My wife will be with me this time, that is, if I get sponsored. Her employee discount with Marriott will give us a really good rate of 58EUR/night.

We should be able to reserve a maximum of two rooms from Oct 8 - 12 on either Amsterdam Marriott or Renaissance Marriott, both in prime spots in Amsterdam.

Now, I hope the sponsoring process gets going. Reserving early is always a good thing (to secure that rate), and plus, the process of getting Schegen Visas is not overnight.