Note that if you get the Marriott Premier card, you will get 15 nights. In effect making it only a 35 night requirement for Gold. And don't forget that for every $3K in purchases you would get another night.

Also, with Marriott's roll-over nights, any "extra" nights from last year would give you a head start on this year and thus reduce your required nights even more.

So while on the surface it looks like Marriott requires far more nights in a hotel than their major competitors, for someone who can "play the game", there's really not that much difference.