Hotels you like to stay at while on the road

[jeffandnicole]

Those credit cards are the main way I earn points.  Had a Marriott card, and I got quite a number of free nights/stays out of it, but point deflation combined with an increased annual fee caused me to look around.  Now, I have a Hilton branded card with no annual fee.  Just having the card gets one to the 2nd of 4th levels - making $20k of purchases on the card gets one to the 3rd level for the rest of the year plus the following year.  Taking advantage of online bills that you can pay via the credit card for no surcharge definitely helps towards that goal. 

With the Hilton card, you get 3 points per $1 spent...more points depending on promotions, hotel purchases, etc.  The Marriott gave you 1 point per $1 spent.  Of course, no surprise here, you need about 3x the points to score a free room with Hilton branded hotels. 

I keep a spreadsheet that, using my own criteria, tells me if I should reserve a room with points, or if I should just pay the nightly rate.  More often than not, it pays to just pay for the room, and keep those points accruing.

As far as hotel loyalty goes, I tend to gravitate to those hotels which I have the credit cards for, although in all honesty, I probably wouldn't stay in a "cheap" hotel anyway.  It depends on the area though - this summer for example, I stayed in a private lodge near Mt. Rushmore, passing up Hilton/Marriott branded hotels nearby.  And while the cheaper hotels tend to have higher rates on the weekend, the business hotels such as Hilton/Marriott hotels tend to lower their prices on the weekends, and often the rates are fairly close to each other.

[Scott5114]

Yet even mention needing to pay to vote, and... (ducking)

Arse.

Who said anything about paying?  The state-issued IDs are free.

Not in Oklahoma. They even print the price on the back (I believe the non-driver ID is $10 and the typical driver license is $23, or something like that). Not to mention the additional cost of going down to the DMV/tag agent, possible opportunity cost of going there instead of to work, etc.

[The Great Zo]

Hampton and HIE are my favorite chains by a long shot -- very consistent, have never had a bad experience. HIE's cinnamon rolls for breakfast are worth the price of admission.

I like bidding on Priceline in the 2.5* category, and have gotten a lot of nice rooms in the $40-$70 range. Even got a Courtyard for $30 once, an absolute steal. The only really bad experience I can think of was at a Hawthorne Suites outside of Atlanta that I got pretty cheap, but it was a buggy converted apartment complex with busted internet and awful employees. Oh well -- one bad experience is worth the cash I've saved cumulatively. If you're willing to put the time into it, there are ways to research the possibilities in a given area (and even entire internet forums dedicated to helping).

[briantroutman]

Another factor not mentioned yet is branded credit cars tied to reward programs...

That is definitely a pertinent point–and in my case with a Marriott Rewards Visa, it amounts to a 50% bonus on top of the points I would have earned paying for stays with another card. And as you indicated, even an infrequent traveler with very high charge volume (like $50K+ annually), can reap some decent points/miles from a rewards credit card.

But moreover, what I was getting at (without spelling it all out) is that for the typical middle-class family earning somewhere around $50,000 a year, traveling relatively infrequently, and being fairly price sensitive, they're probably better off booking a non-comissionable bargain bin price through a service like Priceline or Hotwire, trying their luck with the hotel coupon books stocked in the rest areas, or just staying at Motel 6. I'd think that's the budget traveler's best shot for saving real money.

...but for reasonably infrequent leisure travelers Choice/Wyndham still have usable rewards programs...

From my pre-Marriott days, I remember that Choice used to run special sales where you could earn a free night after staying twice. That was a pretty decent deal.

And even with that kind of a dollar outlay, getting free nights (or free flights or free car rentals) is rapidly becoming less of an incentive as the programs are making point redemptions closer and closer to impossible.

But I'll use my free hotel nights quite liberally; a weekend here or there. Haven't paid for a personal-use hotel stay in three years.

I do think that the companies are intentionally trying to move member expectations from free stays or flights toward special treatment and other perks (especially in the case of the legacy airlines), but my emphasis on the point is probably colored by personal experience somewhat. I've managed to amass hundreds of thousands of points with Marriott Rewards, mainly because there's always some special incentive to earn the points (like 20,000 bonus points when you stay 20 nights by December 31st) and there's always a lingering thought that I should save the points I have for an extravagant European trip in the future. But anyway, I've used promotional certificates for free stays with no problem, although the few times I've tried to use actual points for a location and date that would have been really helpful to me, there's been a problem. In fairness, there were Marriott rooms in countless other cities I could have had, but the real value of making a redemption (for me) would be knowing that I could get a free stay almost anywhere (as long as rooms were available) with very little notice.

What's curious about hotel chains' reluctance to be associated with the word "motel"...

"Motel" is one of those terms which has become toxic in American culture. Kind of like "station wagon"–and perhaps equally unjustly. Just think of what gets associated with "motel". Bates Motel, roach motel, no-tell motel...almost nothing positive. Notice that the American Hotel-Motel Association is now the American Hotel & Lodging Association, and Super 8 Motel is now just "Super 8". Motel 6 has kept the term, in part because it makes up about 80% of their name, but also because that intentionally unglamorous, honest, self-effacing streak is part of who they are.

Jackle, Sculle, and Rogers use "motel" to cover almost any lodging establishment that serves motorists–which is almost everything other than the downtown hotel rooted in the 19th century. Under the motel umbrella, they discuss postwar building layouts as being motor courts (the stereotypical "motel"), motor inns (the '50s/'60s Holiday Inn/Howard Johnson-type property), and highway hotels. The typical Fairfield Inn or Comfort Inn would probably qualify as a highway hotel using their classification, albeit without restaurant services.

[J N Winkler]

Not in Oklahoma. They even print the price on the back (I believe the non-driver ID is $10 and the typical driver license is $23, or something like that). Not to mention the additional cost of going down to the DMV/tag agent, possible opportunity cost of going there instead of to work, etc.

In Kansas there is provision for free state-issued identification in cases where it is being obtained specifically to vote or to register to vote.  The identification itself is free, as are any state-issued documents that are required to obtain it, such as a certified copy of the birth certificate.  This, however, does not eliminate the associated time costs, which in Kansas also include the burden of proving indigency since the availability of free ID is means-tested.  There are lingering equal-protection concerns as well.  Kansas does not undertake to reimburse the cost of obtaining documentation from outside the state, and the paperwork requirements bear more heavily on married women who take their husbands' last names since they have to supply proof of the name change as part of the documentation to establish the identity chain.  Since Kansas has a citizenship proof law as well as a voter ID law, but has not closed down voter registration at driver licensing offices, there are 18,000 people statewide (the number increases on a daily basis) whom county elections officers have to chase down and ask to supply citizenship proof since this is not required to obtain a driver's license in Kansas--you just have to prove legal residency.

The most damaging thing about the voter ID and citizenship proof laws in Kansas, I feel, is the FUD they create about the whole act of exercising your right to vote, especially for bona fide citizens with irregular documentation, such as middle-aged Southern-born blacks whose birth records were fumbled by racist white registrars, or very elderly people whose birth documentation dates from a time when civil registration was not designed to support a system of identity proof.  My grandmother fell into the latter category:  her actual date of birth (in Saline County, Kansas) was February 27, 1919 but the date of birth on her birth certificate was February 28, 1919.  As a result, she had two US passports, both with the false date of birth since that was what was supported by the documentation that the US Passport Service accepts, but had the actual date of birth on her driver's license (she was licensed to drive from the late 1940's onward, long before driver's licenses became photo ID in Kansas in the late 1970's/early 1980's).

As it happened, my grandmother (who died in 2011) had been continuously registered since 1940 and had voted in every presidential election following registration, so she would have been exempt from the citizenship proof law, as am I.  (She was even a poll worker in several elections!)  But if she had allowed her registration to lapse and had been forced to re-register when the citizenship proof law was in effect, she would have had no assurance that her registration would not have been rejected as a consequence of the discrepancy in dates.  It is possible to amend a birth certificate, but it typically requires eyewitness testimony as to the actual date of birth, which she would not have been able to supply since her last surviving parent was her mother, who died in 1982.

At the moment there are two pending lawsuits which might result in overturn of the Kansas voter ID and citizenship proof laws.  One, filed by Jim Lawing (Wichita-area attorney and former Democratic state legislator who was involved in the fight against the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant in the mid-1970's), challenges voter ID on behalf of several nursing-home patients near Topeka who don't have access to their birth certificates.  (Precisely why they don't has not been reported in any newspaper accounts I have read.)  The other, filed by Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach and his counterpart in Arizona, seeks to force the Federal Elections Commission to incorporate a citizenship proof requirement in the federal voter registration form, which requires only an oath or affirmation that the registrant is a US citizen and which--per a recent Supreme Court decision overturning Arizona's citizenship-proof law--states must "accept and use."

In the event the Supreme Court rules against the two states, Kobach has suggested that Kansas could have two separate electoral rolls, one for people who have supplied citizenship proof and can vote in all elections, and the other for people who have registered using the federal form and can vote in federal elections only.  This idea has attracted much criticism from county elections officers and is almost unanimously opposed by the editorial boards of the major newspapers in Kansas.  It is also a reminder that Kobach, who went to Oxford on a Marshall scholarship, did his doctorate there on South African politics under apartheid, where of course separate voting rolls for whites, Coloured, and blacks were the norm.

[kkt]

Yet even mention needing to pay to vote, and... (ducking)

Arse.

Who said anything about paying?  The state-issued IDs are free.

Not in Oklahoma. They even print the price on the back (I believe the non-driver ID is $10 and the typical driver license is $23, or something like that). Not to mention the additional cost of going down to the DMV/tag agent, possible opportunity cost of going there instead of to work, etc.

In Washington, I see the state ID card costs $45, same as a driver's license.

[realjd]

(mods, maybe we should split the voter ID discussion into a separate thread...)

Florida's voter ID law is fairly lax as to what they accept:
    Florida driver's license
    Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
    United States passport
    Debit or credit card
    Military identification
    Student identification
    Retirement center identification
    Neighborhood association identification
    Public assistance identification

Do other states limit it to official state IDs?

[J N Winkler]

Do other states limit it to official state IDs?

If memory serves, Texas is being sued right now for attempting to disqualify college/university ID cards from being used to meet the voter ID requirement.

[hbelkins]

(mods, maybe we should split the voter ID discussion into a separate thread...)

And then it would be locked faster than the thread on same-sex marriage was.

[J N Winkler]

And then it would be locked faster than the thread on same-sex marriage was.

Frankly, if that happened, I would not be sorry.

After I made my long post on Sunday, I noticed that there were no replies for the entire day, though the thread did not have a "locked" icon in the board listing.  Then, when I woke up and checked the board first thing on Monday, I noticed that all of the voter ID-related posts had been removed.  Later that day, the removed posts were restored, presumably because the management team reached a consensus that discussion on the issue had been civil and could be permitted to continue.

I would not have objected, however, if the decision had gone the other way.  I would not have been personally injured (through withdrawal of access to my own copy) since I maintain a local archive of my own posts.  Voter ID is an extremely controversial issue, so it is very questionable whether there is even one genuinely undecided person who comes to the board prepared to be convinced one way or another by a forum thread where that is the main topic of discussion, let alone by a hijack of a completely unrelated hotel/motel thread.  Many members find political discussion offputting in general.  While I try to stick with the factual aspects, as do many of those who disagree with me, we are fooling ourselves if we think we aren't putting on "infomercials" for our own positions.

So, if management decides to hive off the voter ID posts into a separate thread and then lock that thread, I really don't think I could object.  The last thing we need is a polarized MTR-style political discussion which goes on and on because neither side wants to be seen as conceding "ownership" of the discussion space by shutting up and going away.

[agentsteel53]

I would not have been personally injured (through withdrawal of access to my own copy) since I maintain a local archive of my own posts. 

good lord!  I'll bet you're the only forum member who does so.

that said, deleted posts are not outright expunged, but instead moved to a secret admin forum (you'll never guess the forum's title) so if you absolutely need access to the content of one of your posts, just ask one of the admins.

[NE2]

if you absolutely need access to the content of one of your posts, just ask one of the admins.[/color]

Can I have the full text of my second 'yawn' post?

[jeffandnicole]

that said, deleted posts are not outright expunged, but instead moved to a secret admin forum (you'll never guess the forum's title)...

Alanland.  Page 31.

[Brandon]

that said, deleted posts are not outright expunged, but instead moved to a secret admin forum (you'll never guess the forum's title)...

Alanland.  Page 31.

Or not Page 31.  It is or is not Alanland, after all.

[US71]

*Clutch. Shift.*

As has been mentioned before, Hilton seems to have some of the highest standards in the hotel industry.

Wyndham Brands are a crap shoot and Choice is (in general) a little better.

America's Best Value is asking for trouble, IMO. I've had more bad experiences there, than anyplace else, including the front desk telling me I needed a CAT5 cable to access the wi-fi.   

[Laura]

As for the photo ID voting issue, there's a surprisingly simple reason why the outcry exists: Jim Crow. Our country spent 100 years discriminating against black and other minority groups to keep them from voting with methods such as literacy tests, poll taxes, proof of property ownership, grandfather clauses (their grandfather had to have voted in order for them to vote), etc. Requiring a photo ID can be seen as a discriminating factor against the poor and elderly.

You'd be surprised how many people do not have valid identification in this day and age, and there are legitimate barriers to doing so. My grandmother doesn't even have a legal photo ID — she has an expired driver's license with the wrong address. If such a law was passed, sure, one of my family members could take a morning off from work and take her to get one, but if she didn't have one of us, she'd be stuck.

Also, I think the issue is totally irrelevant. I have never been asked for my non-photo ID voter's card when I've gone to vote. I didn't even bother to take my voter ID card out of the envelope when I voted in 2012.

As for hotels...

I don't have any brand loyalty to any particular hotel or motel. When I go somewhere, I usually search for the cheapest deal that isn't run down, partially relying on reviews. My favorite hotels are the cutesy motor inns circa 1950. I've stayed at quite a few that are well-kept and aren't sketchy, such as in Bennington, VT, Bedford, VA, Timberlake, VA, and many beach resort towns (Ocean City, MD, Wildwood, NJ, Virginia Beach, VA). On my honeymoon, we stayed at the Old Stone Inn in Niagara Falls, which was an independent hotel that was definitely a throwback to an earlier era, but still quaint. There were pictures of Canadian prime ministers from the 1970's and 80's who had stayed there. When I was a kid, when we stayed at a chain, it was always Days Inn, but I feel like the majority of Days Inns today are past their prime and can be a grab bag in quality. After reading this thread, I may look more into the reward programs for Choice and Wyndham, but I don't know if I travel enough or could be loyal enough for it to be worthwhile.

[kkt]

Yes, there's barriers from getting photo ID that keep a fair number of people from getting them if they don't really need them.  They no longer drive, the bank knows who they are.  My dad spent several years without having a photo ID.  For most of his life, California didn't care that his name on Social Security records was "Dick" while it was "Richard" on his birth certificate and driver's license.  When California decided they had to match, it took him three visits to Social Security and two visits to DMV, with multihour waits at every visit, hour each way trip by bus to get to either one.  I took him to one when I visited, but I live out of state so I can't take him to every visit.  Appointments could be made, but only for people with internet access, so no. 

[oscar]

America's Best Value is asking for trouble, IMO. I've had more bad experiences there, than anyplace else, including the front desk telling me I needed a CAT5 cable to access the wi-fi.   

Might've been on to something, even if s/he was totally confused about the lingo.  Of the places I've stayed that had only wired (no wi-fi) Internet access, the majority were ABV dumps.  Of course, they offered to rent you an Ethernet cable for $10.  Fortunately, after the first time that happened, I bought an extra Ethernet cable, and put it in my laptop bag, next to the three prong-to-two prong adapter for the dumps with ancient electrical fixtures.

[roadman]

These days, I tend to stay in places like Red Roof, Best Western, or LaQunita.  If I'm in one place for an extended stay (5 days or more), I've usually had good luck with EconoLodge - but will check reviews first.  Although I personally have never had a bad experience the few times I've stayed with them (usually when traveling with relatives), I tend to avoid Super 8.

In my 25+ years of traveling on the road, I can easily say that the worst hotel/motel I've ever stayed in was the Days Inn in Washington, PA - this was in 1999 on the second day of a trip from Massachusetts to the Twin Cities.  Not bug infested or smelly, but the room had a definitely tacky feel to it and was stuffy - even though the AC seemed to be working OK.  Plus, it was a heavy rain all night, which turned the room into an echo chamber.  Fortunately, no rain actually dripped into the room while I was sleeping, but the fresh (and large) water stain on the ceiling the next morning made me glad I was only staying one night.

[Duke87]

You'd be surprised how many people do not have valid identification in this day and age

Indeed, prior to this issue coming up I had no idea. I'd kind of always operated under the assumption that for an adult, having a government issue photo ID was a basic requirement of existence.

Also, Connecticut has always (as long as I can remember, at least) required ID when voting and I was surprised to learn this is not the case everywhere.

[PHLBOS]

Also, Connecticut has always (as long as I can remember, at least) required ID when voting and I was surprised to learn this is not the case everywhere.

Interesting to know; especially since CT is a blue state and the loudest opponents to any Voter ID rules elsewhere are typically Democrats.

[NE2]

http://www.ct.gov/sots/LIB/sots/ElectionServices/HAVA/HavaPDF/IDRequirements.pdf
Not quite the voter suppression stuff in red states.

[J N Winkler]

Interesting to know; especially since CT is a blue state and the loudest opponents to any Voter ID rules elsewhere are typically Democrats.

http://ballotpedia.org/State_by_State_Voter_ID_Laws

Connecticut's ID requirement strikes me as barely stricter than the one in the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which requires ID for registration and applies in all states (Connecticut additionally requires ID for voting for the first time, but this does not have to be photo ID and can consist of something that proves residency, like a utility statement--basically, this is the type of documentation you submit to obtain a public library card).  Compared to highly restrictive measures from preclearance states like AZ, TX, NC, and SC, CT's voter ID law is not even on the radar.

[Brandon]

To bring this back to the topic...

I used to stay at hotels earlier in my career, usually for soil or groundwater sampling in areas such as South Bend or Goshen, Indiana.  Based on my experience (YMMV),

Hotel chains I'll stay at a lot:
* Best Western - I've found them to be a decent value compared to the Hilton or Marriot chains (which do many of the same things for a lot more money).
* Choice Hotels - Never really had a bad experience with them, even in converted Quality Inns.
* Extended Stay America - Nice if you need to stay for longer than a few days.
* La Quinta Inn - Never had a bad experience, and the price wasn't bad.

Ones I like, but are expensive:
* Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express - Nice, but pricey, IMHO.  I do like the cinnamon rolls at the Holiday Inn Expresses
* Hampton Inn - Nice, but also pricey.

Ones that are so-so, depends on location:
* Red Roof Inn - Some of them are good, some, not so good.  I'd like to check out their refurbished rooms sometime.
* Super 8 - Some good, some bad.
* Ramada - Not bad, but not Holiday Inn either.

Ones I will never stay at ever again:
* Motel 6 - I've had smelly rooms, torn sheets, and a so-so experience with them.
* Howard Johnson's - What the hell did Wyndham/Cendant do to this chain!?!

There are several I've never been to such as Drury Inn (they seem nice from the ads) and America's Best Value Inn (they don't look too good from the road).  Had a coworker who stayed at the Days Inn in Elkhart, Indiana.  She had a rather bad experience with them, so I figure it's a good one to stay away from.

[US71]

Days Inn is about on par with Super 8.

Americas Best Value is about on par with TraveLodge or Knight's Inn.

Ho-Jo(ke) is *slightly" better that America Best Value, but below Super 8