Price of Travel Matters-93 hotel nights in 2016 cost me $5,510

In 2016, I stayed 94 nights in hotels. I paid $5,510 for 93 of those hotel nights on six trips to Europe with 61 hotel nights and one trip to New Zealand with 7 hotel nights. The remaining 26 hotel nights were in USA hotels for travel to Las Vegas, southern California and New Orleans.

1. London
2. Amsterdam, Netherlands
3. Leiden, Netherlands
4. Vilnius, Lithuania
5. Copenhagen, Denmark
6. Stockholm, Sweden
7. Stavanger, Norway
8. Krakow, Poland
9. Vienna, Austria
10. Salzburg, Austria
11. Kosice, Slovakia
12. Bratislava, Slovakia
13. High Tatras and Levoca, Slovakia
14. Auckland, New Zealand
15. Napier, New Zealand
16. Las Vegas
17. Pensacola, Florida
18. New Orleans, Louisiana
19. Alexandria, Louisiana
20. Dallas, Texas
21. Santa Maria, California
22. Bakersfield, California
23. Tehachapi, California
24. Las Vegas, Nevada

For accounting simplicity sake, I spent $5,510 in 2016 and stayed 93 hotel nights for an average nightly rate of $59.25 per hotel night.

$317 of that $5,510 was paid for a Marriott auction where I won 7 hotel night credits remaining to be redeemed in 2017. I don’t count these in my hotel stays for 2016 since I have not stayed at any of these hotels yet. I count the $317 in hotel spend for 2016, since I spent the money and there is a chance I won’t stay at any of these hotels. When I use these hotel nights in 2017, they will count as no spend nights in 2017’s hotel spend accounting.

The discrepancy between staying 94 nights in hotels and only counting 93 nights paid is a  JW Marriott LA Live free night stay in February 2016 to attend a Marriott Rewards sponsored gathering of bloggers. Another 3 hotel nights were a media trip across Louisiana and technically not hotel charges to me, however, I paid $150 for the 3-day media trip, so I count those as hotel discount stays I paid.

Excluding those 3 Louisiana hotel nights from the press trip would be $5,360 spent for 90 hotel nights for $59.56 per night.

I rarely booked prepaid rates to allow travel flexibility. All but 10 hotel nights were chain hotel brand stays. Hotel loyalty programs are my primary method for discount rates.

Radisson Blu Carlton Bratislava, Slovakia

By hotel chain:

Best Western 9 hotel nights = $272 + 24,000 points

• Best Western Premier 4 nights
• Best Western Plus 2 nights
• Best Western 2 nights
• I earned $100 Travel Card for a successful BRG at Best Western Irving Inn & Suites DFW in June 2016.
• Redeemed 24,000 BW points for 2 nights at BW Premier Q Hotel, Krakow Poland.
• Best Western Plus Amedia Wien, Vienna Austria ($107- $100 BRG travel card credit for $7.39 bill.)
• Best Western Premier Hotel Couture Amsterdam 3 nights $168 (Partial $45 payment with $100 BW Travel Card).
• Best Western Leidse Square Amsterdam 1 night ($55 paid with $100 BW travel card.)  This hotel rebranded since my Jan 2016 stay to Leonardo Hotel Amsterdam City Centre. This was one of the worst hotel rooms I stayed in 2016, so no big loss to Best Western.
• Average cost per paid night $272/6 paid nights = $45.33/night.

Choice Privileges 20 hotel nights = $1,247 + 168,000 points.

• Ascend Collection Skt. Petri Copenhagen 3 nights (60,000 points).
• Clarion Hotel Energi, Stavanger, Norway 1 night (6,000 points + $45).
• Clarion Hotel Sign Stockholm, Sweden 4 nights (32,000 points + $60).
• Quality Inn Arlanda Airport, Sweden 1 night (6,000 points + $30).
• Quality Hotel Dan Copenhagen Airport 1 night (16,000 points).
• Rodeway Inn Inglewood, California 1 night (6,000 points + $45).
• Quality Hotel Parnell, Auckland NZ $113 1 night (earned 8,000 points).
• Econolodge Napier 5 nights and Econolodge Auckland 1 night, New Zealand (56,000 points)
• Econolodge Monterey and Rodeway Inn Monterey $87 (earned 8,000 points).
• $867 Choice Privileges for 166,000 in Points Purchases average $5.22/1,000 points.
• Redeemed 182,000 points for reward nights and earned 16,000 points from paid stays to balance points earned and redeemed in 2016. I need to make another big purchase of Choice Privileges points during next week’s Daily Getaways.
• Average cost $62.35/night. Average published rate for Nordic Choice Hotels in Scandinavia where I stayed 10 nights in 2016 on points rewards is over $200/night.

Club Carlson 13 hotel nights = $279 + 200,000 points.

• Radisson Blu Waterfront Stockholm 2 nights (50,000 points)
• Radisson Blu Strand Stockholm 2 nights (50,000 points)
• Radisson Blu Amsterdam 4 nights (100,000 points + $10)
• Radisson Blu Edwardian Heathrow Hotel (United Airlines VDB free night)
• Radisson Blu Carlton Bratislava, Slovakia 4 nights $269 (4-for-2 Gold elite rate)
• These stays were all booked using Club Carlson discontinued discount rates. Club Carlson Visa free night on a reward stay were bookings made in May 2015 prior to that discount being discontinued. Each of those hotels that I redeemed 25,000 points per night are now 70,000 points per night.
• Radisson Blu Bratislava was a 4-for-2 Gold elite member rate discontinued in January 2017.

Hilton Honors 3 hotel nights = $137 + 8,000 points

• DoubleTree Kosice, Slovakia 1 night ($73 and received HHonors Diamond suite upgrade).
• DoubleTree Bratislava, Slovakia 2 nights (8,000 points + $64 Points & Money reward and received HHonors Diamond suite upgrade).

Hyatt Hotels 8 hotel nights = $893 + 12,500 points.

• Andaz Amsterdam 1 night $152 + 12,500 points Points + Cash with suite upgrade.
• Hyatt Regency New Orleans 7 nights $693 (EasyClickTravel booking when Hyatt website wanted $2,200 for hotel stay. I received lounge access for stay).
• Purchased 2,000 Hyatt Gold passport points $48 for a reward stay I ended up not booking.

IHG Rewards Club  18 hotel nights = $670 + 130,500 points.

• Holiday Inn Leiden, Netherlands 1 nights $61
• The Palazzo Las Vegas 1 night $123 + 40,000 points (Points + Cash reward stay)
• InterContinental Amstel, Amsterdam 1 night (IHG Mastercard annual free night certifcate)
• Crowne Plaza Vilnius, Lithuania 4 nights (20,000 points PointBreaks award stay)
• Holiday Inn Vilnius 1 night $76
• Holiday Inn Express West Pensacola, Florida 1 night (5,000 points PointBreaks reward stay).
• Holiday Inn Krakow, Poland 5 nights (75,000 points reward stay).
• Holiday Inn Commercial Road, London 1 night $94
• Hotel Indigo Krakow, Poland 2 nights $214 (earned $75 MasterCard)
• Holiday Inn Express Tehachapi, California 1 night (5,000 points Pointbreaks stay)
• $102 to buy 20,000 IHG Rewards Club points
• These hotel stays were paid in large part using points from previous IHG Rewards Club Accelerate promotions.
• $670 /18 nights = $37.22 per night. 145,000 points redeemed, however 10% rebate as IHG Mastercard holder = 130,500 points net.

Marriott International 2 paid nights = $192

$317 for 7 prepaid nights to be stayed in 2017

1 free night Marriott sponsored event.

• JW Marriott at LA Live 1 night (free sponsored trip to attend Marriott Rewards conference)
• Fairfield Inn Santa Maria, California 1 night
• SpringHill Suites Bakersfield, California 1 night
• I paid $160 for a $200 gift card in 2016 Daily Getaways and spent total $232 for two nights in California. Net cost $192 and earned a category 5 free night certificate. Apparently I never used that free night. Stupid me.
• Marriott Super Silent Auction $317 in winning bids for 7 hotel nights including 2 nights in seaview room with breakfast at Riviera Marriott Hotel La Porte de Monaco, Cap d’Ail, France; 2 nights Swindon Marriott Hotel, UK; 2 nights Renaissance Las Vegas and 1 night Residence Inn Chicago ORD.

Starwood Preferred Guest  1 night = $127

• SLS Las Vegas 1 night ($127).

Wyndham Rewards  9 nights $705 + 6,000 points.

• Ramada Apollo Amsterdam 1 night 3,000 points + $59 (GoFast Reward).
• Ramada Salzburg City Centre, Austria 2 nights 6,000 points + $120 (Go Fast Reward).
• Wyndham Grand Desert Vacation Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada 2 nights $199
• Hawthorne Suites Henderson, Nevada 4 nights 12,000 points + $157 (GoFast Reward)
• Purchased 15,000 points in 2016 Daily Getaways for $160.
• Net expenditure = 6,000 points with 21,000 points redeemed and 15,000 points bought. None of my hotel stays earned points.

Independent Hotels 10 hotel nights = $659

• Grand Hotel Stary Smokovec Slovakia 1904, Historic Hotels of Europe 4 nights $288

• Hotel U Leva, Levoca, Slovakia 2 nights $111

• Boutique Hotel Chrysso, Kosice, Slovakia $110 for a deluxe suite.
• Louisiana media tour 3 hotel nights $150