Welcome to Flyertalk.

Virtually all awards are now capacity controlled, whether or not they call it that. It doesn't always make me happy, but that doesn't really matter.

The first answer to your question is: "Yes, it is easy to use awards, but not if you are going to the same place that everyone else wants to go."

The second answer (which should help you more than the first) is: "The internet is your friend. Go to the Marriott website and use the tools. They have excellent tools (IMHO - better than many other companies) to allow you to find which hotels in an area have award availability, which are discounted versus more expensive (less controlled) awards, which one or two days you might need a paid stay instead of an award."