This is key - the actual properties are full of pleasant people looking to please. I've found this to be the case at both Marriott and Hyatt. Sure, there are duds as I have personally experienced and others have reported on the various threads in this forum. However, the vast majority of properties I have tried have provided positive or even exceptional experiences with both hard and soft product. 99% of my travel is leisure, so if it wasn't fun, I just wouldn't stay - my retirement fund would thank me :-)