Originally Posted by
bhrubin
or, in particular, in the luxury segment (where Starwood's St Regis, Lixury Collection, and W properties total 255+ and exceed in absolute number whatever Marriott and Hilton offer
Actually, in the "Luxury" segment of the STR Global Chain Scales for 2016 there are 38 St. Regis, 102 Luxury Collection, and 49 W properties
currently open worldwide. This compares to 99 Ritz Carlton, 84 JW Marriott, 5 Edition, and 4 Bulgari properties currently open worldwide in the Marriott family. So there are more Marriott branded properties currently operating under that definition of Luxury segment than SPG branded properties (192 Marriott, 189 SPG).
Originally Posted by
bhrubin
and far exceed Marriott or Hilton for properties considered aspirational by those who regularly stay at luxury hotels.
"Aspirational" is very much in the eye of the beholder. It also IMO doesn't depend on being assigned a particular brand by a hotel chain. Earlier this year I stayed at the ITC Maurya (a Luxury Collection Property). The property is quite nice, but you can see the view from my window at the bottom of this post. Even though it's a Luxury Collection property I personally don't consider it "aspirational". I also don't consider the Ritz Carlton Kapalua to be aspirational. YMMV!
Originally Posted by
bhrubin
Consider that over 3/4 of Marriott's portfolio has been less than upscale...while almost 90% of Starwood's portfolio is upscale or better. Hilton has an even greater proportion of less than upscale properties, and IHG is even greater. If you're looking for cheaper hotels, those chains serve you well...but not for nicer hotels. Marriott will remedy that with the addition of Starwood, of course...but that won't really make a difference until 2018 when the programs merge.
Again, it depends entirely on how you define "upscale". Based on your assessment that almost 90% of the SPG portfolio is upscale or better, there must be a great many of what you consider "upscale" 4 Points and Aloft properties since those brands constitute over 23% of the currently operating SPG properties.
As to definitions of what constitutes "upscale", the STR Global Chain Scales say one thing, and our personal experiences tell us another. Based on the STR scales all of the SPG brands, and all but Fairfield Inn, MOXY, and TownePlace Suites are considered "upscale" or better (those 3 MR brands constitute about 25% of MR's properties BTW). The STR grading is apparently based on average room rates rather than overall quality, so they don't actually say very much about what matters to us IMO.
We all have our own personal definitions of "upscale" and "aspirational". I'm sure others will come along and provide their own personal examples...
View of the adjacent area from my room at the ITC Maurya: