I started with Ruger and his crate with treats and such so he would go in on his own. Now I put him in there when I have to go out for awhile, or sometimes at night. I always follow putting him in the crate with a few treats given through the closed door.
Right now he's asleep in his crate which is next to my bed in an open closet. He can see me and the TV.
Sometimes I crate him, and sometimes I let him in bed. As the other poster said, when he was housebroken I stopped putting him in the crate every night.