Originally Posted by
Rebelyell
Your math isn't always right on this. I've stayed at plenty of Hilton Garden Inns and even full Hiltons for around $129. The Wifi is free for Gold members, and the HGI breakfast is GREAT.
Many times the choice hotels cost more than $80 and sometimes more than $90. And given the choice between paying $90 for a Quality Inn or $130 for a Hilton Garden Inn I'll usually take the latter.
That doesn't mean I don't stay at Choice hotels sometimes. They just aren't always priced low enough to justify the lower quality.
Isn't always right? I can concede that. Is it generally right? You know it.
Of course, now you bring personal taste into the equation. If you're willing to pay $40 more for an HGI, then that works for you and no one can question that. On the other hand, tonight I could have chosen an HGI located 12 miles away from the beach and paid $120 or a Quality Inn in a good location on the Virginia Beach oceanfront (and a former Hilton to boot) for $65.
And from the point of view of leveraging a hotel loyalty program to get free nights? Even before Hilton's recent changes, it was a challenge to earn a free night off staying at Hilton properties. My earnings for my last three nights at a Doubletree property, even with the Double Points promotion currently running--5000 points. A night at the HGI I just mentioned and before any changes go into effect from the recently announced "enhancements" to Hilton's program? 35K. So, for just another 18 nights, I can get one night at a mid-level HGI--unless I want a one-bedroom suite at the HGI, in which case I'll have to spend over 60K points. Not to worry, that's only another 15 nights.
In the Choice program, all rooms available on points are generally available for the same point cost--a room for one, a room for two, a suite for a family. And we're getting spoiled by Choice's decision to make their go-to promotion "stay two, get 8K points." As noted throughout this forum, for significant portions of the year, 8K will get you a room at a lot of properties around the world. I'm going to Italy in three weeks. For 48K points, I'll get five nights in properties in and around Rome. If done under the 8K promotion, that's 12 nights of hotel stays to earn those points.
Both Hilton and Choice have made some changes to their programs in the past year. Choice introduced a new 30K redemption level. For purely Choice redemptions, 30K is the highest you'll pay (there's an association with the Preferred Hotel Group, not a Choice chain, that requires more--but even there, 60K is the top of the heap). Hilton? Well, let's put it this way, if you want an HGI in New York City, be prepared to pay a minimum of 60K and with their new, seasonal pricing, as much as 80K.
Is Choice elegant? Almost always, certainly not (again, that association with PHG is the big exception). I know from my experience in Rome last year that the Comfort Inn Bolivar is certainly not that:
Hotel Bolivar. But, can I efficiently earn enough Choice points to fund travel at comfortable hotels in a lot of properties in countries outside the US I might not have otherwise tried? You bet.
I currently have 340K Hilton points and 170K Choice points (with the deduction already done for my Rome stays next month). I'll guarantee you that my Choice points will get me much further than my Hilton points.