I'm always forced to stay at a Hilton or Marriott property for business but almost always stay at Starwood for leisure. I've been Gold for 8 consecutive years via Amex spend, yet I now see I only have 12 stays/20 nights since becoming a member. (5 of my 20 nights where award based in the past 2 months.) It's somewhat disconcerting for me to think back at a number of vacations where I believed booking via Cash + Points cost me about the same as Cash so I chose C+P knowing there was no way for me to achieve Platinum in that year.

Oh well, I'll continue to enjoy my Gold (as my Amex spend allows) and will hold out hope I'll eventually reach Lifetime Gold.