It depends where I am going.

I have a thing for staying at B&Bs (chambres d'hôtes) in France and Germany where I'm comfortable with the language, customs, and consistent quality of such accomodations, and I like supporting the small guy. Gives much more flavour to my holiday. And in a similar vein, if I feel comfortable with mom-pop hotels in western Europe, I'll do that over a chain.

But I feel in places like the United States and Asia, I'd rather stick with the consistency of a major chain.