No brand loyalty for hotels. We go with a combination of location, desired amenities for a particular trip, and price. If we want to use AMEX points, then we focus on hotels participating in that program.
Nope
I like both Hyatt and Hilton, but since I got a Hyatt credit card (I used the points guy to help decide which card to go for ) we tend to go for that brand. It is insanely easy to rack up points and free nights, and I end up getting about 10 free nights’ stay a year, which is obviously pretty valuable and takes care of a chunk of our vacation stays.
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Their CC with the 60k bonus can be 12 nights if you pick the right locations. It’s the best hotel card imho.
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We have a Hyatt credit card and get points so we try to stay there. It was really nice when H was still working and traveled, we had a lot of points then. I have a cc from IHG (Holiday Inn group) and have a lot of points so we look for their properties, too. We score a lot of upgrades, too.
If you travel a lot it really pays to have the hotel credit cards (likewise the airline cc’s).
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Within the US I try to stick with Marriot since I have status and some of the free upgrades and amenities are nice, e.g. late checkout, free wifi at the higher tier, etc.
For personal international travel, we stay in whatever hotel works best which is almost never a US brand.
I got the bonus a couple of years ago. It’s been a great card in terms of benefits.
I have the IHG card. Only one I pay for. $49 a year. When I first got it was like 6 or 8 free nights. Now each year I get one free night up to 40k points. This year St a Louis $229. So worth paying the $49.
I try to find Hyatt Place for 5k. Never pay more than 8k. But in Alpharetta Ga and at the Calgary Airport it was just 3500
Earning wise hyatt was exceptional. They realized- changed from gold, silver, diamond to the goofy Explorist, Discoverist of today and made earning points not easy.
The cc offer still rocks.
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We too prefer Marriott hotels domestically and whatever is more convenient when we travel abroad.
I have a Marriott Visa. Once in 2012 I had an early flight from Paris so decided to stay at the Marriott near the airport. When I checked in and showed my credit card, the lady checking me in got so excited! She has never seen a Marriott branded card and rushed to show it to the rest of the crew. I scored a free dinner at the restaurant as a result.
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Mostly Marriott properties, due to DH’s status and still a ton of points from his working days (and we both have Marriott CC’s). But there’s a great Hyatt hotel near my grandbaby, so I have a Hyatt card which has gotten me a few free nights there. And our annual trips back to the midwest made me get a Hilton card because of lack of Marriott’s where we go.
I generally have 2 types of travel in which I stay in paid lodging – travel where the lodging is just a place to sleep and travel where the lodging is part of the experience.
If I am on a trip where the lodging is just a place to sleep, brand doesn’t matter. I am going to spend the day and a good portion of evening out of the hotel. The focus of the trip is not on my sleeping experience. I’ll choose something that is located conveniently based on where I’d like to go, has the few amenities I need (permits pets), and does not have concerning reviews. Among the lodging that meets this criteria, I’ll choose one of the lowest cost options. I expect choosing the lower cost option saves me far more than the accumulated points from sticking to a particular brand.
If I am on a trip where the lodging is part of the experience, then lodging absolutely matters, but again the focus is not on hotel “brand.” I’d be more likely to choose a VBRO type rental that will truly be a unique experience, such as a cabin in a scenic outdoor area, glamping on a beach, or rental in heart of a small town – not a hotel chain.
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Marriott brands for sure. With a combination of enough nights at their properties and a Bonvoy Brilliant credit card, I make titanium status. I get free breakfasts, lounges, upgrades, certificates for free nights and enough points and certs that I get about 5-6 free nights a year, one of them at a Ritz Carleton or other high end hotel. I used to lean towards Hiltons, but they require large numbers of points for free nights. There are also tons of different hotel brands within the Marriott system.
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Are you saying you stay at hotels that are $5000 a night. What does this post of yours mean?
I’m going out on a limb here that the numbers were points not dollars.
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I try to maintain status at both Hilton and Marriott.
First Q, Marriott will usually have a 1:1 match on nights stay. You need about 50 nights to maintain Platinum.
After that, I will go to Hilton where you only need 30 stays for Diamond (where Marriott doesn’t distinguish between stays/nights).
We convert Chase Sapphire reserve points to Hyatt when the Hyatt hotel redemptions are much less than using points at either Hilton or Marriott. Unlike Hilton/Marriott, Hyatt doesn’t have dynamic redemption (redemption is set by category and doesnt go up or down based on demand).
points - very low points - the equivalent of 15K (5K points) at a Marriott which is fine. Hiltons are rarely less than 26K or 28K - which is why I don’t stay at the brand. At Hyatt, earning points is at a rate less than others.
If I stayed at Hilton 50+ nights a year, it’d be different - their points are high but you’d get multipliers.
I tend to think people (who travel a lot) pick a brand based on redemption first and foremost. They want a brand (whichever they choose) that will benefit them / reward them best in personal travel.
I work with a lot of travelers (most of whom choose Marriott but some Hilton) but 99% of the time it’s based on - what’s in it for me personally.
What I don’t like are those who stay at Marriott no matter what, even if another “sub” is much cheaper that night. One should always look out for the company’s purse.
I think Hyatt gets less run with business people - mainly due to its lack of locations vs a Marriott (which has a ton of brands) and Hilton. These two brands plus Intercontinental have wide brands of portfolios or even independent hotels one has never heard of. I’m always amazed in our travel selector - I’ll put “Marriott brands” and a lot of independents come up - that are in the Marriott umbrella.
I think we started with Hilton because that’s where H’s company had a partnership. 30 years later, H has the highest lifetime status he can and we’ve stayed at some wonderful properties on points. Next up is four nights on points at a Mayfair London property.
D’s company partnership is with Marriott. By 22 she already had lifetime Titanium Elite because her company used the Marriott extended stays for their co-ops so she had nearly 2 years of hotel stays ; ). She hasn’t paid for a personal hotel stay in quite some time. Desk staff are shocked when they see her checking in and she always gets asked how she got that status so quickly!
IMO, the loyalty is a great extra work perk and makes me less salty about all the time H is traveling. Between airline and hotel points, it makes our vacations more affordable!
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I rarely do extended stays - Res Inn or Towne Place or Element on Marriott as an example - unless I’m traveling on point redemption and they are low. Then it’s ok - it’s my money. But if I was staying long term, I’d choose a Fairfield or Spring HIll over a Towne Place - they usually cost similar but yes won’t have a kitchen. Same bad included breakfast.
The extended stay - those plus Homewood, Home2Suites and the other Hilton extended plus Staybridge for IHG - you only earn half the points (5x instead of 10 per $$).
Yes, you get the night credit - but the point earnings stinks.
D didn’t have a choice where the company put her since it was the company’s dime. I saw all four of her Towne Place suites and they were actually quite nice, especially for a college kid. Lots better than her dorm!
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Yep, they are very nice or like any hotel brand could be - I’m in a dumpy Courtyard as I type - it has the red carpet from the original Courtyards 20 or 30 years ago but is finally being refurbished. It was $96 though - and the company watches budget - so I couldn’t justify it over the $200 Springhill or AC down the street. It’s clean I tell myself 
It is.
It’s just the points earnings of TownePlace I eschew but of course, if it’s required, it’s required. She can’t alter that. Thank god they didn’t put her in an Extended Stay America
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