Why Graduate Students Shouldn't Stay at Airbnbs for Conferences
The point is...collect more points
When graduate students attend conferences, they often gravitate toward Airbnb. I frequently hear them talk about splitting a nice place with others for $100 to $200 a night. Their reasoning? It’s cheaper than the conference hotel.
However, what many don’t realize is that staying at an Airbnb doesn't generate any rewards points. Airbnb has no loyalty program. Even if you're using a travel credit card, the points you accumulate won’t benefit you much for future travel. On the other hand, staying at a hotel could offer rewards that might help you fund personal vacations or even future work trips.
Stay tuned for an opportunity to get hotel status today only (Jan 1) at the end of this newsletter!
Let’s break this down with a real example.
To best show why staying at a hotel can be lucrative and beneficial, I’ll use an example from my own conference travels.
In March, I stayed three nights in Portland, Oregon, at the Hyatt Regency which was 1 block from the conference center. If I had stayed at an Airbnb, I would have spent around $450 to $500 for the three nights (about $150 per night). That cost would have been reimbursed either way, but instead, I booked the Hyatt Regency early—long before the conference announced its discounted rate. By booking early, I locked in a rate 20% to 30% lower than the conference rate. I also made sure it was a refundable rate, so if I found something cheaper, I could have canceled.
What made this stay even more worthwhile was Hyatt’s promotion at the time, which gave 3,000 points for every three nights. In addition to this, Hyatt offers points per dollar spent, and since I used my Hyatt credit card, I earned close to 11 Hyatt points per dollar. For my $570 stay, I racked up nearly 9,300 points from the promotion and spend.
When I redeem Hyatt points, I usually aim for a value of 2.5 cents per point. So, in this case, those 9,300 points are worth about ~$230 to me. While that might not seem like a lot, it adds up. If you use these strategies at two or three conferences a year, those points can accumulate quickly. Even in the short term, 9300 points would be enough for 1 night at some hotels in the Hyatt portfolio. For example, the excellent Hyatt Regency Sacramento often is 9,000 points a night but close to $260+ for the cash rate which means you’re turning one conference into a weekend trip.
Over time, you could have enough for a week at a hotel or even a once-in-a-lifetime resort stay. I’ve used points to stay at $1000/night resorts in Cancun and luxury hotels in the heart of NYC, all for the low cost of zero dollars.
Unfortunately, many graduate students find this system too complicated or assume it won’t work for them. But it’s simpler than it seems, let’s dive into the first steps.
The First Steps
Start by signing up for all the major hotel loyalty programs—they’re free. I keep a Google Doc with my membership numbers for Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, IHG, and Wyndham. Between these five brands, you’re likely covered for nearly any conference in most cities. Occasionally, you might find a deal at a Best Western or Choice Hotels, but their loyalty programs aren’t as robust. Whenever you book a hotel for conferences or research always always always book direct or through the conference travel agency and provide your membership number for that brand, we want those points and nights credited to our accounts!
Next, pick a primary hotel brand and stick with it. I chose Hyatt and concentrated as much of my travel there as possible. Through a combination of conference stays, personal trips, and some credit card hacks (to be covered in future editions), I’ve reached Hyatt’s top-tier Globalist status. I’ve also collected a bevy of reward points along the way which I have redeemed to save thousands of dollars in personal travel.
Why Status Matters
Having top-tier status comes with serious perks. At most conferences, I get upgraded to a suite. I also receive complimentary breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant. If the hotel has a club lounge, I gain access to free meals and drinks there, too. The level of service is higher, and I receive priority treatment compared to most other guests.
Each hotel chain has its own benefits. With Hilton, you can get top-tier Diamond status just by signing up for the right credit card which entitles you to upgrades and enhanced dining credits with every stay. Marriott operates similarly—you either need to stay a lot of nights or get one of their top credit cards. The same applies to IHG and Wyndham.
Through these strategies, I’ve earned Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, and Marriott Gold statuses. These benefits make my conference stays much more comfortable, and the points I collect pay off in the long run. In future newsletters, I’ll explain how credit card sign up offers can enhance your travel and what cards would be best for graduate students.
Additional Benefits
A final benefit is saving on food. As a Globalist, I get free breakfast at Hyatt hotels, which means I can load up in the morning and skip lunch during conference days. That saves money, whether it’s my own or the university’s grant funds. Even if I pay slightly more upfront for the hotel, the benefits more than make up for it.
Some of the upgrades I’ve received have been amazing. For example, in Buffalo, I had a beautiful suite with a view of Lake Erie. In New York City, I stayed at the Hyatt Centric Wall Street and got an 800-square-foot suite with two living rooms and a bath. These perks don’t just make for a more luxurious stay—they also offer extra space, which can be helpful when hosting colleagues or students for meetings.
Get Status Today!
As a thank you for reading to the end of my inaugural travel newsletter, I’ll share a time sensitive hack that works just today. BILT, a platform that allows customers to pay their rent with credit cards, is giving all members (including free members) silver status with Accor hotels. Every first of the month, BILT has a ‘rent day’ promotion that offers their members a variety of perks and even those who are BILT blue (the free level of joining with your email) can get this benefit.
Accor Hotels is much more popular in Europe and internationally than in the U.S. but you may be familiar with some of their brands such as Sofitel and Fairmont Hotels. Silver status is entry level but includes benefits such as late-check out and a welcome drink. Normally it would require 10 nights.
Steps:
If you’re not a BILT member, join for free here. Note: BILT also offers a credit card that allows you to pay rent but you do not have to sign up for the credit card to become a basic member. I’ll cover this card in the future so would not recommend signing up for it at this time.
Sign up for a free loyalty account with Accor here.
Once you have both accounts follow the prompts here.
Congrats you just got your first of many hotel statuses! This might be useful for status matches in the future and especially if you have travel coming up at a hotel in the Accor set of brands.
Graduate Student Travel
This newsletter will cover a variety of topics from credit cards that unlock even more rewards for travel to conference hotel room reviews (I’ve stayed at a lot of Hyatt Regency next to conference centers!) and much more. The goal of this newsletter is to show graduate students that making a few small changes to what they’re already doing would allow them to travel in luxury for low/no cost by optimizing their conference and research travel experiences. More to come next week on how University travel benefits can be leveraged for everything from $50 car rentals to cheaper stays!
