jiburi

This was exactly my point. Would like to travel to New York City but with Quarantine and testing requirements makes travel planning very difficult. I will be fully vaccinated by the time of my travel but latest update, as of March 4 2021, is Ill still need a negative test 3 days prior to my trip....provided I was vaccinated within 90 days of the trip. I would qualify but what if My vaccination was November 2020. Time to revaccinate? Who made that rule?

Jiburi

margarita girl

Not possible. Vaccines weren’t approved until early Dec.

Guate87

Atlanta Marriott Marquis just accepted my 2 SNA for a Junior Suite!
This will be my first upgrade with Marriott in months, whether SNA or complimentary.
I have traveled every week during Covid and have stayed with Hilton more often than ever because Hilton has been more generous with me than Marriott.

Hilton digital key works 100% of the time for me. Marriott digital key works @ 30% of the time for me.
Has anyone else had a similar experience?

mfirst

I agree about the differences in pandemic mode vs reality and businesses need to figure out how they are going to respond to the growing frustration ms their customers are feeling towards rules. I have walked out of more than one business because of their policies and walked down the street to more reasonable establishments

rbAA

Maybe he got the Russian vaccine which Putin approved in Aug 2020. Or the Chinese one which received emergency use approval in Sept 2020 in some countries.

yareku

Sorry for another Hilton vs Marriott thread, but even after going through similar posts, I would very much appreciate your help with deciding on the below due to the regional specifics.

Tl;dr:
How do Hilton & Marriott non-luxury hotels & loyalty programmes compare in Europe & Asia without a US credit card (-> earning status via stays)?
In a hotel stay, I am looking for minimisation of inside noise and a reasonable gym.
Should I Go for Hilton Diamond lifetime or Marriott Platinum lifetime (with a possible Gold fallback) when room upgrades, customer service & early check-in are important in regards to the programme features?

Goal: Choose a new main loyalty programme with a lifetime option as an EU-citizen staying mostly in Europe & Asia with some North Africa -> no credit card shortcuts possible and no Hyatt due to its limited European footprint. Accor will be kept as secondary if needed.

Current status & impressions:

• ALL Gold: frequent upgrades, nice welcome gifts are a nice touch; IT and "irrops handling" a different story; also no lifetime programme. Accor are very memorable while not being that dependable.
• Hilton Diamond coming in November (via fast track): not enough data points to evaluate upgrades, but IT and "irrops handling" are miles ahead of Accor. Hilton are very dependable while maybe being less memorable.

Expected travel:

• Went from 200+ nights/year (apartments and chains without lifetime) prior to COVID to nearly zero business travel. I am currently capping out at 40-50 nights/year in 25-30 stays with vast majority of stays being self-funded. This may or may not change.
• Tier-wise: cheaper full-service properties (DoubleTree, Novotel etc.) and some limited-service (Hamptons are nice and have gyms).
• Geography-wise, most nights will be spent in Europe (EU & UK) with some nights also spent in North Africa. As Asia reopens, it will form a considerable part too (mostly South Korea & Indonesia). Btw, if I ever relocate from Europe, it will probably be to Asia.

What I am looking for in a hotel experience:

• Avoiding inside noise -> often do not have much time to sleep & relax - earplugs and IEMs do not solve everything; better rooms have been a good way to address this; for example, executive room upgrades at European Novotels mean good door sound-proofing and a separate floor usually devoid of families with children and people who party inside the hotel.
• Complimentary upgrades outside US -> executive room/floor is enough; appreciate the noise impacts and nicer in-room amenities without paying more.
• "Irrops handling" -> useful customer service and prompt resolution of issues should not be underestimated.
• Gym with strength training equipment -> working out 6 times a week and prefer a gym over TRX in room; the only difference I am seeing is more gyms in Hamptons vs Courtyards.
• Early check-in & fast check-out -> rarely need late check-out; often in a hurry when leaving the hotel though.

Hilton Honors vs Marriot Bonvoy financial comparison:

• Done a spreadsheet comparison using various scenarios (geographic distributions and nights stayed):
  • Points value is very much comparable (when comparing Diamond & Platinum); as I am not able to earn bonus points via a credit card, the value in point earnings will constitute 10–12 % of the amount spend. -> Not a deciding factor.
  • While I used to perceive Marriott as significantly more expensive than Hilton, it is only more expensive when not going to Asia (by 10–15 %). After introducing Asia, Marriott becomes cheaper by a similar margin while having more properties to choose from.

Hilton Honors vs Marriott Bonvoy achieving annual & lifetime status:

• Hilton Diamond is the only status that counts towards lifetime.
  Achieving it yearly should not be too much of an issue even if business travel does not pick up (due to the 30 stay requirement and, in shorter term current COVID incentives). And if it does, rollover nights will make maintaining yearly status even easier.
  The only concern are the total 1000 nights - that is a lot of room for an unexpected travel-impacting event; especially if re-qualifying via stays.
  
• Marriott Platinum is slight more difficult (but far from impossible) to maintain on an annual basis due to only nights counting and no rollover nights.
  Total nights are, however, only at 60 % of Hilton.
  Also, if things go south (or more meaningful things replace travel ), Marriott Gold looks like a somehow meaningful backup after 7 years due to the upgrade possibilities.

Other points & questions on Hilton & Marriot

• Hilton:
  • Seems to have more properties in the European cities I visit the most (except for Paris) and better corporate rates with current employer -> slightly higher chance for it to be used if business travel picks up.
  • Found out HGIs and Hamptons are not eligible for upgrades, but many forum posts state that places with multiple room types actually do upgrade (as a courtesy) -> strict no upgrade policy there would be a strong argument for Marriott.
  • Do not mind the request-only cleaning at all.
    
• Marriott:
  • Not a member of Bonvoy yet, but forum posts seem to suggest the IT & CS side is more akin to Accor.

So, after this wall of text - would you recommend Hilton or Marriott?

Thank you very much!

WasKnown

I don't think anyone can really answer this for you. Seems like a highly personal decision.

Personally, I have found CS at both to be pretty bad but Marriott's is likely worse. I think Hilton is superior from an IT perspective and this difference will only grow much larger as time goes on.

From a portfolio perspective, the biggest difference between Hilton and Marriott is their respective focuses. While the total property counts of the hotels are similar, the composition of these portfolios is very different. Marriott has 2500 full-service properties and 304 "luxury" (by my own definition of luxury) properties whereas Hilton has 1000 full-service and 37 luxury. As you don't care about luxury, you should mainly focus on that difference in full-service. Also, keep in mind that this is from a global perspective. I did not examine the differences by region. For me, Marriott's portfolio strictly wins here. However, I could see why someone that cares less about the hotel and more about financial discipline might prefer Hilton's portfolio. It is also useful to look at the destinations you are most likely to frequent.

In terms of elite treatment, I have had better experiences with Marriott than I have with Hilton, even in Asia and the Middle East. Ymmv. I cannot think of the last time I had a truly exceptional experience as a Hilton Diamond. Even my friends who are Owner Diamonds (which is theoretically higher but apparently not always obvious to the FDAs) have had very mediocre experiences. Marriott Bonvoy elite treatment is by no means perfect but is largely great IME in Asia.

SKYEG

WasKnown gave an excellent summary... I'm long time ex Hilton Diamond and SPG Plat, but with the SPG/Marriott merger I stuck with Hilton. Bad mistake... It's been a no brainer to switch over this year. The amount of full service properties and luxury properties Marriott has compared to Hilton made that an easy choice. I legit can't even find a Hilton to use points as I'd rather pay cash and stay at a nicer Marriott instead. Maybe a Waldorf/Conrdad somewhere when Asia is open.

Not even thinking about status/benefits, I chose to switch to Marriott. Way more choice with Marriott at almost EVERY city in the world that I travel to.

But this is in the end, as noted, a personal choice. But if I were you, I'd go Marriott

yareku

Thank you very much both for the valuable input - after further considering the chains' footprint, which you both mentioned, Europe & Africa are a wash, but Marriott significantly beats Hilton in Asia for my destinations, so it only makes sense to go with a chain/programme covering all destinations.

I have therefore joined the Platinum status challenge and made travel arrangements accordingly to sample a couple of brands.

Just in case somebody is looking to do the same as a new member - the first CS agent told me it was not possible to enroll without an at least 3-months-old account with at least one paid stay on it. After I called again, another agent activated the challenge (and let me choose a start date) without on a vanilla account created on the same day using a corporate promo link (instant Silver).

SKYEG

Good luck! That's exactly what I'm doing. Checking out brands like Autograph, Luxury Collection and even AC hotels just to see what's up, while enjoying the staples like JW, W, St Regis and Ritz. Already have 26 nights, 17 stays before end of the year. I hope you have a good time

Another way is to contact the excellent Marriott Bonvoy Lurkers on FT, that will be able to confirm you a challenge if you have a stay within the last 24 months + mid/top tier status with another Hotel.

Keep in mind, you DO NOT receive Platinum benefits while on the challenge. Only when you complete! IMO very fair.

ftrichard

I'd add another point to this as you're embarking on a 10-year journey with Bonvoy and I wouldn't want you to become disheartened when you "sample a couple of brands". Your experience at these brands will not be consistent between continents and between countries. It's down to the individual hotel. For example, you could stay at the Courtyard London Gatwick Airport and think it's little better than a roadside motel and you could then catch your flight and stay at the Courtyard Iloilo (it's a newish hotel in Philippines) which is better than many full-service Marriotts and wonder how on earth they are branded the same. Consistency is not Marriott's strong point. The guidance you received above is absolutely correct and I think you're correct in your choice but please do manage your expectations. You have some strong criteria in your requirements for a hotel and these can be highly variable between continents and countries even if you stick to the same brand within the Marriott group.

ProfRB

Feel free to redirect me if there's already a thread on point.

I'm a long-time Hilton Honors Diamond. When I cast my lot with Hilton, it was mainly because (1) the status benefits at the time seemed generous, and (2) there's a Hampton within 20 miles of nearly anywhere (my travel takes me frequently to the rural Midwest). I'm no longer sure the status benefits are worth my loyalty - for example, I can't remember the last time I got a meaningful room upgrade; seems to me that all I get for my Diamond status are extra points and a few free breakfasts. Someone I spoke with in passing mentioned he had recently switched loyalty from Hilton to Marriott and was very pleased with the results.

Thoughts/suggestions? I would love to hear what you most value from the Bonvoy program, especially if you're in a position to compare Hilton Honors. Are Marriott brands as prevalent in the rural Midwest as Hilton brands? And if you know anything about Marriott having a status match program like many airlines do, please let me know.

Many thanks in advance.

ElevatorEnthusiast

If you're only traveling in the rural Midwest, you're likely focusing on select-service properties. You should know that status does not affect breakfast at these brands. You either get them like everyone else (RI, SHS, FI), or you don't (CY, AC). Marriott points are more valuable but you also earn fewer than Hilton per dollar spent on properties. You won't see upgrades at US select service often as many of these don't even have suites. What do you do with your points? What types of hotels do you like outside of the rural Midwest?

buckeye91

I reached lifetime Hilton Honors Diamond 5 years ago. Can count on 2 hands how many times I’ve stayed at at Hilton property since. I’m happy to have lifetime Diamond for upcoming retirement 10 years down the road for lounge access, breakfast and possible upgrades. I feel Hilton has really lost its way. So many properties are tired, little to no elite recognition, upgrades are a fight and new properties opening are not what I’m looking for (I prefer full service properties). I would really like to see another luxury brand open with Hilton.

I converted almost all business to Marriott properties awhile ago. Better premium and luxury brand options in more places for me, especially Italy and Greece. The old rewarding meetings promotion quickly moved me up the food chain. I’ve been lifetime Titanium and Ambassador for over 5 years. I feel the recognition, upgrades and variety of properties is much better with Marriott plus the choice benefits (although it still irritates me that there are no choices at 100 nights)

MD/DC Flyer

It would probably be a wash. Diamond status is easy to achieve via net negative credit card. Platinum is also easy to achieve via credit card - but with some upfront cost. As the Marriott Platinum via credit card is relatively new, it probably doesn't have THAT of impact for now.

The real question is whether your travel pattern can get you to Titanium or Ambassador that would make more of a difference. But if your goal is to get upgraded in the mid-tier - prepare to be disappointed - there is not much to be upgraded to.

As others have said - it would depend on your goal - if it is to get better treatment while you travel for work, I'd call it a wash. If it is to get better treatment when using points for luxury properties - Marriot have more of them (and depending on where you want to go, might be better spread). That said, the point requirements for those properties is almost identical between Marriott and Hilton, and Hilton points are much easier to obtain (making the redemption easier). I have been treated very well by Hilton properties being a credit card Diamond and treated not as good as expected as a Titanium member.