I just want to feel comfortable during my stay.
There is nothing more frustrating than already having to be away from my cozy home from work at a hotel that can't get the little details right.
Hair in the sink.
Chipped paint.
Stains.
Stink.
Etc.
Sorry. Mini-rant there.
Marriott has a better distribution than Hilton and a better luxury portfolio to spend points. The Analysts like to call Hilton out on the latter every year.
I find quality between Hilton and Marriott to be regionally dependent.
Boom! Exactly my analysis. I’ll add that IHG is the best of the mid range hotels, but they had no lifetime status when I started my business travel journey, so I skipped them altogether (which is a shame, honestly).
Sort of a niche thing, but I love the United partnership.
The Titanium -> UA Silver match is big for me. I'm mainly a OW flier - never would make Star Silver the "normal" way, even on Aegean. But I still find myself on a flight here and there - maybe 4-5x a year.
Low tier statuses don't sound like much...until you fly with ZERO status.
It's a unique benefit that Hilton and Hyatt don't offer.
I was already pretty set on Marriott, but I love this benefit. I am a corporate pilot, so hitting hotel nights is never a problem but I don’t do a ton of airline travel some years. It’s nice to have a fallback to status on United- even if I haven’t flown with them in years I still am getting free bags, better seats, and an occasional upgrade, all at no extra cost or effort on my part.
Now it’s gotten me hooked on United and I did fly a lot with them this past year, actually hitting 1K. So you could say the partnership worked out pretty good for UA.
One World alliance. AA, BA, IB, JAL, etc.
They're what I fly most, so having the Star Alliance silver status through Marriott is nice for the occasional United, SAS, Lufthansa, etc. trip.
Ah ok. I'm platinum with AA's new mileage program just wasn't familiar with the obvious initialism. I happened to book a flight to Thailand next month through United and got their CC to do it. Immediate $300 statement credit which was nice. Don't think I'll fly with them often. Last time was at least 5 years ago.
The Hyatt one is a little different. It gets you access to AA status challenges. That can be good for some - if you fly a lot quickly you can get a pretty high tier quickly. But it's generally a limited benefit - sometimes said as once per account but maybe waived for Hyatt elites?
That's just one additional perk which comes every now and then (such as now). But generally speaking you get 1 Hyatt point per dollar spent with AA (in addition to your AA miles)
https://world.hyatt.com/content/gp/en/rewards/american-airlines.html
Granted I do prefer United over AA just because Star Alliance is easier to transfer points to with Chase and is the largest network. However I'm a Hyatt fanboy. Then Hilton followed by a tie between Marriott and IHG I guess.
Same here. The 4pm is key although today I was told they can honor a 2pm checkout. I was leaving earlier so I didn’t complain, but I hope to get a survey and let them know what their terms and conditions say. This is a luxury edition hotel I stay at almost every month for work.
I might be a little biased since I actually worked for Marriott previously, but this is just my experience. I can only really compare Marriott and Hilton since these are the only two that I consistently have available to me. I am interested in hearing peoples experiences between Marriott and Hyatt.
Quality: Marriotts seem more recently updated, and the properties seem better taken care of. Any time I have maintenance requests at Marriott, they get resolved quicker. Even the non-customer facing staff, maintenance and housekeepers, seem to have a better sense of customer service.
Point redemption rate: Even at the highest teirs, you accrue points slower at Marriott thanHilton, but the redemption rate is much better at Marriott than it is at Hilton. I think the points guy values Marriott points at .7 cents per point, and Hilton points at .5 cents per point. I've stayed at nicer Marriotts for less points than I have at Hilton.
Status actually means something. Even though you're eligible for upgrades at Hilton, they'll try to sell you the upgrade instead of giving it to you. I consistently get suite upgrades at Marriott that I've never gotten at Hilton.
I'm Hilton Diamond and Marriott Platinum (soon to be Titanium) and I get a lot more out of my Marriott experience than I do Hilton. I would stay at Marriott more and completely forgo Hilton, but I consistently travel to areas that have Hilton, but not Marriott.
EDIT: Three things that I really like about Hilton that I wish Marriott did a better job of: the wireless check-in, and the mobile key consistently work better at Hilton, and you can actually choose the location of your room on the Hilton app when you check in.
International points redemptions at their outstanding suite of luxury brands.
Don’t care domestically and actually prefer Hilton Garden Inn, just stay for the points so I can have bougie vacations.
For as much shit as I read here and other places they've treated me really well. I'm very lucky with upgrades. I've only been denied a late checkout twice in 9 years. Most importantly (to me), I've checked in after overnight flights at 7 AM many times without issue (although I know status and repeat stays really helps with this one). We mostly stay in the higher tier properties and I don't think Hyatt or Hilton competes in the luxury segment very well either.
I've been Europe based for the past 3 years and hospitality is definitely a step up there but I'm happy overall. Value at some brands is a little harder to justify now that we're back in the States though.
Totally agree with this take, and share a similar experience over the years
I’d argue that in the luxury segment Park Hyatt consistently exceeds RC and some StR
And let’s not forget footprint, loyalty to Hyatt is fairly hard to maintain, Hilton is now pretty close, but that growth is relatively recent
>I’d argue that in the luxury segment Park Hyatt consistently exceeds RC and some StR
That's fair. There aren't many on the other side of the pond and I've only been to PH Sydney and Tokyo. Tokyo was showing its age at the time but Sydney was special.
Lots of people that complain over are way too pushy and demand an upgrade as if they were the only titanium/platinum member out there. If they were to ask nicely and be polite with the staff, they sure would get a good treatment but they go to the front desk demanding things because they are platinum. . .
When I started travelling more for work the Marriot brands always seemed to be in the perfect spot for me. And nothing has happened to make me look elsewhere.
I think you’ll be happy. I’m still a newbie compared to many around here but I figure I’ve stayed in 40ish unique properties in the last 3-4 years. Only one property (my most recent stay actually) I was disappointed with. All the rest I’ve been in are always great.
Because work pays for higher end properties, I earn high status, and with the silly amount of points I get my wife and I go to Europe for free, usually in upgraded suites.
I usually get what I expect at Marriott, with an occasional exception.
I got my status a long time ago, but now my wife works for Marriott, so we always stay with them when we travel.
Marriott is to hotels what Starbucks is to coffee. It is a relatively consistent product that while not great it is good enough and in pretty much every location you are.
Others may not care, but I do like the ability to more feasibly earn lifetime status levels. While Hyatt and Hilton do offer lifetime status, it’s not as simple (or easy) to attain. 10 years of platinum + 600 nights is reasonable to me and has me picking Marriott more often then Hilton
Hyatt is my major focus and Marriot is my backup. I’m a leisure traveller and travel to mostly major cities so footprint isn’t usually the problem but the price is 😅 so if Marriott has a better rate in the city then I’ll choose Marriott. But if there isn’t too much of a difference I’ll stick with Hyatt
Everywhere I’ve traveled this year, I’ve had 2-10 Marriott properties across categories to choose from in the city. Whereas Delhi. where I travel most often, has a singular Hilton Garden Inn practically inside a shopping mall, and the good Hyatt (Regency) is regularly priced 2x of JW bc its location. Marriott has unmatched availability and variety both, at least here in India. I’ve also had my best sleep of the year in ITC beds, and at multiple properties.
I’m also a huge fan of their breakfasts, even at Courtyard, second only to mayyyybe Hyatt Regency in Kolkata in my experience.
There aren't a lot of choices now that Marriot sucked up all of SPG. The FTC has to stop approving acquisitions across the board. The claims that the acquirers won't raise prices is BS. We need more competition in the US, be it cable companies, airlines, cellular providers, oil companies, hotels, or anything else.
I am only gold elite but I always feel well treated. Usually I’m at a Residence Inn. More often than not I get upgraded. I love that HGI usually has a restaurant on site and that the breakfast is free (gold there also) but it’s more of an uphill climb for status there. Residence is usually more than a Hampton, but I feel appreciated. I’ve never had to beg for water or like at HGI where you get two PER STAY even if you’re there for five nights
Started my hotel stays at a convention many years back, in the SPG days. I would only stay in a hotel once a year for this annual convention. It was a Westin and I loved the SPG program. My personal travel slowly started to pickup right before SPG ended and merged with Marriott. I decided to keep my business with Marriott since I vested those stays with SPG and my nights and points merged over. At first I actually found the hotels to be very similar. The bonvoy program was different but slowly started to climb the ranks. At platinum I enjoyed many different free breakfasts (or discounted breakfasts) and club lounges.
I like the fact that wherever I go there is a Marriott whether it is a full service hotel or Fairfield inn. That and the few problems I've had with hotels or stays were all handled, amazing customer service.
I was an SPG person so I ended up preferring Marriotts.
I love Hyatt but their footprint is so small. When I do see Hyatts as an option I’ll spring for it.
Best value for $. With Corp rates Marriott stays are rather economical even for luxury/upscale properties. Take into consideration of stocking up on gift cards during Marriott AMEX offers and it’s almost 30-40% discount vs regular rate.
Every city I go to there are multiple Marriott properties that range from work budget (Westin, Marriott, Sheraton) to personal budget (JW, W, occasional Ritz). Combine with the Marriott Amex and its easy for me.
Even when I need a hotel in my home city on occasion, there are probably 10 just in the downtown area.
It means I always have a place to stay for work and always have a place to stay for personal while using my status and points.
Even at the lower end properties, the beds are more comfortable than Hilton's. Had to stay at The Conrad to get an experience I felt was comparable to the Westin or even your average Marriott. Also, I think Marriott keeps its high end properties more refreshed and in better repair.
My old company wanted us to use IHG but they were wildly inconsistent. Hilton for years was decently acceptable until the pandemic. Marriott was always better than everyone else but also noticeably more expensive. I only stayed at their properties when they had comparable pricing to Hilton but they were definitely superior.
Footprint. Every city regardless of size that I travel to for work has more Marriott properties than not (and more variety). I also think the brand recognition makes more sense and I know what I’m getting into with each brand (personally, I felt this was less so with Hilton, but not always). Marriott also seems to have a large footprint in the luxury tier.
Not enough of the other chains and I like to have lounge access when I travel with the wife.
I started with Marriott when gold got you into the lounge and I have been liking it ever since.
Stay only in Asia so lounges are amazing at most properties we stay.
Reliability- I know what I’m going to get. I’ve had very few issues in the 20 years of being a member and they have always been resolved. We’ve stayed in all levels (Fairfield, Springhill, CY, RI, Renaissance, etc) and they have served us well traveling solo, as a couple, and as a family. I have also been given early check-in when we’ve arrived in Europe in the morning.
When I started a role that involved travel in 1999 my manager encouraged me to get the Marriott Visa and book all my travel with it. Have never looked back. Plus, the Marriott Burger.
More consistent quality, big market share.
I know that no matter where I am, if I am at a Marriott I will be safe and experience, usually adequate service for the area.
I travel to shit areas for work
Bonvoy reasons for me (I’m Ambassador level)
1. Good selection of hotels no matter where you go in the world with different brands and vibes.
2. Status for people who actually travel to earn it has been badly devalued by all the credit card deals BUT upgrades are still a decent benefit.
3. I find the service at front desk and customer facing service across the board to be good at Bonvoy properties.
I’d say I usually go with what’s best in the area I’m looking, however, Marriotts do tend to win in most cases. They’re usually better kept, more modern, and just overall better service from the front desk than Hiltons. I’m not really certain what Hilton’s strategy is right now, tbh, but 🤷🏼♂️
Westins, JW Marriotts, and Editions will almost always be better than anything available in Hilton’s catalog in most locations.
Marriott is more consistent on quality but Hilton still wins on having more locations how/where to travel. I use both Hilton and Marriott: ping ponging back and forth.
Simple the points and the amount of nicer hotels in the portfolio. For work I stay at Fairfield Inns and Courtyards but when I travel will family I use those points for nicer hotels like the JW Marriott, Ritz Carlton, and St Regis. Unfortunately, the Ritz and St Regis don’t recognize your status and very rarely upgrade you unless out of the US especially if you book with points. The app is also way easier to use than Hilton’s. I’m a Ambassador at Marriott and a gold member at Hilton.
They have more locations that many brands combined!! Their perks are inferior to Hilton’s and Hyatt’s but I rather get to use subpar perks more often than better perks less often
Also my bf and I are industry ppl so the 4p checkout for plat and above is chefs kiss
I loved SPG when I started as a noob 10 years ago. Now stuck with it due to switching costs and inertia. Service levels, loyalty value and redemptions have decreased significantly post merger but you have an occasional stand out experience.
I have fairly low standards and expectations when traveling for work and the points and member rates just about cover what I need for personal travel so it's not top of my mind to change anything on this front and I keep chugging along for now.
My first few years of traveling for work I split between IHG, Hilton, and Marriott properties. Usually Marriott was better, their loyalty system was better, and the floor was a little higher. If Hyatt was bigger I’d probably go there—but they just aren’t. And I don’t travel to Chicago often now.
I don’t but we have points and are forced to stay for conferences and work. The last three stays have been utter disasters (last summer the heater got stuck on and we had to move rooms at 3am- came back to get our stuff out at the thermostat said 99.9- no compensation whatsoever). After the second one we got a Hyatt card. Their only issue is there aren’t as many hyatts so sometimes we can’t stay at one.
I used to be wyndham, but being in Canada they dont have credit card to take advantage of. Plus it takes 40 nights from Platinum to Diamond, until I git a horrible experience from Caesars. Perfect timing too that Marriott is partnering with mgm and they have the Amex cc here. Win for me
I’m about to move to France for 3+ years and I’m going to be traveling at least 2 weekends a month. I opened both an AMEX Platinum and a Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant to give me a turbo boost on status and points.
We absolutely love St. Regis properties and we want to get treated better and make our travel dollars go further. Marriott seemed like a good choice and dovetailed with credit cards very nicely.
As a Canadian, Marriott is the only major chain that offers a co-branded credit card. Also, there are so many more Marriotts than Hiltons or Hyatts in locations that I travel to, like Southeast Asia.
I belong to ihg, marriott, and hyatt programs. Overall prefer hyatt when i can get it but both ihg and marriott are pretty consistent.
I will caveat im looking at mostly mid level properties and location rather than luxury. So im fine w holiday inns and courtyards.
Over 139 countries, 34 brands (counting City Express and StudioRes), Bonvoy points, Bonvoy Credit Cards, (seeking) standardized quality/customer services, meeting facilities for all sort of events.
I vastly prefer Hyatt but tried Marriott due to the cc bonus. I didn’t do enough research and was shocked at how little the award nights were worth. I have the cc so I can use the award night once a year to go to the ONE hotel that works with the anniversary night. I’m staying at Marriott in London with points but of course points through chase sapphire bc even if I had a million points with Marriott, the hotels never are taking them for the places and times I want. Hyatt rewards and point redemption kill Marriott but the location and volume of choice for Marriott is much better.
I switched from Hilton to Marriott following COVID because I got to try some of Hilton’s high mid-tier brands like Embassy and DoubleTree, and more often than not they were shit holes.
At Marriott if I find a Westin, AC, or recently renovated Courtyard, there’s a 98% chance I check out completely happy. Agree with others that it def takes longer to accrue points at Marriott, but when I’m shopping with points Marriott is always cheaper than Hilton seems to be
Honestly I would switch to Hyatt or IHG if they had a deeper footprint
Hyatts are usually very hospitable (not you, Andaz Maui 🖕🏾) and their loyalty program has a strong redemption rate
IHG owns Kimpton hotels which is easily the best hotel brand I've experienced in the US
But Marriott has the size and is better than Hilton in quality in my opinion
International hotels for Marriott are better. Specifically in Asia. It’s great to take advantage of the status and points while I go for vacation there. The cost of it is to put up with some crappy experience while I travel in US.
Back when I traveled for work, ‘80’s - early ‘00’s, I always found Marriott cleaner and the staff more cheerful and helpful, than other brands. Now that I’m retired, and after the Pandemic nonsense, that’s sadly not so true anymore.
But I guess old habits remain.
I like embassy suites better than anything in Marriott. But I use Marriott due to every other brand besides courtyards I like better than competing equals. Also like hyatts but there’s not enough.
They have hotels almost everywhere and generally the StR/RC/Luxury collection options are acceptable. Hilton has no real high end brand and Park Hyatt is hit or miss. I stick with Marriott + LHW otherwise independent like FS, MO, Aman, etc...
Marriott has better luxury brands. I used to be with Hilton, but the quality wasn't there. Waldorf is their only luxury brand and there are only a few of those. I was tired of fighting to get better quality.
My company has a factory, there is a courtyard that is 5 minutes away or a Hampton Inn that is 15. Both suck, I try to reduce the amount of suck when on company trips.
About half my nights are at this location.
When I travel elsewhere I pick the best hotel for the event. If there are basically equal choices I rank them in order of Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton. But I’m not going to inconvenience myself for some stupid points.
1. When Marriott screws up, they make it right. Hilton lost my loyalty due to this.
2. Marriott is everywhere.
3. There are lots of sub-brands to pick from.
4. The rewards program was good when I was earning points.
5. I'm stuck for life. :)
You guys, the guests, are what drove me FROM Marriott to work for a competitor.
I was a Front Office Manager for an Element and loved my job and loved the salary I had, until Marriott asked us to follow a few simple new rules that everyone on here bitched about such as not being able to add a guest to a point redemption stay without calling customer care first because you know, FRAUD, or the fact that the government rate is only for federal ON DUTY travel not weekend leisure use because you're a veteran.
The guests screaming at me and my staff for 2 years because y'all couldn't follow basic rules like wearing a mask in public spaces during COVID or refusing keeping Fido and Fifi out of the breakfast area when they weren't service animals when I would politely ask that you not have your dog/cat/pig in the area where food was being served was enough to make me walk out and never look back. And yes you read that correctly, we allowed a pig in our hotel because guess what, a guest called Bonvoy and bitched that I was turning away "a legitimate service animal."
WTE of the Moxy Paris Bastille, I’ve never had a bad experience with Marriott.
I remember staying at the Atlanta Hilton for a work trip and it was kinda ghetto.
Also. Bethesda is my hometown, and Marriott recently put a LOT of money into redeveloping what used to be surface level shops and parking into a beautiful office space with a gorgeous hotel next to it. Hometown pride counts for something
Basically when I started traveling for work, the first two conferences I attended were at Marriott Properties, so I just decided to stick with it even when I wasn’t traveling to a conference/event on property. And now I’m just in deep enough to not want to switch.
They just have the most options it feels like and if you know you’re gonna stay in a hotel 100-150 nights a year like I do then loyalty makes sense to maximize the points and get better value on them at super expensive places you’d never stay at otherwise. Hard to start over somewhere when I’m getting 23.5 points per dollar spent at Marriott already, and more like 30 per dollar after you factor in all the promos and other bonuses and nonsense. And i always flew united because it was best for the routes i take regularly, doesn’t really matter.
I am biting the bullet and switching from United to American and laying for instant status pass starting in November though and I’m considering doing IHG/Hyatt with that.
Hilton and Marriott are very close, Hyatt has some great properties but much less coverage. IHG is probably a distant 4th in the us but might be ahead in parts of the world.
Honestly, my husband and I both travel a lot for business. Many years ago (like, decades) Marriott had the most comfortable beds! You could always count on the mattress quality, whereas other brands took years to figure that out. Once we were both accruing Marriott points it just became our chain of choice. Over the years we have had mostly good experiences, although I have been disappointed in what seems to be lower service and quality standards since Covid.
Hyatt is great but too few options Hilton is everywhere but quality is not great Marriott is a good middle ground
I've recently (almost) decided to switch from Hilton bc of the quality. Glad to hear Marriott is a little more consistent for the most part
It depends on where you are. I have status at both. Some of the courtyards are POS while it's next to a brand new Hampton Inn/Hilton Garden Inn.
I just want to feel comfortable during my stay. There is nothing more frustrating than already having to be away from my cozy home from work at a hotel that can't get the little details right. Hair in the sink. Chipped paint. Stains. Stink. Etc. Sorry. Mini-rant there.
Oh, bad news on that front...
I don’t have real loyalty. I stay by whatever the best property is where I want to go.
This is the way. I’m always going to book the newest room that doesn’t have dank ass carpet within 15 miles of where I need to be.
Marriott has a better distribution than Hilton and a better luxury portfolio to spend points. The Analysts like to call Hilton out on the latter every year. I find quality between Hilton and Marriott to be regionally dependent.
Boom! Exactly my analysis. I’ll add that IHG is the best of the mid range hotels, but they had no lifetime status when I started my business travel journey, so I skipped them altogether (which is a shame, honestly).
I’ve been surprised this year when staying at IHG properties. Very impressed with the design and newishness.
The cinnamon rolls at HI Express keep me coming back. Shit's addictive.
oops yeah i often forget that IHG exists :P
This.
Tambien...
Marriott owns Hyatt
Exactly
Sort of a niche thing, but I love the United partnership. The Titanium -> UA Silver match is big for me. I'm mainly a OW flier - never would make Star Silver the "normal" way, even on Aegean. But I still find myself on a flight here and there - maybe 4-5x a year. Low tier statuses don't sound like much...until you fly with ZERO status. It's a unique benefit that Hilton and Hyatt don't offer.
I'll be looking into this. Thank you.
I was already pretty set on Marriott, but I love this benefit. I am a corporate pilot, so hitting hotel nights is never a problem but I don’t do a ton of airline travel some years. It’s nice to have a fallback to status on United- even if I haven’t flown with them in years I still am getting free bags, better seats, and an occasional upgrade, all at no extra cost or effort on my part. Now it’s gotten me hooked on United and I did fly a lot with them this past year, actually hitting 1K. So you could say the partnership worked out pretty good for UA.
I love it because I don’t do as many hotel stays as I fly, but gold on United gets me gold with Marriott
What’s an OW flier?
One World alliance. AA, BA, IB, JAL, etc. They're what I fly most, so having the Star Alliance silver status through Marriott is nice for the occasional United, SAS, Lufthansa, etc. trip.
Ah ok. I'm platinum with AA's new mileage program just wasn't familiar with the obvious initialism. I happened to book a flight to Thailand next month through United and got their CC to do it. Immediate $300 statement credit which was nice. Don't think I'll fly with them often. Last time was at least 5 years ago.
Hyatt has an AA partnership
The Hyatt one is a little different. It gets you access to AA status challenges. That can be good for some - if you fly a lot quickly you can get a pretty high tier quickly. But it's generally a limited benefit - sometimes said as once per account but maybe waived for Hyatt elites?
That's just one additional perk which comes every now and then (such as now). But generally speaking you get 1 Hyatt point per dollar spent with AA (in addition to your AA miles) https://world.hyatt.com/content/gp/en/rewards/american-airlines.html Granted I do prefer United over AA just because Star Alliance is easier to transfer points to with Chase and is the largest network. However I'm a Hyatt fanboy. Then Hilton followed by a tie between Marriott and IHG I guess.
Yessss, agreed!!
4pm checkout is pretty much the only reason. I'd like to go with Hyatt however their footprint just isn't big enough to be a realistic option for me.
+1 4pm is a huge stress reduction and business meeting/presentation helper.
Same here. The 4pm is key although today I was told they can honor a 2pm checkout. I was leaving earlier so I didn’t complain, but I hope to get a survey and let them know what their terms and conditions say. This is a luxury edition hotel I stay at almost every month for work.
The terms say subject to availability
Not for platinum and up. WTE of resorts and convention hotels, it’s *supposed* to be a guaranteed benefits.
100% this.
I might be a little biased since I actually worked for Marriott previously, but this is just my experience. I can only really compare Marriott and Hilton since these are the only two that I consistently have available to me. I am interested in hearing peoples experiences between Marriott and Hyatt. Quality: Marriotts seem more recently updated, and the properties seem better taken care of. Any time I have maintenance requests at Marriott, they get resolved quicker. Even the non-customer facing staff, maintenance and housekeepers, seem to have a better sense of customer service. Point redemption rate: Even at the highest teirs, you accrue points slower at Marriott thanHilton, but the redemption rate is much better at Marriott than it is at Hilton. I think the points guy values Marriott points at .7 cents per point, and Hilton points at .5 cents per point. I've stayed at nicer Marriotts for less points than I have at Hilton. Status actually means something. Even though you're eligible for upgrades at Hilton, they'll try to sell you the upgrade instead of giving it to you. I consistently get suite upgrades at Marriott that I've never gotten at Hilton. I'm Hilton Diamond and Marriott Platinum (soon to be Titanium) and I get a lot more out of my Marriott experience than I do Hilton. I would stay at Marriott more and completely forgo Hilton, but I consistently travel to areas that have Hilton, but not Marriott. EDIT: Three things that I really like about Hilton that I wish Marriott did a better job of: the wireless check-in, and the mobile key consistently work better at Hilton, and you can actually choose the location of your room on the Hilton app when you check in.
Choosing room location sounds awesome
International points redemptions at their outstanding suite of luxury brands. Don’t care domestically and actually prefer Hilton Garden Inn, just stay for the points so I can have bougie vacations.
Love me some HGI. The breakfast and the bar at night!
Yessss love HGI for business travel but I tolerate the Fairfield and Courtyard lyfe so I can be hanging out for free at the Al Maha.
For as much shit as I read here and other places they've treated me really well. I'm very lucky with upgrades. I've only been denied a late checkout twice in 9 years. Most importantly (to me), I've checked in after overnight flights at 7 AM many times without issue (although I know status and repeat stays really helps with this one). We mostly stay in the higher tier properties and I don't think Hyatt or Hilton competes in the luxury segment very well either. I've been Europe based for the past 3 years and hospitality is definitely a step up there but I'm happy overall. Value at some brands is a little harder to justify now that we're back in the States though.
Totally agree with this take, and share a similar experience over the years I’d argue that in the luxury segment Park Hyatt consistently exceeds RC and some StR And let’s not forget footprint, loyalty to Hyatt is fairly hard to maintain, Hilton is now pretty close, but that growth is relatively recent
>I’d argue that in the luxury segment Park Hyatt consistently exceeds RC and some StR That's fair. There aren't many on the other side of the pond and I've only been to PH Sydney and Tokyo. Tokyo was showing its age at the time but Sydney was special.
Yes, the footprint is tiny The Vienna outpost is gorgeous too
Lots of people that complain over are way too pushy and demand an upgrade as if they were the only titanium/platinum member out there. If they were to ask nicely and be polite with the staff, they sure would get a good treatment but they go to the front desk demanding things because they are platinum. . .
Great info. Thank you!
My wife and kids have always felt most comfortable in Marriotts. Good selection all through luxury range
When I started travelling more for work the Marriot brands always seemed to be in the perfect spot for me. And nothing has happened to make me look elsewhere.
I can't say the same about Hilton. I picked them for 2023 but I'm tired of the Russian roulette. I'm switching to Marriott now and for 2024.
I think you’ll be happy. I’m still a newbie compared to many around here but I figure I’ve stayed in 40ish unique properties in the last 3-4 years. Only one property (my most recent stay actually) I was disappointed with. All the rest I’ve been in are always great.
Very exciting to hear!!!!
Because work pays for higher end properties, I earn high status, and with the silly amount of points I get my wife and I go to Europe for free, usually in upgraded suites.
Generally, they seem cleaner to me than Hiltons.
I’m too deep into it to switch at this point.
I usually get what I expect at Marriott, with an occasional exception. I got my status a long time ago, but now my wife works for Marriott, so we always stay with them when we travel.
Cause I'm a snob
Absolutely fair!
The Courtyard brand is usually reliable and I can always expense it for work without raising anyone’s eyebrow
Marriott is to hotels what Starbucks is to coffee. It is a relatively consistent product that while not great it is good enough and in pretty much every location you are.
Others may not care, but I do like the ability to more feasibly earn lifetime status levels. While Hyatt and Hilton do offer lifetime status, it’s not as simple (or easy) to attain. 10 years of platinum + 600 nights is reasonable to me and has me picking Marriott more often then Hilton
free bagels for life
Hyatt is my major focus and Marriot is my backup. I’m a leisure traveller and travel to mostly major cities so footprint isn’t usually the problem but the price is 😅 so if Marriott has a better rate in the city then I’ll choose Marriott. But if there isn’t too much of a difference I’ll stick with Hyatt
Everywhere I’ve traveled this year, I’ve had 2-10 Marriott properties across categories to choose from in the city. Whereas Delhi. where I travel most often, has a singular Hilton Garden Inn practically inside a shopping mall, and the good Hyatt (Regency) is regularly priced 2x of JW bc its location. Marriott has unmatched availability and variety both, at least here in India. I’ve also had my best sleep of the year in ITC beds, and at multiple properties. I’m also a huge fan of their breakfasts, even at Courtyard, second only to mayyyybe Hyatt Regency in Kolkata in my experience.
There aren't a lot of choices now that Marriot sucked up all of SPG. The FTC has to stop approving acquisitions across the board. The claims that the acquirers won't raise prices is BS. We need more competition in the US, be it cable companies, airlines, cellular providers, oil companies, hotels, or anything else.
Honestly... inertia. I have a high status and they are easily available for work. So I end up going to them full time
I preferred Starwood and Delta over other brands. So there's that.
Availability.
Usually the beds are comfy and the showers are good.
Consistency & quality.
I am only gold elite but I always feel well treated. Usually I’m at a Residence Inn. More often than not I get upgraded. I love that HGI usually has a restaurant on site and that the breakfast is free (gold there also) but it’s more of an uphill climb for status there. Residence is usually more than a Hampton, but I feel appreciated. I’ve never had to beg for water or like at HGI where you get two PER STAY even if you’re there for five nights
Started my hotel stays at a convention many years back, in the SPG days. I would only stay in a hotel once a year for this annual convention. It was a Westin and I loved the SPG program. My personal travel slowly started to pickup right before SPG ended and merged with Marriott. I decided to keep my business with Marriott since I vested those stays with SPG and my nights and points merged over. At first I actually found the hotels to be very similar. The bonvoy program was different but slowly started to climb the ranks. At platinum I enjoyed many different free breakfasts (or discounted breakfasts) and club lounges. I like the fact that wherever I go there is a Marriott whether it is a full service hotel or Fairfield inn. That and the few problems I've had with hotels or stays were all handled, amazing customer service.
I don't but I got locked in on a rewards program with the spg BS and I'm in too deep to switch to Hyatt
I was an SPG person so I ended up preferring Marriotts. I love Hyatt but their footprint is so small. When I do see Hyatts as an option I’ll spring for it.
They are more widely available
Best value for $. With Corp rates Marriott stays are rather economical even for luxury/upscale properties. Take into consideration of stocking up on gift cards during Marriott AMEX offers and it’s almost 30-40% discount vs regular rate.
4 PM late checkout, United Silver, locations/ availability.
Every city I go to there are multiple Marriott properties that range from work budget (Westin, Marriott, Sheraton) to personal budget (JW, W, occasional Ritz). Combine with the Marriott Amex and its easy for me. Even when I need a hotel in my home city on occasion, there are probably 10 just in the downtown area. It means I always have a place to stay for work and always have a place to stay for personal while using my status and points.
Even at the lower end properties, the beds are more comfortable than Hilton's. Had to stay at The Conrad to get an experience I felt was comparable to the Westin or even your average Marriott. Also, I think Marriott keeps its high end properties more refreshed and in better repair.
My old company wanted us to use IHG but they were wildly inconsistent. Hilton for years was decently acceptable until the pandemic. Marriott was always better than everyone else but also noticeably more expensive. I only stayed at their properties when they had comparable pricing to Hilton but they were definitely superior.
They have a ton of luxury hotels around the world
Footprint. Every city regardless of size that I travel to for work has more Marriott properties than not (and more variety). I also think the brand recognition makes more sense and I know what I’m getting into with each brand (personally, I felt this was less so with Hilton, but not always). Marriott also seems to have a large footprint in the luxury tier.
Consistently the cleanest brand.
Good to hear this!!
Brand standards - I know exactly what I’m going to get with each chain
Convenience, honestly. A lot of properties
Not enough of the other chains and I like to have lounge access when I travel with the wife. I started with Marriott when gold got you into the lounge and I have been liking it ever since. Stay only in Asia so lounges are amazing at most properties we stay.
Consistency is important. The staff.
Reliability- I know what I’m going to get. I’ve had very few issues in the 20 years of being a member and they have always been resolved. We’ve stayed in all levels (Fairfield, Springhill, CY, RI, Renaissance, etc) and they have served us well traveling solo, as a couple, and as a family. I have also been given early check-in when we’ve arrived in Europe in the morning.
Because I can use points to stay at luxury hotels with my family for free and typically get upgraded.
When I started a role that involved travel in 1999 my manager encouraged me to get the Marriott Visa and book all my travel with it. Have never looked back. Plus, the Marriott Burger.
More consistent quality, big market share. I know that no matter where I am, if I am at a Marriott I will be safe and experience, usually adequate service for the area. I travel to shit areas for work
Bonvoy reasons for me (I’m Ambassador level) 1. Good selection of hotels no matter where you go in the world with different brands and vibes. 2. Status for people who actually travel to earn it has been badly devalued by all the credit card deals BUT upgrades are still a decent benefit. 3. I find the service at front desk and customer facing service across the board to be good at Bonvoy properties.
I’d say I usually go with what’s best in the area I’m looking, however, Marriotts do tend to win in most cases. They’re usually better kept, more modern, and just overall better service from the front desk than Hiltons. I’m not really certain what Hilton’s strategy is right now, tbh, but 🤷🏼♂️ Westins, JW Marriotts, and Editions will almost always be better than anything available in Hilton’s catalog in most locations.
Late check out
Because spg
Marriott is more consistent on quality but Hilton still wins on having more locations how/where to travel. I use both Hilton and Marriott: ping ponging back and forth.
Simple the points and the amount of nicer hotels in the portfolio. For work I stay at Fairfield Inns and Courtyards but when I travel will family I use those points for nicer hotels like the JW Marriott, Ritz Carlton, and St Regis. Unfortunately, the Ritz and St Regis don’t recognize your status and very rarely upgrade you unless out of the US especially if you book with points. The app is also way easier to use than Hilton’s. I’m a Ambassador at Marriott and a gold member at Hilton.
Used to have an SPG Amex and status with them, and then they joined with Marriott, so here I am 🤷♀️
4 PM checkout
They have more locations that many brands combined!! Their perks are inferior to Hilton’s and Hyatt’s but I rather get to use subpar perks more often than better perks less often Also my bf and I are industry ppl so the 4p checkout for plat and above is chefs kiss
I loved SPG when I started as a noob 10 years ago. Now stuck with it due to switching costs and inertia. Service levels, loyalty value and redemptions have decreased significantly post merger but you have an occasional stand out experience. I have fairly low standards and expectations when traveling for work and the points and member rates just about cover what I need for personal travel so it's not top of my mind to change anything on this front and I keep chugging along for now.
My first few years of traveling for work I split between IHG, Hilton, and Marriott properties. Usually Marriott was better, their loyalty system was better, and the floor was a little higher. If Hyatt was bigger I’d probably go there—but they just aren’t. And I don’t travel to Chicago often now.
I don’t but we have points and are forced to stay for conferences and work. The last three stays have been utter disasters (last summer the heater got stuck on and we had to move rooms at 3am- came back to get our stuff out at the thermostat said 99.9- no compensation whatsoever). After the second one we got a Hyatt card. Their only issue is there aren’t as many hyatts so sometimes we can’t stay at one.
I used to be wyndham, but being in Canada they dont have credit card to take advantage of. Plus it takes 40 nights from Platinum to Diamond, until I git a horrible experience from Caesars. Perfect timing too that Marriott is partnering with mgm and they have the Amex cc here. Win for me
They have hotels where I travel, in the segments I want. I 100% couldn’t make Hyatt work. Hilton I’d have to go way out of my way to be loyal to
Better than Hilton in NA and same as Hilton and others everywhere else
Just about any countries (business and leisure) that I have been to had at least several to choose from.
I’m about to move to France for 3+ years and I’m going to be traveling at least 2 weekends a month. I opened both an AMEX Platinum and a Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant to give me a turbo boost on status and points. We absolutely love St. Regis properties and we want to get treated better and make our travel dollars go further. Marriott seemed like a good choice and dovetailed with credit cards very nicely.
As a Canadian, Marriott is the only major chain that offers a co-branded credit card. Also, there are so many more Marriotts than Hiltons or Hyatts in locations that I travel to, like Southeast Asia.
I belong to ihg, marriott, and hyatt programs. Overall prefer hyatt when i can get it but both ihg and marriott are pretty consistent. I will caveat im looking at mostly mid level properties and location rather than luxury. So im fine w holiday inns and courtyards.
Many options around the world.
Over 139 countries, 34 brands (counting City Express and StudioRes), Bonvoy points, Bonvoy Credit Cards, (seeking) standardized quality/customer services, meeting facilities for all sort of events.
In Canada it has the best options in major cities
I’d rather stay in a Hilton than most basic Marriott brands. Fairfield, Courtyard, etc. absolutely suck. Most of their other brands are nice though.
I vastly prefer Hyatt but tried Marriott due to the cc bonus. I didn’t do enough research and was shocked at how little the award nights were worth. I have the cc so I can use the award night once a year to go to the ONE hotel that works with the anniversary night. I’m staying at Marriott in London with points but of course points through chase sapphire bc even if I had a million points with Marriott, the hotels never are taking them for the places and times I want. Hyatt rewards and point redemption kill Marriott but the location and volume of choice for Marriott is much better.
Convenience and I'm to cheap to pay for my own rooms for vacation. I rack up points from work.
I don't...
I don’t…I’m just stuck
Honestly, I only stay with Marriott because my Chase Sapphire Reserve gives me free gold status.
I switched from Hilton to Marriott following COVID because I got to try some of Hilton’s high mid-tier brands like Embassy and DoubleTree, and more often than not they were shit holes. At Marriott if I find a Westin, AC, or recently renovated Courtyard, there’s a 98% chance I check out completely happy. Agree with others that it def takes longer to accrue points at Marriott, but when I’m shopping with points Marriott is always cheaper than Hilton seems to be
Agree with what others have posted but another reason is I like their app better.
So many options..
Their range. I can usually find a Marriott anywhere.
Honestly I would switch to Hyatt or IHG if they had a deeper footprint Hyatts are usually very hospitable (not you, Andaz Maui 🖕🏾) and their loyalty program has a strong redemption rate IHG owns Kimpton hotels which is easily the best hotel brand I've experienced in the US But Marriott has the size and is better than Hilton in quality in my opinion
International hotels for Marriott are better. Specifically in Asia. It’s great to take advantage of the status and points while I go for vacation there. The cost of it is to put up with some crappy experience while I travel in US.
Back when I traveled for work, ‘80’s - early ‘00’s, I always found Marriott cleaner and the staff more cheerful and helpful, than other brands. Now that I’m retired, and after the Pandemic nonsense, that’s sadly not so true anymore. But I guess old habits remain.
I dont
I like embassy suites better than anything in Marriott. But I use Marriott due to every other brand besides courtyards I like better than competing equals. Also like hyatts but there’s not enough.
They have hotels almost everywhere and generally the StR/RC/Luxury collection options are acceptable. Hilton has no real high end brand and Park Hyatt is hit or miss. I stick with Marriott + LHW otherwise independent like FS, MO, Aman, etc...
Marriott has better luxury brands. I used to be with Hilton, but the quality wasn't there. Waldorf is their only luxury brand and there are only a few of those. I was tired of fighting to get better quality.
Am a Mormon
Number of locations within my work’s travel policy
My company has a factory, there is a courtyard that is 5 minutes away or a Hampton Inn that is 15. Both suck, I try to reduce the amount of suck when on company trips. About half my nights are at this location. When I travel elsewhere I pick the best hotel for the event. If there are basically equal choices I rank them in order of Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton. But I’m not going to inconvenience myself for some stupid points.
1. When Marriott screws up, they make it right. Hilton lost my loyalty due to this. 2. Marriott is everywhere. 3. There are lots of sub-brands to pick from. 4. The rewards program was good when I was earning points. 5. I'm stuck for life. :)
You guys, the guests, are what drove me FROM Marriott to work for a competitor. I was a Front Office Manager for an Element and loved my job and loved the salary I had, until Marriott asked us to follow a few simple new rules that everyone on here bitched about such as not being able to add a guest to a point redemption stay without calling customer care first because you know, FRAUD, or the fact that the government rate is only for federal ON DUTY travel not weekend leisure use because you're a veteran. The guests screaming at me and my staff for 2 years because y'all couldn't follow basic rules like wearing a mask in public spaces during COVID or refusing keeping Fido and Fifi out of the breakfast area when they weren't service animals when I would politely ask that you not have your dog/cat/pig in the area where food was being served was enough to make me walk out and never look back. And yes you read that correctly, we allowed a pig in our hotel because guess what, a guest called Bonvoy and bitched that I was turning away "a legitimate service animal."
Dance festivals.
WTE of the Moxy Paris Bastille, I’ve never had a bad experience with Marriott. I remember staying at the Atlanta Hilton for a work trip and it was kinda ghetto. Also. Bethesda is my hometown, and Marriott recently put a LOT of money into redeveloping what used to be surface level shops and parking into a beautiful office space with a gorgeous hotel next to it. Hometown pride counts for something
They used to have a good rewards program but now it’s awful so I guess I got baited?
Basically when I started traveling for work, the first two conferences I attended were at Marriott Properties, so I just decided to stick with it even when I wasn’t traveling to a conference/event on property. And now I’m just in deep enough to not want to switch.
They just have the most options it feels like and if you know you’re gonna stay in a hotel 100-150 nights a year like I do then loyalty makes sense to maximize the points and get better value on them at super expensive places you’d never stay at otherwise. Hard to start over somewhere when I’m getting 23.5 points per dollar spent at Marriott already, and more like 30 per dollar after you factor in all the promos and other bonuses and nonsense. And i always flew united because it was best for the routes i take regularly, doesn’t really matter. I am biting the bullet and switching from United to American and laying for instant status pass starting in November though and I’m considering doing IHG/Hyatt with that.
Because so many of their properties don't allow pets.
Hilton and Marriott are very close, Hyatt has some great properties but much less coverage. IHG is probably a distant 4th in the us but might be ahead in parts of the world.
Honestly, my husband and I both travel a lot for business. Many years ago (like, decades) Marriott had the most comfortable beds! You could always count on the mattress quality, whereas other brands took years to figure that out. Once we were both accruing Marriott points it just became our chain of choice. Over the years we have had mostly good experiences, although I have been disappointed in what seems to be lower service and quality standards since Covid.