Outside of Manhattan, $100/night at corporate rates often means you're getting a pretty decent full-service hotel.

Speaking of which - at BNA the PreCheck has two lanes feeding the document checker desk, and the TDC is supposed to alternate between the two lanes. During peak times at BNA this is exactly how it works.

OTOH, when things aren't busy, I often arrive to find one lane completely empty, and the other with eight or ten people waiting in it. I always choose the empty lane, thus bypassing most of the people waiting. No one ever says anything (it's Nashville), but I frequently get the Stinkeye from the people I've bypassed.

So, does this make me a jerk? Should I get in the existing line and wait my turn like a sheep? What if someone else comes along and does what I do? Am I then entitled to passive-aggressively give them the Stinkeye?

You've never been to Japan and seen old people in lines there, have you? Oh ghods, the horror. The horror. So much violence. So much. <weeps>

I kind of see both sides of this. I see a lot of people in airports who don't seem to understand their specific purpose or direction. People who aren't thinking ahead and prepared to engage a process like a TSA checkpoint as efficiently as possible. It's not about people moving slowly due to disability or age: it's about people be unprepared and unfocused, and that's discourteous to everyone behind them in the queue.

I think we all agree that the current TSA process sucks. We agree that there are various other processes we have to go through at airports that aren't truly optimized for efficiency. But we can do our best to help each other out by staying on top of our own game...focusing on what we need to do, where we need to be, etc.

What brand? What part of the world? I've been traveling for 20+ years in several different countries/regions and never had a weeknight corp rate of $100. Even mid-90's, in lower-cost towns just barely big enough to attract one FS Marriott, working at a huge consulting firm that had good rates everywhere, it was usually $140-150.

I accepted long ago that there will be people in the line ahead of me who may not be familiar with the security check process as me. I can silently seethe as they slowly put their stuff in the bin, get sent back because they forgot to take off their shoes or delay me because they didn't take off their jewellery before going through the metal detector. Or I can just smile and be patient.

I've also accepted there may be some frequent flyer behind me who might conclude I am not going fast enough to suit him because I am "unfocused and unprepared." I don't care how discourteous he thinks I am.

I can't make the people ahead of me go faster and I won't go faster just because someone behind me thinks I should. Neither group are worth stressing over. YMMV.

With the right make-up and clothing a 20 year old terrorist can be disguised to look like an 80 year old person--until they see his DL, wait, that's been forged to match his NEW age.

I don't really stress about it either: I'm just saying I see inefficient and unfocused behaviors and it doesn't usually appear to be a result of any kind of limitation such as mobility, a language barrier, or the first time ever using a security checkpoint.

I won't miss *my* flight because of the people ahead of me - I never cut it that close - but I'll try to minimize my own impact on the queue (by being prepared) in case someone behind me is about to miss theirs.

I grew up in the Midwest so my definition of reasonable is skewed

I think the limit is more like 2-300

Honestly I'm not sure what the limit is since I generally prefer an AirBnB to a hotel. I like to cook my own meals when possible to try and stay healthy on the road.

Just as an example - I am in Atlanta on a frequent basis. I alternate between FS Hiltons and Marriotts, in downtown and in the major business centers (Perimeter, Galleria) for $99-129/night.

If you're paying more, your firm isn't getting good rates

This thread is so funny. What about the 30 year old at Starbucks who left his phone (thus, payment) in the car? What about the woman at the grocery store who seems to have no idea payment will be required and starts looking into her purse once the final bill is calculated? The list goes on and on. We all need to be more patient with everyone else. We all need to be kind. We all will move a bit more slowly and be a bit more confused one day (and forget our phone).

To the point about hotel costs - I've stayed in full service Marriotts, in some parts of the country for about $100. I'm always amazed at the Sheraton at BDL at $116/night. Spent lots of time in Montana and Wyoming last year in HGI, Fairfields, Hamptons for average of $80/night. Go out of the way, pay almost nothing.

I wonder if that's a "Supply & Demand" thing.