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Monday, June 10, 2013

My First Mattress Run: No its not a Porno



Full suite with bed off to the left
Yup, was able to cook Fajitas in the kitchenette


Paying 75 bucks a night for a hotel stay in your home town sound stupid? Continue reading to find out why I did it for 4 nights and see how I turned them into a stay-cation!




MATTRESS RUN?

A Mattress run is similar to a Mileage run, where one simply books hotel rooms to accrue points/stays usually to maintain status or take advantage of a promotion. The basics of this promo is to book 2 nights at any Marriott and earn one free night at any Marriott world wide.

THE PERKS

Normally I wouldn't take advantage of this promotion due the fact that I am a budget traveler and stay in cheaper hostels. After all, I'm rarely in my room anyways. I decided to do this mattress run for the two reasons mentioned above/below:
  1. Maintain my gold status at Marriott
  2. Earn free nights at expensive hotels at the cost of a cheap hotel.
Fiesta Chicken Salad dinner included. I had already eaten prior to checking in, I just wanted the free beer/wine and got food to make me not look like an alcoholic.
Back in May, I decided to do a "Status Match" from my Hilton Gold to Marriott Gold. This requires 6 stays in 3 months and I will maintain the Gold status given to me for a year. Whats so great about Status? to name a few important to me:
  • Seperate check-in line(at most hotels)
  • Free Wi-Fi
  • Free Breakfast
  • Much nicer customer service (Yea its all superficial, but its nice nonetheless)
Its important to note that the free breakfast isn't your normal continental breakfast. Typically Marriott hotels will have their own restaurants inside that have a full service breakfast. As a Gold member and above, you get access to this for free. Those breakfasts usually run you anywhere from $15-20 a person. Wi-fi at hotels aren't always free either and can run anywhere from $10-30. So you can see the savings you get with status.

GETTING TECHNICAL

Along with adding stays to my status match, I can earn a free night anywhere through the "Unexpected Bonus" promo. The plan here is to book the cheapest Marriott properties near where I live and have a "staycation" I found a Springhill Suites for $75 total, and a Residence Inn for $100. To make the deal sweeter, I used Marriots "Best Rate Garauntee" where if I find a better price, they will match it AND take another 25% off the matched price. That brought my Residence Inn price to a cheap $66.

So I paid $141 for 2 nights I'm really not using to get a free night. Why not just pay for that one night where you want it? The free night is valid anywhere. For instance, on my up coming trip around the world, I can book a hotel with that free night in downtown Seoul to crash at after clubbing. Normal price for one night? About $250. I basically bought a coupon for $100 bucks off.

Now I do realize I could have probably paid for 3 nights in a hostel for the $141 I spent, but sometimes, you just want to pamper yourself! Honestly, The Marriott stays were a nice "getaway" feeling from the everyday life.

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