Originally Posted by
pinniped
So at this point, the inside of a Choice hotel room doesn't look a lot different than the inside of a Marriott hotel room. If both hotels no longer have lounges, restaurants, spas, room service, etc. - in part because the Choice hotel never did - then we're pretty much down to comparing who has better mattresses, working fixtures, good plumbing, fast wifi, etc. In many cases, the answer is "the newer hotel", regardless of the brand.
Well the main difference between Choice and Marriott is that Choice doesn’t have luxury hotels in Maldives, Barcelona, Vail, Tokyo, South Beach, wherever, so Choice points I earn on paid stays get me less places. This is why the Starwood merger ultimately has/will work for Marriott - the loyalty programs are now almost all about earning and redeeming points, and Marriott has the most places to
earn and a ton of interesting places to
redeem. The other stuff is “noise around the edges” so to speak. Titanium in and of itself could earn you more points