If you think I’m alluding to the five benefits of one night stands in terms of casual sex, get your mind out of the gutter.
I’m referring to the benefits of splitting up your hotel nights instead of staying consecutive nights at the same hotel.
5 Benefits of One Night Stands:
3 Night consecutive stay = $477
First Night = $189
Night 2 = $129
Night 3 = $129
1. Save money
Sometimes single individual nights are cheaper than three consecutive nights.
In the first example, a consecutive three night Thursday – Sunday stay will cost an average of $159 per night for a total of $477 plus tax.
However, if you booked these nights individually under three separate reservations you will pay less than if you booked these nights consecutively on one reservation.
Night 1 = $189
Night 2 = $129
Night 3 = $129
Total = $447
3 Night Thursday – Sunday stay booked as three separate reservations = $447, a savings of $30.
2. Promotional offers
a) Hotels may have special offers per night.
Offers like bonus points for each night stay.
If you stay three consecutive nights you will only receive 2,500 Gold Passport points. The terms and conditions indicate that you will only receive 2,500 Gold Passport points per stay.
A stay is defined as “the total number of consecutive nights spent at one property.”
By breaking up your stay, staying the first night and then the third night, you’ll get 5,000 Gold Passport points (2,500 x 2).
b) Hotels may also have promotional offers for beginning your stay on certain nights of the week.
For example, your plans require a hotel for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Hotel X has a promotion that requires a Friday night checkin.
If you check in Thursday, you are not qualified to receive the benefits. So you stay at Hotel Y on Thursday. Then check into Hotel X on Friday so you can receive the benefits of the promotional offer.
3. Availability
If Hotel X isn’t available for one of the nights, instead of showing availability for the remaining nights, your web search will just display “hotel not available for nights chosen”.
Most people assume the hotel is sold out for all three nights instead of just one night and start looking for another hotel.
4. Room selection
Your preferred bedding type or room selection might not be available on all nights. One night all king bed rooms might be sold out. Or say you wanted to upgrade to a suite or a particular suite, a suite might not be available on Night 1 but available on Night 2.
5. Reach elite status sooner
Elite status with a hotel is based on the number of nights stayed or number of stays.
To reach top tier elite Diamond status with Hyatt you need either 25 stays or 50 nights.
a) Using our three night stay example, if you booked stayed at Hotel X for three consecutive nights you would earn 1 stay and 3 nights towards Hyatt Diamond status.
You would still need 24 stays or 47 nights towards Hyatt Diamond status.
b) However, 25 stays can be reached by having 25 individual nights.
Breaking up your hotel nights and staying at two different hotels within the same hotel chain, will help you reach elite status faster.
Here’s how:
Night 1 at Hotel X
Night 2 at Hotel Y
Night 3 stay at Hotel X
The same three nights in a hotel (although in this case, two hotels) results in 3 stays and 3 nights.
You would still need 22 stays or 47 nights towards Hyatt Diamond status.
But as you see, you’re 2 stays closer to Hyatt Diamond status by splitting up your three nights into two hotel stays than if you stayed at the same hotel for all three nights.
Want to get more travel tips, learn how to travel for free, find out about travel deals, and maximize your miles and points? Sign up via the subscription links below. To receive post updates by email, please use the box below.You can also follow me on Twitter or like me on Facebook.
Traveling Well For Less has partnered with Your Best Credit Cards for our coverage of credit card products. Traveling Well For Less and YBCC may receive a commission from card issuers.
Capital One Venture X Business
Learn more about the Capital One Venture X Business and how to apply
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Roberto
Saturday 2nd of March 2013
Great post! Love the suggestion.