Originally Posted by
hockeyinsider
I agree 100%. This is very, very frustrating. It's not like the New York Marriott Marquis is a random airport Marriott in the middle of no-where. This is literally Marriott's flagship Marriott property in New York City. The Renaissance Times Square is another example. It's a good two stars below say the Renaissance Paris Republique, Renaissance Dubai or even the Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe, which is in a similar touristy area as Times Square.
This is the problem when the majority of your hotels are franchised and operated by third-party management companies. Quality control and brand consistency suffers. McDonald's manages to maintain consistency, but they are strict on standards. When I'm not at an airport flying I'm behind a wheel driving. I've been to every McDonald's almost every McDonald's on the I-75 corridor from Monroe to Sault Ste. Marie. I routinely see corporate managers and inspectors checking on franchisees.
I think Marriott regularly inspects properties to make sure they meet the minimum brand standards. That's why we see occasional reports on FT of properties leaving Marriott -- they decided to move to a different program rather than spend the money to upgrade their facilities to improved standards.
The issue isn't brand standards as a general matter -- the issue is they aren't really inspected to confirm they are providing program benefits. A Medallia survey of Plat Premiers and higher on every stay would fix that issue quickly.
Originally Posted by
BrightlyBob
And thats all I was saying. Marriott allows significant brand divergence within the brands themselves, yet with 30 brands needs the opposite to preserve differentials between different brands. Agree or disagree with the statement but really, honestly, the 5*/4* confected row... Why?
I hope Marriott doesn't follow your concept. In my experience, Marriott's properties internationally regularly exceed the brand standards and are generally nicer than those in the US. So to preserve the conformity, they'd need to dial back on lounges and room furnishings, dump the concierge and doormen in some cases, etc.