Fletch

Another rate comparison, this time from Jackson, MS:

Choice hotels: Comfort Inn and Comfort Suites: $82 and $93.
Full service Marriott: $99

Comfort Suites: nothing at check in, boring room, bad location.
Marriott: beautiful rooms, upgrade to club level, a lounge with city views that's like a restaurant, 24/7 free: sodas, tea, waters, coffee, fruit, chips. Huge breakfast buffet. Hot food in afternoon, fresh deserts in evening.

Since some people went wacko when I compared Sheraton to Choice lowest priced option (failing to see the other Choice were higher than the Sheraton). So, let's compare today vs the Choice business hotels. Tell me, why would a frequent business traveler choose Choice in the above scenario? There has to be strong promos and low rates to win business. I have screenshots of every quoted rate if anyone wants documentation. As a business owner, I look for the value proposition. Choice isn't even putting up a fight these last couple months.

sdsearch

I'm not sure what dates you used, but I just checked for 2 nights from now (Wed 11 Jan, 1 night), and the Comforts are roughly what you quoted, but the full-service Marriott is $196 a night. And I get the same $196 a night for Wed 18 Jan, 1 night. (These are the public rates.)

You weren't checking on a holiday or weekend day (when business travel is low), were you?

I'm sure you can find some night of the year when a full-service Marriott is amazingly low-priced. I don't need screen shots to believe that you got such a rate on some particular date that worked for you. But that proves nothing in general. It's the workday-in-workday-out rates that matter.

I don't see why Choice needs to "fight" with any lower rates when it's already about half the price of the FS Marriott most weekdays. Who cares that on low-business-travel-days the FS Marriott discounts deeply but the Choice properties don't? (Except of course people who like Marriott and want to stay there for cheap.)

genxer

I venture into Huntsville.

Advance purchase price (today is 1/10) 1/31-2/1

Marriott 5 Tranquility Base Huntsville, AL $107
Comfort Suites 4725 University Drive, Huntsville, AL $79

The Comfort Inn is fine, safe, etc... If Marriott is worth
the extra $28 to you ... Good deal...

jebr

Here's the rub, though: it really doesn't pay for Choice hotels to spend a ton of money to try and give lavish benefits to their top-tier members specifically. Two major reasons why:

1. They don't make up a large segment of the traveling public. While I haven't done any scientific studies, it seems typical that the top 2-3 floors of a ~20-30 floor business hotel (Mariott, Hilton, etc.) are set up as premium level rooms for elites and those wanting to pay significant sums for the room. Assuming they create enough rooms to at least house the top-tier rewards members on those floors, I'd expect that no more than 10% of rooms sold are sold to top-tier members. It's a significant segment, to be sure, but it's not a majority (or even a huge minority.)

2. Choice simply doesn't have the properties to really attract top-tier business customers. It's been mentioned earlier, but Marriotts (and other business hotels) often simply have better locations. That's not something that Choice can overcome simply by offering a few extra benefits to top-tier members. If someone's traveling 40+ nights a year, they're going to stay somewhere convenient to where they need to be, and Choice doesn't have a lot of that inventory in a lot of large cities. As one example, within 5 miles of downtown Chicago Hilton has 21 properties, at least a few of which have hundreds of rooms to fill. Choice has 3, none of which seem particularly large.

Choice, quite simply, doesn't have the presence needed to attract huge business customers away from Hilton, Marriott, etc. Spending significant time and energy into hard products for elite benefits would be crazy when they simply don't have the presence needed to compete on their turf.

What they do compete for, though, is for those that travel less frequently. At a Comfort Suites even as a non-member I'll still get a hot breakfast, free wi-fi, and a decent room without having to worry much about nickel-and-dime fees. At a Hilton or Marriott I'll have to pay for wi-fi as a non-member and might be able to get a free cup of coffee in the lobby in the morning. Most of the trumpeted amenities will cost money (some a lot more than what I might be used to) and, frankly, I'd rather just stay somewhere where I know what I'm going to get, even if a full-service hotel may be more upscale. Even a 10-15 night/year traveler won't get free breakfast at a full service hotel just based on status and would likely get minimal recognition.

They also simply have the presence in smaller towns and cities that business brands don't have. As one example, I'm looking at a vacation in central Nebraska for the solar eclipse this year. Hilton has two Hamptons within 40 miles of the town I'm looking at staying in, and no other properties to speak of within that range. Choice has 12 properties to choose from. This isn't terribly uncommon, either.

Frankly, the two hotels are competing for different customers. If Choice can get a few loyal customers with their rewards program, great, but they're not going to spend a ton of time and money cultivating that. They're already doing some small things at their midrange properties for top-tier members (such as a snack at Comfort Inn and Comfort Suites.) But setting up hot food buffets solely for top-tier customers just doesn't make sense for Choice or its franchisees; there's not enough of them that Choice can practically woo over to make the loyalty worth it.

sdsearch

In fact, I'd say based not just on that but on who I tend to see at Choice hotels vs Marriott or Hilton family hotels, Choice is more commonly used by customers driving from one place to the next to the next, who are used to them having a hotel (motel) just about anywhere they may be on the road, while Marriott and Hilton family hotels are more commonly used by plane hoppers (in this town for two nights, in another town completely across the country for three nights, somewhere else completely across the country for one more night, etc, but rarely plunked down in the middle of nowhere far from any airport, in the land where only low-end hotel/motel properties live).

Also, since Marriott and Hilton have physically bigger hotels (even in the midscale space with Fairfield and Hampton and Courtyard and HGI), Marriott and Hilton family properties tend to attract in-hotel business meetings which I rarely see going on at any Choice properties. So Marriott and Hilton also tend to attract more stays oriented to business meetings at the hotel, while Choice tends to attract those who don't need to organize meetings at hotels.

Finally, some business travelers are on tight budget rules, and for them in some places lower-end hotel families like Choice are likely to have a hotel room in their budget, while higher-end hotel families like Hilton and Marriott less often do.

BigLar

This.

I'm now out of town for up to 250 nights/year, and it all comes out of my own pocket (albeit I do get a per diem). I used to be Plat with Marriott and Diamond with Hilton but it was still on my own nickel, and both these brands have priced themselves way out of my budget. In most cases, nearly double.

The two Choice props I've stayed at recently have both been outstanding: good sized rooms, nice bathrooms, all inside corridors, huge hot breakfast, and very convenient to my work location.

I'm not all that particular about my surroundings when I stay at a hotel (assuming at least basic sanitation); in fact, at my current location I could easily shack up with my brother or my daughter who both live in the area. But they can't provide the free stays I've gotten with Choice in London, Paris, or Dublin (so far) and, since I don't do much besides watch a little TV (nice flat screens in both locations, including free HBO and Showtime), shower, and sleep, I don't actually need much more.

I must have missed the course in college about being entitled to the best of everything. Oh well.

cbn42

(emphasis added)

Because it's cheaper. That's the bottom line.

As a semi-frequent traveler, I'd probably choose Choice in this scenario as well. A hotel is a place to rest my head, so I really couldn't care less if the room is "boring" and the building doesn't have a "lounge with city views".

I suspect that some people would be willing to pay a bit more for a nicer property and others won't. That is why there is a difference in price. The amenities you describe for the Marriott don't sound to be particularly valuable, so I think the price difference is appropriate.

sdsearch

Well, it depends a lot if you have status at Marriott.

With status, for $6 over the Comfort Suites, a free lounge with "Huge breakfast buffet. Hot food in afternoon, fresh deserts in evening. ", why does that not seem valuable to you?

OTOH, if you have no status at Marriott, and thus don't qualify for that lounge (or for an upgrade to a lounge level room) without paying for a more expensive "lounge level" room, then yes, there's not much more you get for just the lowest $99 room rate ath Marriott vs the $93 rate at the Comfort Suites.

So it depends a lot of where you stay the rest of the year (ie, whether you earn enough elite status at Marriott for lounge access) as to how valuable that $6 price difference becomes.

But bringing it back to Choice: At Choice, status gives you not much at all (in terms of at-hotel benefits), no matter how much status you have, at any Choice brand. So there's a huge difference (when you arrive at hotels) between having status at Choice and having status at, say, Marriott. (Choice's main advantage to status is being able to book awards further ahead of time, a concept which doesn't exist, and in fact isn't needed, in any other hotel program.)

Brighton Line

Even as Gold, now plat, the Quality Inn I frequented (2 to 3 times a month) would always "upgrade" me to an inside corridor room with fridge and microwave.
The online booking price, no matter the rate type (AAA/Member etc) is always average of $10 more for those rooms. I never reserved those rooms and only once that year did I not get it. I've also got better rooms then reserved at other Choice locations, never asked just told they were doing it at check in.

Marriott, I've been Silver there every year, only once got an upgrade, don't know why as Silver does not have that benefit. I'll never be more than silver at Marriott, they just don't have hotels where I have to stay.

sdsearch

That's not uncommon in many programs: A hotel where you stay often enough may "upgrade" you (within its means/limits) just because they know you, independent of any elite status.

I've had similar treatment at some Best Westerns I've stayed at repeatedly, while rarely seeming to get that treatmet at any Best Western I visit for the first time.

Ans same with WyndhamRewards (which didn't even have true status levels until very recently).

NCLSEA123

The larger hotels have a larger and likely more experienced sales team, with more experience with revenue management. They will periodically adjust rates based on demand, negotiate local corporate rates, place rooms on opaque sites (i.e. Priceline/Hotwire), etc.

Most of the smaller franchised hotels either don't have a dedicated hotel specific sales team, or even sales specific person in many cases. Often times, pricing is left up to the general manager/owner, and occasionally they might use an off the shelf or brand specific revenue management software to help set pricing. Sometimes this software isn't extremely intuitive, especially if the user setting the parameters for pricing isn't too familiar with the system or revenue mgmt in general... Because of this many smaller hotels will set narrow (probably too narrow in many cases) parameters into their rev mgmt systems, and simply rely on the opaque sites to sell inventory on an as needed basis when demand is lower.

kiowavt

We laughed through your posting. A lot. Yes, others stuck up for Choice, and I can see their perspective. But what you said sure rang true for us. We have some favorite Choice hotels now, and we visit them alone. The Comfort Pyramids in Indy gets you into a great costly gym nearby, for instance, and service is friendly. A Comfort Inn near PDX has super fast internet and no need to be elite level to use it. But all too often the gyms make one laugh, the mention of loyalty even when you could give them a points voucher (for the employee, mind you) did not get anyone but one guy in Bend, OR to say thanks for being a loyal member. Now we are super clever with the costly chains, pay a bit more, get a lot more, and sometimes end up in a Choice hotel, but only by choice if it's on our favorites list.

Thank you much for the humorous flashback to why we gave up on Choice, essentially, and a hotelier in NZ told us he had to as well for somewhat similar reasons of how he felt treated. Still use them and love the good hotels, but the promotion and a few locations are the only remaining reasons why. 72 nights! That I do not envy. :-) Thanks again! Reconfirms and the laughing was great as I read your post aloud.

Fletch

Thanks for your support. I initially posted from my hotel room while thinking why in the world would anyone chose Choice if Marriott/SPG rates are anywhere close? Somehow it it turned into a "Choice is great" tread as everyone came to defend it, although they don't have status like me at at these higher brands.

Traveling by myself, usually all I ask for is a bug-free room. Some here accuse me of being a high end traveler. I'm not, but who wouldn't pay $15 more for endless drinks and snacks, better rooms and awesome gym/pool? Not to mention a great breakfast vs styrofoam yellow egg-like circles.

When "stay 2 get 1" returns, I'll return. Until then, it's thread-worthy to point out when Choice is getting owned in a particular city. No need for anyone to take offense. And no I didn't post a weekend rate, I'm just good at getting deals. I've driven by some choice with zero cars in the parking lot during this time. I'm simply trying to recommend ways my brand can improve. Some of which are free. Other stratagies will decrease vacancies.

Glad a couple open-minded people agreed with me. I apologize for my emotional turn. This thread was years of pent up frustration at the brand. The brand that has never valued my business nor done anything for me.

Bugs have crawled on me at night. I've been forced to pay no-show fees because flight got canceled. I've walked past vacanct mini-suites to my booked room type in spite of the fact I'm a diamond who's stayed at the property 20 times. If the brand won't listen to me, as least some guys on the internet did.

ItsAnAdventure

I actually have to agree with you. There are a few things I feel that Choice could do that wouldn't cost much (Choice Diamond and Marriott Gold here)

1) acknowledge status consistently

As a Diamond, I get acknowledged maybe 6% of the time.... if that... The acknowledgement is usually something along the lines of "I see you're a Diamond member.", and then no offer of any actual benefits for being a Diamond member.

2) provide upgrades

In all of my stays with Choice, I've been upgraded for being a Diamond exactly once. After asking.

3) establish an actual late check-out time

At Marriott, they promise 4pm check-out for a top-tier. Choice words it as a 2pm check-out for all members, and makes no promises about availability.