One of the first things that I do when preparing to visit a new client is to stake the Marriott hotel locations in the region. Last fall I started doing some work with a new client in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
Unfortunately, my search for Marriott’s near Kennett Square didn’t turn up much. The two closest hotels are the Courtyard By Marriott Brandywine Valley (8 mi. away) and the Courtyard By Marriott Wilmington Downtown (11 mi. away).
Even though those distances might seem pretty close, they’re actually 25 to 35 minutes away from the client due to the fact that all of the roads have traffic lights. And one of the great conveniences I like to get out of business travel is to have a short commute in the morning.
The upshot of this is that I’ve been staying either at a local Hilton Garden Inn that’s 1 mile from the client or a Holiday Inn Express that’s a few miles further down the road. So I’m taking convenience over precious rewards points. It would be nice to see a Marriott pop up a bit closer to Kennett Square but that’s not likely to happen since there’s not much industry in the area and the big draw (the mushroom festival) is very seasonal.
As the end of the calendar year draws near I’ll be keeping an eye on my number of stays to insure I at least make it to gold status again. If it’s close I may just have to drive the extra few miles each way lest I fall into the dreaded “below gold” zone.
Tags: Marriott