Originally Posted by
PortlySpartacus
Glad you posted this and your perspective of top tier status across the big hotel chains. All these status programs are based on expectations of what you might get. You called it out above.....you get consistently average treatment across the chains with top tier status. Why is that? Because everyone believes the marketing hype that they will get treated better by the competition and we are all suckers.
What I can say is, Hyatt has been hands down better than Hilton at the Diamond level in my 5 years of experience with both. I've had many average Hyatt stays along the way but overall, I thought Hyatt's were a notch above.
So while everyone can complain that WoH is a trainwreck, I'm not going back to Hilton, no way. Maybe SPG/Marriott but they will change their program in 2018. Everyone wants to feel and be treated as special but what you are saying is average is the norm. Sounds like economies of scale to me. You want special? Stay in a non-chain boutique hotel....but where will you all possibly post about this on FT?
Well I, for one, disagree with you. Bear in mind that I primarily stay in Asia, so YMMV depending on which region of the world you stay in.
I have been a Diamond with both programs for approx. 15 years and the treatment has been roughly equal until approx. 2 years ago, when Hyatt started to go downhill significantly.
I am at the Tokyo Hilton right now, and my treatment has been fantastic compared to my treatment at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo during my stay in October. The club has become a joke at the HRT, while the addition of the private Diamond club (separate from the Executive Lounge), here at the Tokyo Hilton, has made their far superior offering even better for us Diamonds.
Hilton has only upgraded me to a suite a few times, while Hyatt has never once upgraded me to a suite without using a DSU (and my success rate with DSUs has been woefully poor), so where is the big difference?
The higher-end Hilton properties here in Asia are at least the equal of the equivalent Hyatt in the same area, yet the clubs are almost always better at the Hiltons these days.
What amazes me is that I only became a Marriott Gold a couple of years ago due to the status match with UA, and I have already gotten 3 suite upgrades for free. The last one was a huge presidential-style suite for a 5 night stay!
So, from my admittedly short experience with Marriott, I am of the opinion that Marriott gives free room upgrades at a higher rate than either Hilton or Hyatt, at least here in Asia.