myperks

those that are claiming Marriott Platinum+ in China (or overall Asia) is not worth it is just completely Hyatt-fied and/or already a lifetime Platinum+ with Marriott . Kind of like some private Marriott Ambassador group admin that speaks no evil of Marriott but for Hyatt.

UA-NYC

Straw man argument...of course Marriott Plat and higher will be nice in Asia (as will every other mid-tier and higher status), nobody is claiming otherwise...it's the US where it's fairly mediocre to piss poor lately.

SP03

I've stayed at many Marriott throughout China and they were all very good. However, I would stay say that the Grand Hyatts in China were still better than most Marriott I've stayed at. There were way more Marriott to choose from and were much cheaper than the Hyatt though.

lsquare

Even Hilton Gold will have a good experience in China and that can easily be obtained from a CC!

Alex_I

- I became Globalist during the pandemic and simply did not have a chance to go to China or South East Asia. My limited experience was in Europe were I was treated by Hyatt very well. But the Titanium and Diamond treatment in Europe is also very good
I just came back from the last moment trip to the Netherlands. The Hyatt in Amsterdam was either sold out or priced at about 550 Euro/night. So I settled for two Hiltons in Amsterdam and Moxy and Hampton Inn in Utrecht. All were much better than the same hotels in US (I cannot say about Moxy because that was my first stay with this brand ever). But if you travel a lot in US, I will stick with Hyatt.

Alex_I

There are, of course, exceptions to the rules. This year we enjoyed Koloa Landing (even though I could book the Grand Hyatt Kauai), Westin Hapuna (Hyatt only has condos on the Big Island), Courtyard King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel, and the last but not least Kiawah Island Andell Inn, which in my opinion is the best Residence Inn by Marriott. Upgrades and the treatment of Platinum+ guests were excellent. But I also stayed 1 night at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina before moving to the Manchester Grand Hyatt and will never step into this Sheraton again.

myperks

Seems like any points brought up comparing Hyatt is considered a straw man argument especially in relations to Marriott. Can’t wait for more die hard Hyatt fan fare comments. I’m a Hyatt fan, but not THAT big of fan like some folks on this forum and apparently only travel to Hyatt cities.

porciuscato

I think this one's a no-brainer, even if you are mostly staying at some local Hyatts that aren't top notch.

Marriott has always been penny-wise and pound-foolish cheap. I just stayed at a Moxy property where the absurd $10 Titanium "breakfast benefit" didn't even cover half the breakfast. What a joke.

Or there have been the 90% of Marriotts where they wanted an extra fee for my wife and me to bring a child to breakfast or the lounge. This has never ever been an issue at Hyatt properties. For every one of my Marriott stays this year, I had to file claims to get points credited (you have to wait 2 weeks). Again, this has never been an issue with Hyatt.

But it's worse than that. Marriott is on a very clear trend: they are consistently and flagrantly devaluing elite status benefits to fatten property (and their own) margins.

Hyatt has not had this trend (or at least it's been to a much lesser degree).

To me there's no question which one you want to hitch your wagon to. For lack of a better term, Marriotts sucks. But even worse, it's getting more and more suckier over time.

ElevatorEnthusiast

This forum has several vocal personalities that make wide-ranging claims against Marriott without actually staying in Marriott properties (presumably based on their own claims). If Hyatt works for them, great, but I would listen to those who participate actively in both programs and provide solid positive and negative evidence of their experiences rather than those who are still sulking about Starwood. People have the right to sulk and complain, of course, but I hope that those who come to this forum for information and advice get multiple sides and opinions, rather than listening to the loudest voices.

ElevatorEnthusiast

If you actually had to file claims for every stay, you should investigate if something is wrong with your account. Out of say 60ish stays this year at many different properties, I've had to claim 2 of those stays.

Moxy properties don't have a breakfast benefit, and the $10 FB welcome gift isn't meant to cover breakfast. Lounge access is for you and one guest. When properties go above and beyond the published and expected rules, they should be praised, but others shouldn't be expected to meet that (feel free to stop staying there if you care enough).

lsquare

With much of Asia closed until recently, I went to Europe, and again, elite recognition was better than in the US. It's a total joke that American companies don't treat their home market better.

Singapore is very good and I totally recommend FT members to go there. I was at the Andaz Singapore in May 2022 and I had a great experience. No lounge though, but the service and breakfast were excellent.

porciuscato

Gee that makes me feel better about Marriott and Moxy. They're actually meant to be cheapskates and suck, so I should just accept that.


Let me rephrase that for you: "when a property goes above and beyond the published and expected rules...it's most likely a Hyatt and not a Marriott."

Indeed, I have. I used to spend $20K+ annually on Marriotts. This year, that has declined to $1200. The balance has gone mostly to Hyatt. Marriott CEO Capuano has pretty much declared that he doesn't give a rip about hotel guests. We would be foolish not listen to him.

smilee

The Hyatt Globalist elite benefits are far superior to Marriott Titanium. You get a full breakfast + tip or lounge access at Hyatt.

However, as you have stated, the benefits are far weaker if you stay at Hyatt Place, Summerfield Suites. So if you were to compare the lower end hotels at both chains, you will find fare less difference.

That said I am on the fence about keeping Hyatt Globalist status? Hyatt has not reopened many lounges at many of the locations I used to visit. Hotel rates have gone through the roof at many places I used to visit. Some of my favourite Hyatt's are no longer in business (Park Hyatt Mallorca) and many of my Hyatt's have removed award inventory and paid rates are more then I wish to spend.

So this question is hard to answer. Hyatt has been very generous with suite upgrades and a great breakfast benefit and lounge program but its value as a program has drastically dropped for me. So even though this is an easy question to answer as on paper - the Hyatt guaranteed benefits are far superior to Marriott's, I believe I will choose Marriott as my go to program for 2023 because of the negative changes at Hyatt. All of that can change in an instance if a great promotion comes along, or rates drop, or points availability drastically increases or lounges and hotels reopen.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Rather than care about what the CEO says, I listen to the specific properties, and many of the Marriott properties I have stayed at this year have given me a great experience. The fact that anyone would think to suffer through mediocre properties, regardless of the brand, is the right way to go to prove some kind of point about corporate generosity or the lack thereof is surprising. I want to make sure my head is somewhere I'm enjoying, no matter the brand. Many Marriotts have been enjoyable places to rest my head.

myperks

and all the vocal ones are probably Marriott lifetimers already and also less price sensitive. One thing is for sure, they are also all secretly still staying at Marriotts but can’t publicly admit to it, you know, need to keep up with the optics and appearances