Recently stayed at Appleton FI. Property was severely outdated and was changing to AmericInn a week after I checked out. I wonder if Marriott is forcing property upgrades? (Oops - I see that GoPhils speculated on the same.)

Hilton did this a few years ago. The older Hamptons that were pretty barebones roadside motels with exterior doors got mostly (or wholly?) weeded out. Perhaps as a result, my brand impression of Hampton is somewhat better than Fairfield right now. Then again, I also notice a lot more Hamptons above $100/nt than below it, whereas ten years ago a Hampton was usually more like $75-80.

Maybe this is Marriott trying to do the same with Fairfield? The question I'd have is whether that hotel operator from the OP's list was nudged out by Marriott or decided to strike the Wyndham deal on its own. I would pay substantially less for an AmericInn than I would for a Fairfield. I'm paying maybe $60-70 for those brands vs. $100-ish for a Fairfield. (Obviously all of these prices reflect the rural nature of all of these brands. I cannot fathom staying in a Fairfield Inn in Manhattan. That sounds awful.)

I'm just going to guess that the KC North and Independence properties weren't shining examples of the best FFI's in the system.

I don't know enough about Wyndham to know how 15k of their points relates to Marriott points. I don't think you earn 23.5 per dollar on spend. (I *think* this is my new Plat Premier earn rate now that it's August?) Wyndham road warriors can weigh in on their point values.

Dang, that's low, even for Marriott's lowest brand. So, I do see why that one had to go.

I have a Hampton Inn near me, the Clearwater Central hotel, that's outdoor corridors, and it gets decent reviews, however, it's not one of the original Motel Hamptons, its a bit different.

Interesting article on these issues. Older properties have the term of their franchise contract expire and they decide to reflag to a lower level brand, to avoid renovating to meet brand standards. Lots of new Fairfields coming in but the older ones have to make tough decisions -- spend several million to maintain Marriott standards or spend $750k to maintain AmericInn standards. Bottom line, this is a good thing.

Sell, reflag or renovate? Owners have a number of ways to extract value from aging assets facing a loss of brand license ....

HNN - Options abound for owners with old hotels

Thank you for posting the link. That's an interesting article.

In the article, the owner of a first-generation Hampton Inn converts it to a "very successful Best Western" after being told two years in advance that "Hampton would not be renewing their license because of the property�s outdated physical characteristics."

Last week, I stayed at a small, old Fairfield Inn with narrow hallways, small bathrooms, and other physical characteristics that did not begin to measure up to today's new-build Fairfield Inns. Located in Dubuque, Iowa, it was the only Marriott-affiliated property in the city or anywhere in the greater area. The property was clean, well-maintained, and had been renovated in 2016, but there's only so much you can do with paint, furniture, and carpeting.

The night after I checked out from the old Fairfield Inn, I stayed in a relatively new Hampton Inn. It was so much nicer in every way.

Marriott needs to keep its Fairfield Inn brand competitive with Hampton inn. In a few years, I would expect the old Fairfield Inn to convert to a different brand.

I hope that "being competitive" with Hampton Inn doesn't mean copying their interior design choices. The rolling barn-style bathroom door with 2" gaps all the way around doesn't block light/sound/smells and sometimes slides open by itself is a terrible design. The lack of drawers and flat surfaces to lay things out on is inexcusable.

The Hampton Inn I stayed at recently was a few years old and had a conventional door for the bathroom, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a sliding barn door for the bathroom at the newest Hampton Inns.

Marriott's development website shows the current brand standards for Fairfield by Marriott, including a sample room with a conventional bathroom door:

https://hotel-development.marriott.c...ld-inn-suites/

However, the development website shows a sliding barn door for the bathroom at Fairfield's hip cousin, MOXY:

https://hotel-development.marriott.c...s/moxy-hotels/

The new-build Fairfield Inn in Palm Desert has a conventional door, which I actually appreciated after staying in so many new Hyatts and Marriotts with barn doors that don't really close well. The only problem is that the finish the Fairfield uses on the door is a shiny faux-wood finish that shows all of the previous guests' fingerprints. Other than that the new build Fairfield suite design is fantastic-- very clean and functional.

I still wish they were in the Marriott group. Not much on the low cost end now from Des Moines until Peru,IL along the I-80 corridor. (except iowa city/coralville and during FB season the weekends are out) Oh and I have seen some clean and Modern FI charge in the low 60's in the midwest. It always seemed to a demand function.

Or Millbrae, CA- where you can easily pay $300/nt (before taxes and fees) if there's a big convention in SF, ~15 miles away.

I stayed in the Fairfield in Sioux City last year and it was OLD... old, old, old... 70's color scheme, old style hot/cold water faucets... clean but OLD.

There's a Delta hotel across the river now, so not surprised to see the FI drop out. Can't imagine anyone trying to stay loyal would pick the FI over a freshly renovated Delta.

I find these kinds of posts pretty insulting. I have close to 850 nights in Marriott and Starwood, many done at higher end properties in NYC, Dallas, and other major cities, along with many nights in higher end Hiltons. Now that I've retired, my travel plans are much simpler, and I quite frequently use FI, Courtyards, Four Points, and Hilton Garden Inn. Why? Because I'm on the road with my child, traveling to one place or another. Spending the night in a higher end property is a waste of time and money.

By the way, it is Fairfield, not Fairfied. A high class only person such as yourself should know how to spell.

Funny that you should say that. I've been purely staying SPG and then Hilton if there wasn't one, but after the merger I am staying at my first Courtyard (checking out today) and a Fairfield Inn at the end of the year. So Marriot's already gotten be doing 7 nights so far in non-SPG hotels this year.

There are a few hotels in a few cities that I will only stay in since I go there so often that I know the owners (mainly in Asia) but in North America I'd go for the cheapest within the best distance to where I want to be, don't care where as long as it has a bed and is safe.