Originally Posted by
DJ_Iceman
Agreed. They were masters of marketing, and somehow building a cache of "cool" without delivering on the promises. I had awful experiences with SPG and their so-called customer service, so don't understand those who pine for "the good old days" with SPG. Marriott itself was better back before the merger, but I still get treated well, get good upgrades, etc. so they continue to earn my loyalty.
My expectations are low when it comes to hotel status, but Hilton has sucked me in since I was a silver in college. I never expected more than an upgrade here or there, but Hilton really delivered across their brand portfolio in the US and abroad. My expectations are I get what I pay for whether it be a single night in some random Hampton Inn or a single night at a Waldorf Astoria. Luckily, Hilton has always impressed on the positive side. Marriott has always surprised me on the negative side. YMMV though.
I had a recent stay where I walked into an Embassy Suites at 2AM and just wanted a room for a few hours till my next flight .My name and address weren't enough to bring up my Hhonors info, but I just wanted a place to sleep. I spent 30 minutes on the Hhonors line the next day just trying to get a receipt, but it was also positive as I apparently hadn't signed up for the Hhonors promo. The rep tried to go back and manually get me my points for a stay that didn't even show up in the system. I really didn't care as I just needed a receipt for reimbursement, but the rep went out of her way to make sure I got the promo points that I never registered for.
I've been very happy with HHonors and always had Marriott as a backup due to their footprint, but it seems that wont change.