Chief
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A lot of us use our points for those places
Most folks are using points, even when they’re making $400K. People might give recs here but not say how they’re doing it.
One my favorite hotels in the world is Ventana Big Sur and Park Hyatt Vendome, and they’re roughly $1-1.5k+ a night but only 30K Hyatt points, aka 30K chase points, or roughly $450 worth of Chase points.
Many of the rate codes also have amazing discounts, so some are specific to the company that person works for. E.g. McKinsey folks gets this room for $483 a night when regular rate is $855 a night. I used to work at Deloitte and we would get a few of the Ritzs for $200 a night in the US.
Chief
I just think it’s kind of funny when you ask for a rec in X city and then ppl throw out the most expensive hotel in the city. Like no sh*t Sherlock, if you’re spending $1K a night of course it’s nice, I didn’t really need that as a recommendation
Rising Star
Plenty of expensive hotels are overpriced. It’s noteworthy if people recommend it in spite of the price. I also see lots of people on here giving well thought out recs (e.g. “stay here, but using points and in off season) and not just throwing the name of the nicest hotel
Agreed, if people are asking for recs I'm likely to give the most desirable suggestion. In reality if I'm not using points, I'm staying at the cheapest place I can find.
I feel that that’s also an American thing, where PTO says are scarcer than in Europe, and therefore your daily budget is higher, assuming you want to spend roughly the same per year.
This won’t help you if you’re American, of course!
Man I just use Airbnb 🤷♀️ even when I worked in consulting and had points, I only reserved them for special trips where Airbnb wasn’t an option. Hotels feel so dirty to me now and more touristy vs. The homey vibe of an Airbnb. But yes, I agree, it’s always funny when I see recs asked for and it’s the bougiest of the bouge.
I think that’s the difference between an Airbnb that’s managed by a property company and a host that only has one property. I’ve only stayed at ones with good reviews but maybe the guests just wanted to be nice and weren’t as detailed in the reviews as they could’ve been
Just specify your price point when asking for hotel recommendations ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
There’s a lot of ppl who like to spend when they go on holiday, I tend to shop around until it works for me (ie Airbnb’s, boutique hotels, hostels plus one or two nights at a lux hotel near the end of the trip). It takes all sorts of ppl.
It also might just be the nature of recommendations.
If I went to a cheap and cheerful hotel I prob wouldn’t recommend it to other people even if I’d stay again. Unless someone asked for a decent place at $xxx price range. Probably only one or two cheap places I’d recommend and that’s purely because of how lovely the owners were.
Rising Star
I agree that paying that much a night is crazy. You can get a lovely hotel for well under $300.
Sometimes I can stay at nicer places for per diem, active military rates, or use points. I think in general people do get those nicer places with some sort of discount.
You gotta up your CC travel points game.
I just went y the Andaz on Maui for 8 nights. Average cost per night would have been $800+. Because I have status with Hyatt, I got comped breakfast for 2 which would have cost $50 per person per day. Also I didn't pay parking lot resort fees. Work smarter, not harder.
My only requirement for lodging is that the door to my room isn’t accessible from an external hallway/walkway.
Second to that, I’ll try and stick with my preferred hotel chain, but yea if I’m on vacation/holiday I’m not at the hotel enough to warrant spending that much unless there’s literally no other option and it’s a destination that I really want to visit.
Rising Star
As Consultants, we have highly discounted corporate rates for hotels, points and status. I can get St Regis from 200-400$ depending on location and month. Also, once you reach a certain point in your life, investing in a vacation and staying at a high quality place isn’t about showing off but rather rewarding one self for their hard work. Maybe stop judging?
Chief
Do you know what gaslighting means, bc this ain’t it
Usually stay on points or if I find a ridiculously great corporate rate. The front desk check-in never asks if you’re officially on business (but have lately started asking to see a business card or ID, thankfully I’ve kept my cards from a previous firm and my current).
Occasionally found category 8 Ritz Carlton’s and Regis going for <$200/night corporate and couldn’t pass up on those deals.
I don’t know how my business travel will be like post-pandemic. I’ll likely not obtain the top tier status for my airlines/hotel and accrue as many points as I did before 2020. So it was fun while it lasted
Agreed points makes it all possible. Work travel to get points then cash in…. When I travel for myself I often do budget, but then go for something in between for family… then splurge or use points for special occasions. $600 a night would be points in Hawaii. Personally I average around $80-100 a night for family trips.