I just do not even know how I came to this thread. I am astonished!!! I only get to spend time at Luxury Hotels for work, as my company does Hotel Conferences around the World at Luxury properties. So I spend around 30 nights a year at the Loews, Ritz Carlton/JW Marriott Duals, Shangri La, Myafair/Edwardian, Park Hyatt, etc. and host all the brands in the STR scale that pay to be there doing business. But I always enjoy my stays at Upscale, Upper Midscale, or even Midscale Hotels around the world, which I end up paying with my points or money, and having a perfectly clean and nice room while also saving lots of Dinero.
I actually love Hyatt Place/Houses, Courtyards, Holiday Inn Express, Ibis, Residence Inn's, AC's, Four Points, and my personal favourite Moxy's, and the STR List goes on, as that is what I like when hopping the world. I usually fly around 200,000 miles a year, which half of it are done in J (Thank your UA 1K) and the other half in Y (WN companion pass and yes some on FR and NK). But being addicted to Luxury properties, heck NO. I like them, but not when I am the one paying for them, but when my employer pays for them. Only time I enjoy a good Upper Upscale property is with Marriott's Travel Packages I get for free through all the Marriott Bonvoy Points I get at work.
Either way, good to know there is a crowd for all those Independend and branded Luxury Hotels out there, as when it comes to Luxury and Economy scale, the Loyalty Program is not an important factor versus the rest of the scale.