the properties that welcome pets.

I have limited experience with this, but Res Inn has seemed to me to be the most accomodating. Call the hotel directly and ask for a sales manager, tell him you may stay 6 weeks, and see what he can offer.

Not to mention that there are some states (and I'm sorry, I don't know if Oregon is one of them) where one receives a rebate of taxes paid on hotel rates after a certain period of time staying in a hotel continuously. In PA, you pay them for the first 30 days, then get either a credit or a rebate, and don't pay them for the days past 30 in your stay. While I understand and appreciate that you don't want to pay those prices for that long a period of time, taxes in some placescan amount to an extra 15-20% on top of your rate....which might bring those rates back into the realm of "under consideration."

If you are already in the locale, nothing beats a face-to-face negotiation with the manager. We have a Residence Inn about 300 feet from our office complex. For a long time they were shy about giving us longterm rates.

One of our managers made an appointment and took the hotel manager out for a nice lunch. Made a world of difference. Not only do we get very good longterm rates, but we get to select the rooms we want to book (close to our building, newly fixed up rooms with handy parking etc.)

Thanks for the all the constructive input everyone. I do indeed live near several RIs (and one TownePlace) so will do a little in-person recon over the next few days.

I've gotten decent quotes from both Extended Stay America properties in Oregon for ~$52/night on a monthly rate, which is not too shabby. But we'll see what RI can do for Bella and I. Report forthcoming.

That is a GREAT tip BC. I know in Charlotte, these taxes can run around 18% and have funded our (little used) Bobcats Arena.

Hi, I too am looking at a long term extended stay kind of place near Hillsboro, OR. Can you please share your research details with me? What rates were you able to negotiate with RI, TPS, Extended Stay, etc.?

Thanks for your help.

So Marriott gurus - I too am in need of a long term (30-45 day) stay in Bethesda / Potomac / Rockville area of DC from mid-August to end-September.

Searching yields some great rates, but when you try to book, you see that the great rate changes to a not so great rate mid-way through. How best to find something? Is calling the hotel the way to go?

For me, this is lodging around a move. All my $$. I qualify for gov and AAA rates, if that helps. The LTS code doesn't gain anything...you get the rate anyway just from the search dates.

Best i have found is a $65 pay in advance rate at Town Place in Gaithersberg. Good...even good enough, but a bit far out.

Any advice???

I plugged in Aug 15 - Sept 30 and got $59 for the Courtyard Silver Springs (9 miles from Bethesda) and a AAA rate of $71 at the full service Fairfax Marriott at Fair Oaks.

Make sure that you ask for the Platinum challenge from Marriott Cust Service before you stay. You will get concierge lounge access and a bundle of points. I figured about 49,000 points, and you may qualify for the summer promotion for another 45,000 points, depending when you start your stay.

Look for Marriott Rewards® Unexpected Bonus.

If your budget and commute allow, stay in Fairfax.

Well indeed - those low rates show at several properties. But if you click continue, you see that the rate changes many times throughout the period. Only the lowest rate (which may just be 2 of the 45 days) is displayed in the search. Hence the post.

I'm a lifetime gold and current plat already, so the challenge isn't germane.

Anything over a couple of weeks, call the hotel and speak to the sales manager/director. They will give you the best long term rate, and usually are the only ones who can negotiate such rates (even over the hotel GM).