Originally posted by SimonMac
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So its one to two nights a week in one location, and one to two nights at a different location. Personally I would find somewhere you like and ask what is the worst they can say?merely at clientco for the entertainment -
I use Holiday Inn and get about 4 long weekends a year.
Contact the hotel directly, as they're mostly franchises. For a 50 night stay, you'll normally see prices drop 50% from the headline figures.
For a 6 month gig in Edinbugh, I was paying £55 B&B, then dropped it to £50 RO, as I realised I'd spend less on a bowl of cereal, Yog and a bit of fruit, which is what I prefer anyway. Late rooms could only get me in at £75 and their headline price was £125, although that reduced to £99 if you phoned them.
You also, after a while, get status with them, which still means a free room upgrade. There are certain web sites too, which aim to get you up the points scale, pointsclubinsider being one. One year, staying away 2 nights a week, we got enough points through the points offers and promotions to get a two week stint as a 'Holiday Inn Resort'. Not too shabby. Remember too, Holiday Inn Express do not have many facilities. A proper Holiday Inn should always have a pool and gymComment
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My default contract has a section in it that if I'm forced to be away from home overnight then it's an automatically reasonable expense that I can claim for the price of a Marriott standard room at their normal DBB rate. I have a Marriott gold reward card now that usually gets me a freebie upgrade to a suite and I've now had two 14 night holidays at one of the Marriott resorts out of the points earned (both in Egypt, one Taba Heights, the other Sharm el Sheikh)
For the same reason that I commute into London in first class each day, if I'm going to be doing long commutes or staying away from my home then I'm happy to pay for a bit more comfort. I understand those who take the cheapo option to maximise income but I'd much rather do it my way.Last edited by craig1; 5 April 2012, 07:40.Comment
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That's very interesting. I do a lot of long stints away, but now I'm contracting again, it's coming out of my pocket. Do they expect you to pay upfront for, say 50 nights to get that rate?Originally posted by Zoiderman View PostComment
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No, but you will have to sign a contract, saying 50 days over 6 months (I think mine was actually 12 months), or some such thing, of whose legality I didn't check.Originally posted by BillHicksRIP View Post
Negotiate hard too, and don't be afraid to apprach others. Do it by mail so you can back up the 'A N Other Hotel Brand offered me it at X a night' that you will obviously use.Comment
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Thank you.Comment
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Bit of a bump, I've been using Hotels.com for a while, but they aren't always the cheapest. Seem to be staying in a fair few Accord hotels so looking at them directly, I can collect points and then move them to Avios/BA/IberiaPlus which seem to be the collecting pot for most of my other schemes (Shell/Tesco/AMEX etc all get moved automatically)Originally posted by Stevie Wonder BoyComment
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Hotels.com do price match though. Don't think they will if it's a non-advertised rate you've negotiated direct with the hotel chain though, which can often work out cheaper.Originally posted by SimonMac View PostComment
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I always check direct, after hotels.com, etc. comparison sites, more often than not the price is better direct and you have one less intermediary to deal with in case of issuesComment
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I use both IHG and accor and book through Quidco or Topcashback directly (depending which gives the highest rate) no need to use hotels.com or others. So far this contract (8 months in) 8 free nights in holiday inn/Crowne plaza and 3 free nights Novotel/Mercure
I also use a link that gives me 30% reduction if I book at least 21 days in advance for IHG hotelsComment
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