Local at hotels and valets: not getting caught

I have my first hotel shop coming up soon. I booked the hotel with my local address, which is also on my ID. My car I will use for the valet has local parking permits.
Why do you do in these situations?

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I use a fake address in the booking and use my passport for check-in.

Or your place is being renovated. You are moving and there is a one day gap between your old and new leases.

Of course, you don't need a reason to stay in a hotel but there are reasons.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/2019 03:54PM by 1cent.

I did a local hotel and told them I was having work done at my house and just needed to get away from the mess for a night to save my sanity. Awkwardness removed. People do it all the time.

I am treating myself to quiet seclusion near home. Or, the xyz at my house is being fixed/replaced and I an allergic to the dust/fumes/brother-in-law who is doing the work.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

@1cent wrote:

I use a fake address in the booking and use my passport for check-in.

Holy cow I've never thought of this. That's a fantastic idea.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

My boyfriend is in town on business... I'd rather my husband think I'm out of town. Lol

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/2019 04:12PM by luckygirl0100.

Power's out to my street.

______________________________________________________________________
Seriously, nobody cares that you're offended.

Termites. Tell them there's a tent over your house, and they are currently pumping in scads of bug poison.

@1cent wrote:

I use a fake address in the booking and use my passport for check-in.

Or your place is being renovated. You are moving and there is a one day gap between your old and new leases.

Of course, you don't need a reason to stay in a hotel but there are reasons.

Doesn't that affect the billing address for your credit card? As in the credit card is declined?

Not in my experience. The card is generally run at check-in and a ZIP isn't needed when the card is physically present.

@luckygirl0100 wrote:

Doesn't that affect the billing address for your credit card? As in the credit card is declined?

Actually, I can think of one time when the hotel was fully charged in advance but that was in Europe. Hotels within the US seem not even to put a real hold on the credit card used to secure booking.

What a silly concern.
As an ex-hotel AGM, I can tell you about 20-25% of a hotel's guest base on any given night is local. There are hundreds of reasons why locals stay in hotels. Hundreds.

PS: Hotels ask questions like "what brings you here" for marketing purposes. Managers get reports to see who is there on business or leisure. Or who might be there for what company; it can then be investigated if that company could have more business to give the hotel. You are not asked this question, if you are asked it at all, because they are suspicious of you.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/2019 06:00PM by KA047.

If you are at a loss try one of these two...my kids (if you are old enuf, or my brother/sister and kids) are staying at my house so I am staying her to give them more room. one I just thought of for the car, althou no one will probably ask, is that you have a rental car from Turo (that's an air b n b equivalent for cars where you rent from a local).

@1cent wrote:

Actually, I can think of one time when the hotel was fully charged in advance but that was in Europe. Hotels within the US seem not even to put a real hold on the credit card used to secure booking.

They don't put any hold at all when booking normally. I do not have a valid card in any of my hotel company profiles. I leave them that way intentionally.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

Why would someone shop a local hotel for the night?

I can think of several reasons. I'm doing a shop later this month on a route. Ebates had a 10% cash back promo on the brand and I have 2 promos on my rewards account, one for double elite night credits and one for double points. The elite night promo will likely make me top tier and the double points and cash back together are worth about half a night. The shop is easy and has a small fee. I wish they had a local one I would do it too!

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

When our 4 kids were teenagers, we sometimes shopped a local hotel for the night just to get away from them and have some privacy, LOL. Plus there was usually bar, room service, and breakfast involved and everything was reimbursed or charges reversed, along with a shop fee, so that was fun. Also, there were times where we did a local hotel for the night because we were going out to the bars in that area and we could just walk back to the hotel without worrying about one of us being a designated driver and not being able to drink (this was before Uber and Lyft).

@Niner wrote:

Why would someone shop a local hotel for the night?

Because I get enough rewards points doing local hotels to "fund" personal stays on vacation and/or to pay for a hotel that enables a lucrative route! Also, when I do Baltimore hotels, I pick up a bunch of Baltimore and BWI shops that would not be worth my making 2 trips to get. With the overnight they become a profitable mini-route. Same with N VA hotels, giving me easy access to well paid VA job that would not be worth 2 trips by car. DE has a shortage of shopper; if I can snag a DE hotel shop I can negotiate some very nice bonus money over there.

I do not do hotel shops for hotels that I do not get rewards points for EXCEPT when there is a juicy fee OR the hotel anchors a route.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

@Niner wrote:

Why would someone shop a local hotel for the night?

Pretty much any excuse someone would otherwise give for staying at the hotel; Termites, relatives in town, access to a pool, etc.

AC (or heat) is out at my house and the repairman can't do anything until tomorrow when the part comes in ...

@JASFLALMT wrote:

When our 4 kids were teenagers, we sometimes shopped a local hotel for the night just to get away from them and have some privacy, LOL.

I don't understand. What would you need privacy for? I'm confused....

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

Thanks so much all! Great suggestions, and it helped boost my confidence going into today's shop.

Personally I'm doing a local hotel shop because I wanted to get some experience with hotel shops outside of a trip. Plus, living with roommates it's nice to get away!

I don't understand. What would you need privacy for? I'm confused....

*vbg*

My husband has a private restroom in the basement where he would go for "solitude" hahaha. He had a sticker on the bathroom mirror that had the word "WHAT" on it, LOL. Invariably a minute or two after he went in there, one of the kids would knock on the door, "Dad"...you know, we don't have empty nester syndrome. At. All. My son has a wing off our house with a separate entrance (he pays rent) and he doesn't have access to this part of the house, and the rest of them all live on their own elsewhere. Phew.

Sorry for veering slightly off topic. Yeah, we haven't done any local hotel shops in a long time, though we do go to bigger cities that aren't too far away from time to time.

@bgriffin wrote:

@JASFLALMT wrote:

When our 4 kids were teenagers, we sometimes shopped a local hotel for the night just to get away from them and have some privacy, LOL.

I don't understand. What would you need privacy for? I'm confused....

Good luck and have fun with your shop!!!

Attending wedding, conference, or other event in that hotel or right beside it. I've done it.

@Niner wrote:

Why would someone shop a local hotel for the night?

I always shop local hotels and it has never been an issue. Why should a staycation be a flag?

I do these all the time without making excuses. But, if asked, I use the following: 1. I have an early morning meeting in this neighborhood and don't want to sit in traffic. 2. I have a conference 3. I needed a spa day 4. I needed a quiet place to work away from home 5. I am flying out first thing in the morning from the nearest airport.

If someone asks where your from, or why your staying there when you live local, ( they probably won’t), you can pick a number of reasons for your cover.

You are having your home Bug bombed, and can’t sleep there for a night, or having renovations done, a new baby on the home and you need a good night rest... etc.

I feel like when I perform shops, I act confident and like I belong and I'm really a customer there and I believe it --- and things will generally OK. Nobody will be suspicious. That's my attitude when I do the valet shops in my hometown and am not staying at the hotel and bolt out after an awkward 30 minutes!

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Local at hotels and valets: not getting caught

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