Courtyards: Are they worth it?
#91
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: Some/Most/All
Posts: 240
What turns me off to (almost all) Courtyards (pre-COVID, obv.) is that the free coffee disappeared soon after the Bistro concept came onboard. All I ask for in the morning is a quick cup of decent coffee to get me to my next stop. I don't want to have to wait in line for someone to "craft" me a "Starbucks" beverage. Beyond that, it's got a bed and a toilet, so with no free coffee, there's no reason to stay there. Give me a FI or SHS, or bump it up to FS, and I'll grab a coffee out of the lounge.
#92
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What turns me off to (almost all) Courtyards (pre-COVID, obv.) is that the free coffee disappeared soon after the Bistro concept came onboard. All I ask for in the morning is a quick cup of decent coffee to get me to my next stop. I don't want to have to wait in line for someone to "craft" me a "Starbucks" beverage.
#93
Join Date: May 2011
Location: NYC (LGA, JFK), CT
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Posts: 4,897
I rarely stay at Courtyards because most of them are old dumps but currently at a newly built one and while it looks nice, I'm not sure what the point of this brand is anymore.
They are priced like full service Marriotts but built like limited service properties with none of the benefits that limited service properties provide. Room is small, no real elite bennies, no breakfast - there is a SYSCO "bistro" in the lobby I guess.
I guess the model probably made sense when it was first introduced in the 80's so that business travelers weren't stuck at some HoJo in a podunk town but there are tons of better options nowadays. Not sure why this is still a thing.
They are priced like full service Marriotts but built like limited service properties with none of the benefits that limited service properties provide. Room is small, no real elite bennies, no breakfast - there is a SYSCO "bistro" in the lobby I guess.
I guess the model probably made sense when it was first introduced in the 80's so that business travelers weren't stuck at some HoJo in a podunk town but there are tons of better options nowadays. Not sure why this is still a thing.
The two most popular brands in terms of hotel owner interest and market share (which is measured on how much the hotels can charge per room compared to their competitors) are 1) Residence Inn and 2) Courtyard. These are also the two most successful brands Marriott has. Not coincidentally, the two brands are disliked by Flyertalk
Usually, when I am considering a Courtyard, the other hotels in the area where I need to be include Residence Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Holiday Inn, maybe something like a Hyatt Place or Hotel Indigo. Sometimes a Townplace Suites, Fairfield Inn, etc. Of these I usually like Courtyards, but only if they are new. Grabbing a beer at the Bistro and working the lobby, sometimes there are amenities like pools, etc. Next, Hilton Garden Inn works for me. I would prefer Residence Inn if Marriott allowed for normal points earnings on the stays (often, Residence Inn is priced the highest of these)
#94
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The two most popular brands in terms of hotel owner interest and market share (which is measured on how much the hotels can charge per room compared to their competitors) are 1) Residence Inn and 2) Courtyard. These are also the two most successful brands Marriott has. Not coincidentally, the two brands are disliked by Flyertalk.
Poking around the Marriott hotel developer brand web pages, year end 2020 posted data shows: CY @ 1,258 open properties / 272 pipeline properties, FI @ 1,132 open properties / 415 pipeline properties, RI @ 874 open properties / 243 pipeline properties, Marriott Hotels @ 585 open properties / 133 pipeline properties. For SPG brands, largest number are Sheratons with 442 open properties / 113 pipeline properties.
For the open properties, the developer pages are noting 7600+ properties. That would put CY @ 16.5%, FI @ 15%, RI @ 11.5% with Marriott Hotels and Sheratons falling below 10%.
With the number of pipeline properties, it appears that developers are voting for FIs as their future investments.
David
#95
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Join Date: Nov 2001
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Usually, when I am considering a Courtyard, the other hotels in the area where I need to be include Residence Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Holiday Inn, maybe something like a Hyatt Place or Hotel Indigo. Sometimes a Townplace Suites, Fairfield Inn, etc. Of these I usually like Courtyards, but only if they are new. Grabbing a beer at the Bistro and working the lobby, sometimes there are amenities like pools, etc. Next, Hilton Garden Inn works for me. I would prefer Residence Inn if Marriott allowed for normal points earnings on the stays (often, Residence Inn is priced the highest of these)
(Hyatt is pretty much a non-entity in many of the places I have to go.)
What's interesting to me is how cheap-feeling and downscale the Hilton Garden Inn brand has become over the past 10 years. When I first started staying at HGIs, they were generally new build properties that seemed to be much smaller versions of Hiltons. Now, rather than a smaller, slightly downscaled Hilton an HGI is typically a bigger, slightly upscaled Hampton Inn. Hilton has really cheapened the HGI brand.
#96
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Denver, CO, USA
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So the 2018 MR pre-merger data shows the top four brands in terms of number of properties as: CY (22%/1174), FI (19%/969), RI (15%/787), Marriott Hotels (11%/568).
Poking around the Marriott hotel developer brand web pages, year end 2020 posted data shows: CY @ 1,258 open properties / 272 pipeline properties, FI @ 1,132 open properties / 415 pipeline properties, RI @ 874 open properties / 243 pipeline properties, Marriott Hotels @ 585 open properties / 133 pipeline properties. For SPG brands, largest number are Sheratons with 442 open properties / 113 pipeline properties.
For the open properties, the developer pages are noting 7600+ properties. That would put CY @ 16.5%, FI @ 15%, RI @ 11.5% with Marriott Hotels and Sheratons falling below 10%.
With the number of pipeline properties, it appears that developers are voting for FIs as their future investments.
David
Poking around the Marriott hotel developer brand web pages, year end 2020 posted data shows: CY @ 1,258 open properties / 272 pipeline properties, FI @ 1,132 open properties / 415 pipeline properties, RI @ 874 open properties / 243 pipeline properties, Marriott Hotels @ 585 open properties / 133 pipeline properties. For SPG brands, largest number are Sheratons with 442 open properties / 113 pipeline properties.
For the open properties, the developer pages are noting 7600+ properties. That would put CY @ 16.5%, FI @ 15%, RI @ 11.5% with Marriott Hotels and Sheratons falling below 10%.
With the number of pipeline properties, it appears that developers are voting for FIs as their future investments.
David
#97
#98
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My point was that CY had a head start on FI, so there are more existing CYs than FIs, and the ones built first are usually on the most profitable chunks of land. As you saturate the hotel market, there are fewer and smaller choice parcels of land upon which to build hotels in areas of significant business and leisure traffic.
You can easily build as many hotels as you want in, say, Springfield, Colorado. Land's dirt cheap.
#99
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: RDU
Programs: DL(PM), UA(Silver), AA(EXP) Marriott(Ti), HH(Gold), Hertz(PC)
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What turns me off to (almost all) Courtyards (pre-COVID, obv.) is that the free coffee disappeared soon after the Bistro concept came onboard. All I ask for in the morning is a quick cup of decent coffee to get me to my next stop. I don't want to have to wait in line for someone to "craft" me a "Starbucks" beverage. Beyond that, it's got a bed and a toilet, so with no free coffee, there's no reason to stay there. Give me a FI or SHS, or bump it up to FS, and I'll grab a coffee out of the lounge.
#100
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: YYZ
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Posts: 464
#101
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Programs: MR LT Titanium, IHG Plat.,UA Premier Silver, & PA/OH Turnpike Million Miler
Posts: 2,321
Coffee aside, I don't mind CY's. My pecking order is typically FI -> SHS -> CY -> RI - > TPS. While in theory SHS is better than FI, there are more new build FI's and a lot of long in the tooth SHS's. So in practice FI tends to be better than SHS. RI and TPS have reduced points earning or would be ranked higher. Full service is great when it is available (MI or Renn). Don't like Sheraton too many old, tired properties and the lack of a lounge at the Westin's I have been at largely negates the benefits of full service. Other legacy SPG brands I haven't tried. Each to their own...
--Jon
#102
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: Some/Most/All
Posts: 240
With a partial exception of the one CY that I know has Keurigs in the room, no. In-room coffee is a pain. Whether cleanliness, quantity and suitability of supplies, or just the general hassle of dealing with an unfamiliar machine in an uncaffeinated state, it's just not worth it when there are other brands where you don't have to worry about it.
#103
#105
Join Date: May 2005
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When I return to Toronto to visit family and friends (after migrating to the UK in 2008), I often stay at the Courtyard Toronto Downtown. It is usually much cheaper than any of the other central properties, and is located right on the subway line. The lack of service doesn't bother me, as if I'm visiting Toronto I'm out with friends or family most nights so really just using the hotel as a conveniently located bed. Though if any of the full service properties are priced similarly to the Courtyard, I'd plump for those.
And anytime I stay at a Courtyard anywhere, I don't buy anything from the Bistro. Rather head out to a local grocery or convenience store for snacks / drinks / other sundries.
And anytime I stay at a Courtyard anywhere, I don't buy anything from the Bistro. Rather head out to a local grocery or convenience store for snacks / drinks / other sundries.