I do a fair amount of weekend traveling in the US, and somewhat in Canada. Often I'll take a three day weekend and ride my motorcycle up to 1,500 miles, just roaming around enjoying the journey. On those, I'll often spend the weekend in 2 or 3 different hotels. Usually this in the mid-Atlantic region, but I've gone south to FL, north to Toronto and Montreal. I've only gone as far west on the m'bike as Cincinnatti, altho I hope that will change this summer with a trip to the interior west (SD, WY, etc).

Of course, the m'bike trips can depend on the weather, and tend not to occur in the winter. But I also fly around the US and Canada (pretty much anywhere) on weekends about once a month to wherever something catches my attention (often m'bike exhibits in a museum) and I get a reasonably low-priced flight. But this means hotel costs matter to me.

Are there any discount hotel chains that have better frequent guest programs than the others? This question was asked nearly 6 years ago in the link below, and I think it's time to get some updated inf, as programs would have changed a lot since then. I decided not to simply respond to the old thread, so people wouldn't have to wade through info that's not relevant any more, altho I suspect some of the info is still correct. For example, a lot of people in this thread like Hampton. As do I, since that is my main program that I use when I travel for work. But Hamptons, in my experience, are not all that cheap compared to other discount chains, and if I go on a 3-4 week m'bike trip this summer (please please let it happen this year), I could save a fair bit of money by staying someplace cheaper.

But on the flip side of that is, since I tend to stay in a new town every night, I could rake up a lot of Hampton stays, and get at least Gold status (I've recently dropped to Silver). But it'd probably make more sense to just find a cheaper chain with a good frequent guest program. What do others think. Do we have a sense re what is the best low budget chain? I'm not worried about quality so much. I show up at night and leave early the next morning. Price is more important.

And then the question is, how does a credit card affect this analysis. I have the Hilton Amex, but could get a visa for these other chains. I'd only take a no-fee credit card. Thanks. tls

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...l-program.html

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

If you want to get credit in a chain's frequent-guest program, you might find yourself paying more than the lowest possible rate. I think that the rates you could find putting in a bid on Priceline, or using Hotwire, or the Entertainment card will often -- but not always -- be lower than any discount rate offered directly by the hotel. But these rates usually do not earn credit in the hotel's frequent-guest program.

Another source worth checking is:

http://www.roomsaver.com

where you can find coupons for discounted lodging throughout the country. Note, however, that many of the properties that list with Roomsaver do not permit advance reservations: the coupons are valid only for walk-ins or, perhaps, same-day reservations.

Is your plan to book your room ahead of time and end up there at the end of a day of roaming? Or do you plan to roam around all day and choose from what is nearby at a good walk in rate?

Ah, that's a good point, when I'm riding I usually don't make reservations in advance, because I don't know where I'll be. I go farther, or less far, or sideways, depending on how the wind is blowing. I usually find a small town, or an exit off an interstate, and pick a place.

Otoh, when I'm flying I do reserve in advance. tls