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Yes I think almost all hotel chains give free night awards for frequent stays. I work at a hotel and we have many guests stay with us through their membership. Basically for us, you get points for every dollar spent and a certain amount of points is needed to stay. The points vary based on where you want to stay. Also, the more you stay the higher your status is in the program and higher status members get free upgrades and other perks. I would try to stick with one or two chains if you can to get the most value. Also, many programs allow you to transfer your points to frequent flier miles.
Most of the major business chains will have a rewards program of some sort. However all my programs now direct points to my Qantas frequent flier card so I haven't paid much attention to how many nights you could score.
Of what I remember, Hilton, Marriott and Holiday Inn seemed to have the best programs. I like Hilton Garden Inns for business travel.
I always click Government Rate and I am never asked for govy ID (even though I have it and would legitimately be able to use it).
I am also a govt employee, but I discovered sometimes those rates are higher. Last hotel I booked was 78$ with govt discount and 73$ as a regular guest.
I always click Government Rate and I am never asked for govy ID (even though I have it and would legitimately be able to use it).
A lot of it depends on the hotel and the demand on the rooms management allocates to government employee. Certain hotels allocate ten rooms which routinely go to employees of a single agency.
At the CURRENT time with low vacancy rates, hotels are making no limits on any discounted rates.
To the OP, if you are traveling using YOUR OWN MONEY, you will fo a LOT better using Priceline and Hotwire than on any discounted rates.
You should check out Choice Hotels. Their (free) Choice Priveleges rewards program allows you to accumulate points each night that you stay at a choice hotel. You can then redeem those points for free nights, gift certificates, etc.
There are a number of Choice Hotels worldwide, they're composed of Quality Inn, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, etc. I work at a Quality Inn in Brookfield, WI and can vouch for all of this. Most of the hotels are 3-4 stars, but there are higher quality ones such as Cambria Suites that are opening all over the place.
A lot of it depends on the hotel and the demand on the rooms management allocates to government employee. Certain hotels allocate ten rooms which routinely go to employees of a single agency.
At the CURRENT time with low vacancy rates, hotels are making no limits on any discounted rates.
To the OP, if you are traveling using YOUR OWN MONEY, you will fo a LOT better using Priceline and Hotwire than on any discounted rates.
I disagree with this. If you ask for a discount at a hotel, 9 times out of 10 you will get one. If you're persistant, you can end up getting a fantastic deal. At the hotel where I work in particular, we are given a lot of lee-way with the rate that we offer guests. I can't speak for other hotels, but I'd assume that we aren't run in a terrible different manner than they are.
Also, be careful when booking through third parties. Always call the hotel directly after you make the reservation to be sure that everything came through on their end. We frequently have guests come in and discover that their reservations were made for the wrong room type or certain requests were not passed along to us.
I disagree with this. If you ask for a discount at a hotel, 9 times out of 10 you will get one. If you're persistant, you can end up getting a fantastic deal. At the hotel where I work in particular, we are given a lot of lee-way with the rate that we offer guests. I can't speak for other hotels, but I'd assume that we aren't run in a terrible different manner than they are.
That is funny. The Marriott Courtyard's best "talked down" rate last week was $89. The Priceline bid that I got for the same property was $40.
At most properties, the front desk clerk (or even manager) or the reservation agent have very little leeway as to the rates they quote. Oh, you may be able to suggest a discounted rate that saves a few dollars if you have a guest that is on the edge.
For the records, I was in the hotel business for years myself.
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