Thanks for the in-depth check-in-to-checkout review and photos, jrx. It's great to hear that the staff were largely on top of things, too.

As someone who presumably falls in Tru's target Millennial demographic—albeit one who travels mostly for business with my employer picking up the tab (for something roughly in this price range)—this brand does not sound like the place for me.

The average duration of my hotel stays is only one night, so I can live with soap dispensers and a lack of closets/drawers. Not having a desk (and desk chair), however, is a deal-breaker. Aside from its necessity for doing computer work (I refuse to try to balance a notebook computer in bed), it's also a nice surface to lay out stuff or eat a snack or carry-out meal.

I'm not sure why marketers think that all Millennials like to hang out with each other in common areas (particularly bland ones with no apparent tie-in to the local area). A lot of us are introverts (as is a lot of the population). When I'm on the road, I spend much of the day interacting and eating with others...so when I get to the hotel, I often just want to crash and recharge...by myself in my room with a desk.

And only earning 5x base points (and 2.5x Points & Points) at Tru really reduces its appeal. If I spent $100 on a room at an HGI right now, I'd get 4,000 points plus free hot breakfast (or 4,750 points without breakfast) for my stay as a Diamond member after the Go More, Get More promo with a Points & Points selection.

If I spent $100 on a room at Tru right now, I'd get 2,000 points and no additional points if I had incidentals. And an HGI breakfast sounds a lot better than the Tru breakfast, which, as you noted, sounds like a closer relation to a Motel 6 breakfast. I would think Tru would need to price themselves at 70% (or less) of the going rate of a decent local HGI or Hampton. And even then, their target demographic might just decide on another hotel group or Airbnb.

Finally, it looks like a lot of the common area furnishings and finishes aren't very good quality. I wonder what state of disrepair this hotel will be in a couple of years from now.