Originally Posted by
irockfm2
Stayed at the Marriott Courtyard in Coral Springs, FL over the holidays. This is not a courtyard, it's more of a fair field, not that there is anything wrong with that, I just wanted to stay in a courtyard.
My first clue that it would not be a good stay was that it was independently owned, I would have left, but I paid with points. I called Marriott Gold guest line and come to find out this property has had prior complaints.
I wasn't looking for a freebie, I was just irked that I wasted points when I could have stayed at a Residence Inn, etc, etc for less points.
I guess Santa didn't get my letter.........
The vast majority of hotels in the Marriott system are independently owned, even the hotels which are under Marriott active management, meaning that the hotel owner signed a long term contract (anywhere from 5 to 30 years) for the management services of Marriott International. There are also Marriott branded hotels which are under private management, and Marriott branded hotels which are managed by third party professional management companies, such as Interstate Hotels & Resorts, which manages several Marriott branded hotels, as well as Hilton and Hyatt brands, and others. One of those in particular, which is generally well regarded in the Marriott forum, is the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel, but there are many others.
Originally Posted by
CJKatl
Aren't virtually all Marriott hotels independently owned, with very few exceptions?
More than 98% (might be more than 99%, depending on acquisitions, such as when MI buys another chain before selling off the individual hotels with management agreements in place) of Marriott branded hotels are independently owned, and most of those are MI managed.
Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
I think so, but also whether or not the hotel is independently owned shouldn't determine whether you have a good stay or not. Some independently owned properties really care and can seem more personal while giving all the benefits of being part of a chain. In the case of Marriott, most hotels aren't owned by Marriott but many are owned by a property investment/management corporation, so many certainly aren't "ma and pa" ownership at all.
See my first answer above. Ownership, per se, should have no bearing, although there are objections of course, but those hotels do not stay in the Marriott system for long, since MI does not tolerate poor management, whether independently owned or not.
Originally Posted by
CJKatl
You are not going to like this, but you kind of just disparaged the wrong hotel! The OP was complaining about the Courtyard by Marriott in Coral Springs, FL, but that Miami Herald article is entitled "Undocumented housekeeper files abuse lawsuit against Coral Gables hotel." Coral Springs is in extreme northwest Broward County, and Coral Gables is in southeast Dade County, and those cities are about 50 miles apart. You might want to delete, or at least heavily edit, that post.