Sure, the FT community is likely a miniscule portion of the overall Marriott customer base. That doesn't mean the more general Marriott customer base isn't having the same or similar perceptions. They may not be voting with their wallets yet, or at least not enough of them are to have a financial impact. That's the slippery slope. Some folks may say it is a race to the bottom and that all of the majors Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Hyatt, etc. are doing similar things. For the IHG brands I frequent, it seems to be a bit better. I don't have enough data points with Hilton nor Hyatt to compare their current service levels. Ultimately if CS deteriorates significantly in all of the major hotel chains, it will drive more business to smaller chains and independents. It may also drive business to lower tier chains (Choice, Wyndham, etc.) if there ceases to be any differentiation in the guest experience.

Back to your comments, "the price is right". If price (cost) is the only discriminating criteria, Marriott will lose the ability to command higher margins for their brands and profits will go down (RevPar will go down). I don't have a crystal ball and don't know if/when it will happen. What I do know is the current inconsistent customer experience is causing people to ask the question and think about it when previously many folks were blindly loyal to a brand. YMMV....

--Jon