Thinking about your recent trip reports of many German and European cities, ElevatorEnthusiast , and another post I just made in the Germany subforum, I would like to add to the discussion that IHG is still great as a backup program. Of course, the loyalty benefits have been much improved, and for certain travel profiles, it also is a great primary program.

But, for instance, in my home country Germany, there simply are not many premium IHG hotels. And Hyatt is pretty weak as well. (I feel all of the three HR located at the Rhine--HR Cologne, HR Dusseldorf, and HR Mainz--are in dire need of renovation. The GH Berlin could benefit from renovated rooms, too.) So that basically leaves you with Marriott.

Nevertheless, Marriott can command quite a price premium as compared to direct competitors from the other chains. So if you're footing the bill on your own, it makes sense to look at backup programs to Marriott. In Berlin, the IC is a great option, and often times substantially cheaper than the upscale Marriott options. In Frankfurt, the Marriott brands are generally the most expensive. So I look forward that soon, a Kimpton with an excellent location will be opening up. The re-opening of the IC Frankfurt will help, too. (To be fair, Hyatt is also on the verge of a bigger footprint in FRA.)

The above does not just apply to Germany. In Eastern Europe, if there is a Marriott premium brand in town, it will often command a price premium. But if there also happens to be an IC, it is worth considering as in many instances, it may provide the better value, especially if IHG's lounge milestone is available to you. [I know, not everybody can do 40 nights/year with his or her backup program. But, for my travel profile, that's actually not out of reach at all.]