I'm starting this thread after a slightly off-topic discussion in another thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...l#post28785782).

Basically, I have always thought that properties managed by Marriott are generally better than franchised/licensed properties. Anecdotally from 125-plus nights per year, this would include benefits/amenities to elite-level guests.

Now, I've come across data from Marriott itself. Brands like Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis are generally renown for their consistency. They're basically entirely managed by Marriott itself, as opposed to a licensee/franchisee.

That isn't the case say with Sheraton, which is really, really inconsistent and, in my opinion, one of the worst brands in the Marriott portfolio post-Starwood. Of the 193 Sheraton hotels in North America, 162 are franchisees/licensees.

In all, 2,966 North American properties are franchised/licensed while 424 are managed by Marriott.

Internationally, it would seem that the high percentage of Marriott-managed properties could be the reason why international properties are so much better.

For example, 47 J.W. Marriott properties are managed by Marriott while 7 are franchisees/licensees. 154 of the Marriott and 50 of the Renaissance hotels internationally are managed by Marriott compared to 43 and 26 managed by franchisees/licensees respectively.

I had a conversation with a 30-year Marriott general manager, most recently of an international property, who told me that the inconsistent standards between domestic and international properties, to say nothing of having too many brands, is a frequent complaint. However, all the Marriott CEO cares about is having more properties, particularly franchised properties, because they don't have to do anything but get easy profit. He said they get 17% from J.W. Marriott franchisees/licenses.

All of the data can be found on pages 35 and 36 of this document: http://files.shareholder.com/downloa...ual_Report.pdf. (Hat tip to [MENTION=11973]Horace[/MENTION] for providing it at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28785782-post17.html).