Possibly...on the surface you would assume same number of total elites at the same number of total hotels. But I'm sure quite a few people were elevated through the relaxed LT status rules too. It was much harder in the old Marriott program to achieve LT.

Most likely how this plays out is, as the other poster mentioned, that it's noticeable on a property by property basis rather than across the system. I'm sure the Four Points he mentions (Fayetteville? ), has always been full of elites, as are many others in small towns near large corporate HQ's. I've stayed at a few FS Marriott's in suburban areas where I get upgraded to a large suite, even back when I was a Gold (old program).