I get the brilliance combining a back office, laundry, and kitchen, etc. to save costs. Marriott is fantastic about coming up with these lower cost ideas. I know the owners love it.

However, I think this is pushing the boundaries of diluting their brands. We know that Marriott already uses the same suppliers across most brands, so even at a Ritz-Carlton you are getting the same bottled water from the city of Modesto, CA as the JW, Marriott, Courtyard people - just a different label. Same for the bathroom amenities: Ritz uses an Asprey formula, JW uses an Aromatherapy Formula, etc. but they are all made at the same factory in China. In the restaurants, Sysco industrial food supply provides the ingredients. Do the guest facing areas share resources such as elevators, pool, fitness center, parking? It really makes their brands less and less distinct. And over the long-term, it makes rooms commodities that they lose pricing power on as the brands have fewer and fewer unique features that they can use for varying pricing.

This homogenization is a big part of what is dislike about Marriott.