When I come up for Sprint Week, I tend to pre-pay my rooms at most of the hotels. I know I am going to be in the area, and since I am coming up from Texas, I have to stay somewhere. Now, when a show at Gas City rains out, that can leave me kind of stranded. That is where having a good travel companion makes the difference. I also save about 20 to 30 bucks over the regular rate. I spend a LOT Of time in different hotels for work, too. Now, my work plans change quite regularly, so I don't prepay. Of course, when I travel for my day job, I don't really pay for the rooms anyway. What I do like about the national chains, (Holiday Inn [Express or otherwise], Hampton Inn, etc) is that they at least put out a breakfast and have high speed internet.

When I travel on my own in May, however, I just get a place in Indianapolis since it is fairly centrally located for most of my travels. This past May, I got a room at the Residence Inn off of Michigan for just 90 bucks a night. Even over the 500 weekend. It is hard to beat that deal.