I will say that when I was traveling in Europe recently, I was surprised at how much more affordable independent hotels of similar (or better) quality were vs hotels in Marriott's system. Yes, property owners have to pay the franchise fees and also deliver elite benefits, but they really are getting a price premium for being part of Marriott.

Probably the most egregious example of this is the new Four Points Express in London where tiny (8 sqm) rooms are going for roughly 200 GBP a night.