Originally Posted by
kaizen7
I believe the issue is coverage and variety
Take Singapore for example
There are 4 Marriots branded hotel there (3 if you considering loyalty participation)
1 Courtyard, 1 JW Marriott 1 Marriott, and 1 non participating RC
While SPG side have 9 hotels there
StR, W Sentosa all the way to the cheapest ... Wanderlust hotel
And I bet there are several city that the condition was reversed
Where SPG have little presence and Marriott have more presence and more variety
Personally I will be interested to try RC hotels once SPG and MR combined
In the entire state of Iowa, there are 2 hotels with Starwood-legacy brands. Both are in West Des Moines, around 10 miles west of downtown. One is a very tired Sheraton. The other is a brand new Element. There was a tired Sheraton in Iowa City (originally a Holiday Inn) but it closed last year.
There are 41 hotels in Iowa with Marriott-legacy brands. Of these, 7 are full-service hotels, located in 5 different cities, and representing 3 full-service brands (Marriott, Autograph Collection, and Renaissance). The rest are limited service or extended stay; some are in the same cities as the full-service properties, while others are in smaller cities such as Ames.
Some will read this reply as proof that Starwood legacy represents sophistication in world capitals, while Marriott legacy represents Fairfield Inns that back up to cornfields.
A better way to read it is that the new Marriott International has amazing worldwide coverage.
(Unless your destination is New Zealand. If the Four Points in Auckland ever opens, it will be the only Marriott in the country. And there are still come other glaring holes.)