@abasket, What area of DC are you looking for? I think this is the Hampton we stayed in about two years ago when we were visiting my daughter: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g28970-d3855872-Reviews-Hampton_Inn_Washington_D_C_White_House-Washington_DC_District_of_Columbia.html
Iām flexible. I was going to check Hamptonās but the one you list is not available for the dates weāll be there.
My 20 y.o. S joined AARP for $16 and saved $130 on a British Airways flight.
Through the year Panera rolls out different perks to cardholders. My mother goes there every Sunday for coffee after church - she was peeved when I got free coffee every day for a month and she got nothing. I eat a lot of salads there - so I was peeved when she was offered salad discounts and I got nothing!
I get very little from Panera. On my birthday month, I think I got,a free pastry. Big deal.
To be fairā¦I donāt go there very oftenā¦but stillā¦
We stayed at the Phoenix Park Hotel a long time ago, when I went to DC with my kids. They had a decent AAA rate and it was walking distance to the National Mall and many of the museums. It was near had metro.
Very nice hotel @HImom but at $300+ too much for me!!!
@abasket Iād suggest looking for hotels in the close in suburbs on the metro lines - usually much cheaper than DC hotels and super convenient/quick to all the attractions in DC via subway. Look around the Crystal City and Pentagon City stops in VA and Friendship Heights and Bethesda stops in MD.
@abasket- check out hotels in Tysons ( not the Ritz, thoughā¦). Metro Silver line.
Stayed at Hilton in Tysonās Corner. It was near metro and reasonable, but had to catch metro to see sights.
Crystal City has more convenient location IMHO.
Abasket, did you look at express deals on Priceline. Iāve had good luck doing that. Iām not super picky though.
@abasket, you may want to check groupon and living social too.
Metro is going through much needed maintenance, so using it may not be as easy as normal.
Iāve done Hotwire Deb but not Priceline! Express deals??? I started another thread - I canāt travel without CC people guiding me!!! 
I didnāt know if Priceline express deals would be good, since I noticed you have 4 now. Check their terms but the express deals are like Hotwire. Usually Priceline only guarantees occupancy for 2 but I donāt know about the express deals.
We stayed at the Avenue Suites a few years ago. Great location, huge rooms, hotel staff was very friendly.
Cambria Hotel and Suites Convention Center shows rooms for $167. 4 1/2 stars on Tripadvisor and within walking distance or short Uber ride to lots of stuff.
Iām a huge fan of public transportation, but for a short visit Iād rather be within walking distance of whatever it is that Iām going to be doing. Waiting for buses/trains can be so tiresome. You can google, āgroupon, Washington DC hotel.ā This one came up: https://www.groupon.com/hotels/washington-dc-us/renaissance-washington-dc-hotel I remember the last time I looked that there were some sweet airbnb places downtown too.
Thereās a hotel in Arlington called the Americana that is extremely reasonable. Have stayed there before but itās small so not always available. When my DILās mother goes to visit she always stays there. Within easy walk to subway. Uber is also very easy to use in DC and affordable.
Phoenix Park and George in downtown DC are convenient to A LOT in DC with NO need for transit or metro. Sometimes itās worth paying a bit more for good location. Crystal City and Arlington are OK but not that fun for touring.
We just got back from DC. Uber was so convenient and cheap. We stayed at a Hilton near the convention center which H booked though Priceline. But, after he booked, I looked and the price was no cheaper than if we had booked directly with the hotel.