Honestly, for a 2-3 month business stay, I'd do my best NOT to stay in a hotel......there are many (many, many) locations that have furnished houses and apartments for short term rent that are often cheaper than a hotel stay and offer much more comfort and space. Some are individually rented, some are run by management companies. Even when I travel for 2 weeks of business, I look for an apartment, house, or cottage to rent instead.

Midrange is a very broad term which makes comparisons difficult. For example, is a Comfort Suites (different from a Comfort Inn or Quality Inn and Suites) comparable to a Hampton Inn? Courtyard by Marriott?

Another factor to consider is that some chains are in the process of updating their hotels. A property renovated in 2013 is going to have a different feel from one which was last renovated in 2006. A big city will likely have several properties belonging to the same chain and even more belonging to the same rewards program. There are some properties which may be preferable to others even though they're part of a chain which is lower on the totem pole, so to speak.

Some chains also have a lot of properties acquired from other chains. This makes it difficult to compare properties within the same chain.

For a long term stay or frequent stays at the same property, figure out what you're looking for in a hotel and research the individual properties. This is often easier to do in person, so you might want to book a couple nights somewhere and then spend a couple hours looking at hotels once you get there.

While this is FlyerTalk, don't forget to look at independent properties or properties which might not have as good of a rewards program as you might like the property better or can get a better deal. For example, I often like to swim at hotels. A number of hotels built in the 1960s are allowed to have 8-10 feet deep pools without lifeguards. Such pools can be a lot more enjoyable than wading around the 3-5 feet deep pools common in newer properties.

It's a case-by-case analysis - I'd go to the relevant forums and tripadvisor to compare the individual properties. Unfortunately as others have noted it is not productive to generalize given the variations among individual properties in the same chain. For example I've stayed at great HIX properties and some that were crap - both within the same county.

Personally I lean first towards the Marriott Properties as I am rarely disappointed at CY or RI. Hyatt Place has also been consistently good. I avoid Hilton like the plague since they devalued the program, though I was a fan of Hampton. HGIs have generally been too low budget.

Agreed that for 2-3 month better to stay at serviced apartment if it is available. Not only it will be larger than ordinary hotel room, but noise level should be less and in most cases those places would cost 1/2-1/3 of prices per month, comparing to hotels.

In many cities you can find reasonably priced Marriott Executive Apartments and those are usually very comfortable. Oakwood is also a good chain with decent prices on long stays. If you want a homely feel you could also book a airbnb/9flats or a short term furnished apartment.

Exactly. I have stayed at Hilton Garden Inns that were close to full service Hiltons, and others that were atrocious. Same with Hampton Inns, Fairfields, Courtyards, Residence Inns, etc.

That said, I have had very good luck with Hilton Homewood Suites, generally good luck with Residence Inns.

As a side note, when looking at Hampton / Fairfield / Courtyard / HGI, check the specific property to ensure they have fridge, safe, etc. Not all do, and I've learned that after getting to the room.

There's also a distinction between Hampton Inns and Hampton Inn and Suites. While a regular Hampton wouldn't be a good choice for a long term trip, I've stayed in a Hampton suite that was practically a fully functional apartment. Separate bedroom, living room and almost full kitchen (the only thing it didn't have was an oven). In a regular Hampton you might get a microwave if you're lucky. Definitely look up the specific property somewhere (ie Tripadvisor) before you book.

For each of these property types, there's going to be a few different factors.

One is the loyalty program if you participate, as that can add up over that time period.

The next would be amenities--breakfast, kitchens, parking, etc.

But the biggest factor to me is the age of the property-9 times out of 10, an older property will not be as nice as a newly constructed/renovated one.

Since the OP is apparently going to a location with many hotel choices, location is obviously a big consideration, not only proximity to the business location but also neighborhood amenities and attractiveness.

Something that might be a plus for a few properties that one wouldn't otherwise think of is whether the hotel shares a location with another hotel so that the amenities of the full service or more expensive property transfer to the extended stay or cheaper place. For example, in Minneapolis that's a Residence Inn that's co-located with a Renaissance Hotel (at the Depot). This means that the RI has room service from the Renaissance restaurant, an attached bar, a better business center, a sundries store, valet parking, etc. through the attached hotel. Sometimes the other hotel is across the parking lot, but it mostly matters when the buildings are attached and there's an indoor public walkway between the lobbies.

Indeed. If I were preparing for a long term stay I would consider not only the brand standards and benefits but also the specifics of each property within my price range:

• Is this a newer or older property? (Older ones often are not as nicer as newer ones within the same brand.)
• How convenient is the location to my work site?
• How convenient is the location to dining, shopping, and activities. If I'm going to be there for 2-3 months these things are important.
• Is the location susceptible to noise problems, e.g. next to a busy highway or rail line, or near a construction site?
• What are the recreation facilities? (There is variability within brand standards, such as whether a pool is indoors or outdoors.)
• And finally, to what extent is local management will to negotiate on the terms of my long-term stay? It's not just about getting the lowest price; we may be able to agree on other items of value to me like a choice room, an upgrade, or leaving the room unrented 4 days a month when I'm out of town.

Of course, I spend a lot of time looking at Tripadvisor and read all the reviews to learn about the things that interest me. I just noticed that certain hotel chains don't even register in my mind. I noticed their existence now after years of staring at Tripadvisor.

As for factors I look at, they include the location. I look at Google earth to see what's around it. Three months is no joke. I don't want to be stuck in the middle of an outdoor shopping mall. Quiet industrial parks of the hi tech variety, a bit off the highway, are good.

I like new, updated, and modern, and dread oldish, dated and stuffy. Anything that says Best Western or Holiday Inn falls into these categories in my mind but I could be completely wrong about them. That's sort of what I was trying to get at.

Okay, that's a fair point.

You had most of the usual suspects within the range in your original post. A handful of thoughts on that list:

1. It's good to include Wingate in your consideration. A lot of FTers overlook it because it's one of the higher end brands in a portfolio (Wyndham) that includes a lot of lower end stinkers.
2. Quality Inn, as others have noted, varies a lot in quality from one property to the next. Comfort Inn & Suites is in the same portfolio (Choice Hotels) and is more reliable.
3. Be aware that The Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express are separate brands within the same portfolio (Intercontinental). Holiday Inn is hit-or-miss but Express is fairly consistent and a real competitor to Hampton Inn and Courtyard.
4. Don't dismiss Best Western as a brand. They don't seem to get a lot of love here on FT, probably because their rewards program doesn't seem that great, but the few times I've stayed at BW I've been pleasantly surprised.
5. Add Hyatt Place to your list. It's a limited service, extended stay kind of place offered within the otherwise upmarket Hyatt portfolio.

There's a tremendous amount of variability in BW, but some of the nicer (and worst) hotels I've stayed at have been BW. I *think* BW is a collection of independent hotels (as opposed to franchises like Hilton/Mariott/etc).

I have also noticed that BW seems to be removing many of their lower-tier, "motel" type properties, and seem to be moving upscale to compete.

I travel to a lot of small towns, and BW is the only chain in a lot of those towns.

Nice: http://bestwesternmontana.com/hotels...northern-hotel

You have a mix of motels and all-suites here. Only one I'd consider "midrange" is maybe a nicer Courtyard. All of the rest of them are going to be very limited services.

However, if I had a 2-3 month stay, I'd be okay with limited service as I'd want SPACE. I'd rank them as follows:

(1) Homewood Suites. Pros: usually newer builds, full points earning in HH, in my experience usually King beds in every room, mostly populated by business travelers. Cons: There are fewer of them than RI.

(2) Residence Inn. Pros: They're everywhere, and during the week mostly populated by business travelers. Occasionally, you'll find a GREAT one with near-full-service and some character, like Denver Downtown, Minneapolis Depot, etc. Cons: 50% points earning penalty in Marriott Rewards. Some older builds out there that are looking a bit tired. Started as a suburban brand in the late 80's or early 90's (IIRC), and you see some RI's that really look it.

That said, they're generally well-run, you won't have a *bad* experience, you'll just wonder who gets to keep all of the Marriott points you should have earned. :mad:

(3) Element. Pros: Very new Starwood extended-stay brand. Modern look/feel, much more interesting breakfast than the standard RI or Homewood fare. Cons: Very few of them. Most of the rooms aren't true 1-bedroom suites. Kitchen is a little more limited than either RI or Homewood...I've never cooked my own meals at Element like I have at HW and RI. But if you plan to eat most dinners out, might not be a big deal...

(4) Staybridge. Pros: My guess is that they are cheaper than RI or Homewood. Cons: Much more mixed clientele. Not always a business traveler brand. The 3 I've stayed at all felt a bit worn out, but still reasonably clean. Utterly chaotic breakfast experience.

(5) Candlewood. Pros: I can't think of any. Cons: They're filthy. A cut below any of the above four.

If you can live without a full suite, I'd probably consider SHS, Embassy, and Hyatt Place as well.

I'm generally not a fan of Courtyard on a long stay unless you have a corporate rate that basically grants you the elite benefits that they withhold from everyone else.

If you're truly so rural that you're only looking at the motels, I'd go HIX #1, Hampton #2, Fairfield #3. HIX gets the nod simply because they are new. A newer Hampton Inn is also quite good as motels go.

The only way I'd book a Quality Inn or Comfort Inn is if the weather was so severe that I felt tent camping or sleeping in my car was unsafe.

I have always thought of Best Western as pretty bad in the U.S./Canada, yet oddly good outside the United States. That's good to hear that they may be cleaning their image up here in North America. I've stayed in a couple of them over the years...mainly in the upper Midwest during long roadtrips...and they were barebones roadside motels that were likely built in the 50's or 60's.

BW is technically a 'membership'. It operates almost identically to a franchise from a property owner perspective, but this allows BW to not have to deal with the FTC franchise circular regulations.