swise

Howdy-

Mr SWise will be 3 nights shy of 50 nights for the calendar year.

We'd be willing to book the three nights in AUS (hometown) as sort of a local mattress run, but, of course, there are no longer any SPG properties here. The closest are in San Antonio, and that's quite a drive to make just to check in for a mattress run, and there aren't any cheap rates to boot.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to qualify? We've thought about soliciting someone to "check in" for him in a city with SPG properties. Unfortunately, no SPG hotels are near any of our relatives, and we're reluctant to ask a stranger to do this.

Anyway, are there any other options out there? Remote checkin perhaps with a sympathetic hotel willing to take in the revenue in exchange for a small favor?

I saw a couple of Texas SPG properties with $55 per night rates. $165 would probably be worth it for the plt benefits in 2006, if only there was some way to swing it.

Any tips are most appreciated.

merry christmas!

Austin99

I would consider the Sherarton Gunter in S.A. or the Sheraton Suites or 4 points in Houston. San Antonio is a nice place to stay for a few days. The riverwalk has lights all along it during the holidays.

BigBopper

I would politely suggest you plan this earlier than Dec 25th next year.

swise

We've been aware of it for some time. He was going to be traveling on business the last week of Dec, which would've put him 1-2 nights over, but he finished the contract early, so no need to stay.

We've been visiting family for the past week and won't be returning home until 12/27, when I will be wrapping up end-of-quarter activities at work, a very busy time.

There's really no time to go stay anywhere, as mentioned in the original post. I doubt there's a solution to this, but before ruling out all possibilities wanted to post here in case someone knew of something I was not aware of.

goingsomewhere

Ditto.

jayer

I'm a legacy Starwood Gold with virtually every stay that got me there in the same no great shucks Club Level airport hotel, so I haven't experienced what level of suck up Starwood offers for top tier in better hotels. I don't know what is worth to keep, and my own SPG Gold requalification is too far out to save this year. But, I've spent more of my own money and effort than you're talking about getting back over the hump with Hyatt and Marriott. Getting enough business travel to get close enough to afford the push was a last-minute gift from God. If I have to be in hotels this much its worth the effort to access the club floor and another star, just to have different walls to look at. Whatever the hotel puts out in the club is much preferrable to going out to eat by myself alone, again. I can't imagine letting it go over three nights on a low-occupancy week (and I didn't).

Having preached I have some practical suggestions:

1. Where are you visiting now? Is there a Starwood hotel somewhere close you could check into, mess up the room enough to look occupied every night, and then go back and check out (or check out by phone)? By now I'd be ready to escape the relatives and sleep there.

2. Have you called the manager(s) of prospective hotel(s) to tell them you need three nights for status and asking if he or she would check you in and out by phone so you could requalify?

3. Being both paranoid and cheap, I would suggest physically going to the Sheraton Brookhollow in Houston. Rates look relatively inexpensive and supposed to have just been redone. A ways to drive, but not impossible. Your husband could check in one night and drive back to Austin the next morning (or even take a nap and a shower and turn around). He could instruct the front desk he was leaving but wanted to keep the room for the entire length of the reservation in case he needed to come back. I've done something similar over a rescheduled jury summons when it was too late to cancel a room and I wanted to save the stay credits, or just had a chance to leave a day early and the room was not refundable.

4. Same methodology, but some random Starwood hotel you travel past on your way back to Austin.

FreeTravel

Hi SWise,

I am a new member but I'd been reading here for long time, I just join the FT so that I can help you. All you have to do is found some SPG hotel that needs prepaid and cheap, if you don't show up you won't get the stay credit but you still get the night. In fact you should make three reservations to get three 500 bouns.

Hope this will help.

CO FF

You don't get nights credit if you don't spend the night. I learned that from experience when I checked out of a W at 7pm...in 18 hours, I paid for 2 nights and got only 1 credited.

Markonen

Don't check out. They'll figure out that you've left on your check-out day, charge your card, and you'll never hear about it.

Rexly

I'd second that advise , I've certainly left without comment and was checked out when I reviewed things later

nimeta

Or what I do is pay the room bill when you check in and avoid charging anything to the room!!

runningshoes

How many stays do you have for the year?

yossimills

Bloody good point You could make it on stays, instead of nights?

swise

14 stays, 47 nights. I'm going to call a couple of hotels to see if it's possible to book a stay and be automatically checked in and out without being physically present. To me, that seems like a way for everyone to win. Hopefully that'll be possible.

If anyone has seen anything in the Ts&Cs prohibiting this, that'd be good to know. I couldn't find anything.

I'd be careful doing this. . .there are hotels that do require you to be physically present for the check-in. I would hate for you to spend the $ and then find out that in fact it's not "legit" in some way.

OHNOMRBILL

You have a PM