WhiskeyTango

My company recommended hotels for my international trips are pretty swank, IMHO. Shangri-La, Langham, Taj etc. I also have the option of picking my own hotel that's equal price or less (lots of options.)

Maybe I'd get a different answer if I posted this in the Marriott Rewards forum, but given the choice of staying at a four star hotel and earning reward points and status (e.g. JWM's) or staying at 5 star hotels, but in regular rooms and not often enough to earn extra perks, which would you choose?

I haven't stayed at an Eastern style 5 star hotel yet. Are they that much nicer than 4 star hotels, even with loyalty perks? Thanks in advance!

Pierre&Cédric

I always prefer a regular room at a true luxury hotel than a higher category at a 4-star property. Because it's not only a room, it's a complete package including location, service, public areas, pool, Spa, restaurants, etc.

MikeFromTokyo

It's hard to say without knowing where you are traveling and what your budget is, but I would suggest going for the best hotels available to you without paying too much attention to "loyalty programs" and points.

Travel K

I have done it both ways. Before I was in the industry, I would use points to stay at the best possible hotel. Now, I stay at Virtuoso properties. If I were in your shoes, I would stay at the luxury property. How you are treated is no comparison and I find myself relaxing at the properties like never before.

If you have multiple trips coming up, why don't you try it both ways and see what you prefer?

FlyingDoctorwu

The bigger question is do you need the points for something. Ie one of their perks of traveling on business and collecting the points is that you can use them to fund personal travel. All my travel is personal so I would tend to favor luxury properties (if I can afford them) but if I had employer funded travel I might consider collecting points to offset my personal travel. I'm not sure what you mean by Eastern hotels (Asia???) but the quality of 4 star chain hotels in Asia is much much higher than in the USA. I've stayed at Hiltons and Marriotts that are much superior to their American or European counterparts. Park Hyatts in Asia are solid and remember that Ritz Carltons allow you to accumulate points as well.

Fdw

WhiskeyTango

Thanks. I'm mainly talking about business travel in India, Hong Kong, China and Mexico, all in major cities.

I think I need to try the 5 star hotels since they're being offered. The added advantage is that they're being recommended because usually they're within walking distance of our local offices so no one blinks an eye when you book them even though the rates are much higher than what we're typically allowed to book domestically.

GUWonder

At least for most of the major cities in India and in the PRC, the best or nearly best full-service hotels are mainly hotels with loyalty programs that are ok toward earning free nights too. There are very few major cities in India and the PRC where there is a major trade-off for me.

Kagehitokiri

taj and SL have award programs
LHW and SLH offer free nights

MO, peninsula, oberoi, FS do not

FlyingDoctorwu raises how awards used
thats real question if looking at earning points
leisure travel, and leisure travel award options

jp-mco

Luxury hotel every time. Life's too short to stay in mediocre hotels.

MikeFromTokyo

Yes, so it depends if the OP's objective is to stay at the best hotels - regardless of points - on his/her business trips, or if the possibility of earning points for personal travel is appealing.

In some cases the high-end offerings from Hyatt, Starwood, Conrad, Ritz-Carlton/Marriot, Intercontinental, etc... are quite nice, so it is not always a huge compromise to stay somewhere that offers points.

In cases when it would make a big difference in the quality of my trip I would choose MO/FS/Pen every time. But in other cases, such as a short trip with little time on property, why not stay at PH/GH, Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis etc. and pocket some free points/miles for personal use?

MikeBOS

I do the same. When traveling on business I spend very little time in the hotel and really only care about the quality of the wifi connection and comfort of the bed. Most of the chains are fine on this count with their upscale properties, so I generally stay there and accrue the points (I'm mostly SPG so this means St Regis and W, sometimes Westin or Sheraton).

When traveling with my wife or family, we spend a lot more time in the hotel, so we'll go for the best hotel regardless of the loyalty program.

I basically get to have my cake and eat it too.

MacMyDay

I first started in a 5 star hotel when I was in my early to mid 20s (currently in my late 20s) and remember not feeling there was much of a difference between a 4 star and 5 star. I used to discuss this with people and use the 4 star hotel as a reference, to say it was perfectly good and there wasn't any need to spend anymore than that. Anywho, fast forward about 3 years and after numerous stays in 5 star hotels I needed to stay in this city for the night, only to find there were no 5 star hotels available. Not a worry, I thought, that 4 star hotel was available and it will be perfectly fine. It was at this point that I was able to realise the intangible aspects of what makes a 5 star hotel so much better than a 4 star and how it's absolutely worth spending more.

You mention the convenience factor as well, so to repeat what others have said: I'd absolutely go with a 5 star hotel any time. In fact, I'd go with a top-end 5 star hotel in the base room over a 4 star hotel in a top-end suite without any hesitation.

michelin

Sometimes its a no-brainer like our stays in Santa Barbara. We always stay at the Four Seasons, book it through a FSPP agent, and charge it to my Chase Sapphire card so there are some points at the end. There really isn't a comparable points earning or spending option.

A much more difficult decision is our upcoming stay in Dublin. Earn or spend points at the Shelbourne, where my Marriott status would get me free breakfast and a possible upgrade or stay at the Merrion. I'm strongly leaning toward the Merrion. After all, I don't get to Dublin everyday.

bhrubin

Stay where you enjoy the most...or if you want to accumulate points/status so you can spend less on leisure/family travel, stay at the most luxurious points-earning hotels when they are available.

In some cities, you can stay at a points-earning hotel that is quite comparable with the top luxury hotels--properties like St Regis (earning SPG points and status), Park Hyatt and Grand Hyatt (earning Hyatt points and status), Ritz Carlton (earning RC/Marriott points and status), and/or Waldorf Astoria and Conrad (earning Hilton points and status). You may find that these options may offer you comparable luxury but also earn you status and points for your own personal travels.

If your work travels bring you to cities where one or more of the above chains has luxury properties, you can opt for that chain. I'd opt for SPG or Hyatt, since these have the best choices for luxury travel for yourself or your family--and because their points are worth more relative to Hilton and Marriott. I'd lean towards SPG over Hyatt, because SPG has far more luxury properties from which to choose, both for your work and leisure travels, and because the SPG points you earn can be used for both SPG hotels AND for 30+ airlines towards award travel.

When your work brings you to cities that don't offer these options, then just stay at the luxury hotel your company recommends and enjoy!

I am self employed, so I can choose which hotels I want to stay for all of work travel (mostly in the USA, but also in Asia Europe, and Latin America). I have opted to stay at mostly SPG hotels for work...because my work destinations often have solid to great SPG hotels AND it builds me SPG Platinum status and a huge amount of SPG points--that I leverage towards free or better/upgraded travel for leisure on my own or with my husband. My SPG Platinum status also tends to get me complimentarily upgraded from a regular paid/award hotel room to a junior suite or full suite, especially at the most luxe SPG hotels (probably because they are more expensive to begin with!); I'd say I get upgraded about 75-80% of the time at my SPG hotels, most of which are St Regis, Luxury Collection, and Ws. Even with Marriott Gold and Hyatt Diamond, I never got more than a room category upgrade almost all of time. Only once as a Hyatt Diamond was a I ever upgraded to a suite from a regular room booking.


I used to stay at Hyatt hotels, but there just weren't enough Hyatt hotels in the destinations that I visited for work...nor Hyatt hotels in most of the destinations I want to visit for leisure. I love Park Hyatts and often love Grand Hyatts, but I find there to be much better availability for St Regis, Luxury Collection, W, and even Westin and Le Meridien (SPG) hotels in the destinations I visit for work. And there certainly are more of the St Regis, Luxury Collection and sometimes W hotels that I like most for the leisure destinations I most want to visit.

I only stay at Hilton and Marriott hotels when there are no SPG or Hyatt hotels available (or when the SPG/Hyatt options are not generally well regarded or appropriate for the length of my stays). But generally, the Marriott and Hilton options are far more limited and/or less desirable to me than the SPG and Hyatt luxe or near-luxe options.

Either way, Hyatt, Hilton, and Marriott points don't transfer to as many airlines nor with the better 25% transfer bonus that SPG points do. Even if I never want to stay at SPG hotels for my leisure travel, I have the SPG points to help me get free award tickets (usually for business/first class travel) on 30+ airlines.

mike_la_jolla

Very interesting question. Hotels are different than airlines for me in this regard. I'm in several hotel loyalty programs, but don't have status in any.

My answer: It depends. Random thoughts:

- Much of my travel is to silicon valley. The only 5* hotels in this area are FS EPA and Rosewood Sand Hill. Rosewood Sand Hill prefers to be a bar/cougar party with a hotel attached as sideshow, so they lost my business. Also, it is so far away from silicon valley proper that it I found it wasn't worth the travel time. Marriott would work, but they added parking charges. FS EPA, while decent, is also too far away. So for this destination: loyalty wins over 5*. That means Hilton, Hyatt, DoubleTree and others which are all quite dumpy.

- For the major cities: NYC, HK, Shanghai, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo -- I cannot imagine sacrificing 'points' for the 5* experience. SF, Seoul, Singapore could go either way since the 5* hotels aren't that good.

- No such thing as 5* in Tel Aviv, so go for loyalty.

- For Bangalore/Mumbai et al in India the key issue is location. You are welcome to stay at the FS Mumbai or the Taj, but if you need to be at IIT, you could be in for a 3 hour commute.

- Same thing with Beijing. Location trumps everything. I end up at Aman Summer Palace in this city. I do NOT like it.

Yes. There is a difference. And it is significant.