A woman recently checked out of Towne Place Suites in Falls Church, Virginia after 10 years. She did apparently secure a low nightly rate for her long-term stay, her monthly housing cost is lower than mine and in the same area.
Her stay raises several questions for me that the CNN article doesn’t answer.
- I’m not familiar with Virginia law on the subject, but often long stays aren’t subject to hotel tax. Apartment rent isn’t, for instance. I wonder if that’s part of how she kept her expense down as well.
- Starwood Preferred Guest won’t away credit for stays over 30 days. Marriott Rewards doesn’t have such a rule. Was she a member?
- If so, you would expect her to be a lifetime Platinum (though it doesn’t sound like she availed herself of the benefits at too many other Marriott properties, not ever checking out of this one?). She’s not in great health and that drove her check-out, so her opportunities to benefit from lifetime Platinum going forward may be limited as well.
- How often did she have to close out her bill? Presumably the hotel didn’t run credit for her over the course of 10 years. And you wouldn’t want them to, either, since you’d certainly want them to credit your Marriott Rewards account with night credit and points along the way. What did she do with all the points? She should have earned millions.
Now that I know you can get the per night cost down to around $53 at a local hotel, including wifi and daily housekeeping service, I really ought to check this out…
(HT: jfhscott on Milepoint)
I hope she signed up for all those promos/bonus points Marriott is always putting out!
Gary, oh my god, have you told your wife that you will both be moving into the Town Place Suites yet?! This opens up a whole new frontier for points acquisition!
I certainly hope she signed up for the points scheme. This is one, Gary, that might be worth tracking down…she could become a client of yours!
She may not have made lifetime platinum because with marriott you have to have been a member for 12 years in addition to the night and point threshold. Then again I am sure exceptions can be made…
Fascinating story. Also, SPG is now 90 days for stays that do not earn points. They changed it from 30 days.
…and why did u not tell us about this over the weekend? hummm…. we should be like Ben who only live’s at home when he must!
Probably evolved into a reduced bonus-free negotiated amount influenced by job housing allowance…?
But who knows, her parting gifts may have included a batch of free overnight stay certificates…
I stayed in a hotel in Scottsdale for about 6+ months. As long as my stay exceeded 30 consecutive days I was charged only $60 a night. The 30 days seems to be the magical number for hotels. It was a good enough discount that even when I flew home on some weekends I stayed checked in.
They would bill my credit card once a month. Unfortunately I did all this back in 2001 and wasn’t aware/interested in all of the reward possibilities. i.e., Other than being treated well by the hotel I didn’t get any points.
I have joked with my family and friends that when I get too old to manage my house that I will move to an extended stay hotel instead of an assisted living facility. (Similar amenities & much less expensive)
Don’t forget that she also got free breakfast every days, and appetizers and drinks some nights.