Could the poor treatment by CY is largely due to the pressure from the franchisees?
At the beginning of the merger, we were told CY will finally offer breakfast. Then it changes to this $10 a day credit. Some CYs based in Europe misinterpreted this benefit totally - i.e. can only use for breakfast, and cannot be used on the check out day - so essentially if your stay is just one night, you are cheated out completely. Some properties claim the $10 is for the whole stay... There are just all sorts of shenanigans going on with CY.
On the other hand, the 4Ps from the SPG site seems to be far nicer especially those new built at international locations. The breakfast is among the amenities to choose from and almost inevitably a full buffet.
I just dont know what the position in the market place the CY brand is. For our travel we always try to avoid it and use Residence Inn instead, even though the earn rate is 1/2.
There are also many competitors with brands that are more or less for the same market segment and most of them either offer a decent breakfast for all guests or a nice breakfast by order (HGI) for their elites.