Vince Chan

This is by far one of the most reasonable analysis between the debate of Marriott limited brands versus Starwood full service.I have read enough of silly comments from Starwood side that a marriott guest staying a CY can not understands or have enough budge to spend at a full service SPG luxury brands. But sometimes we just do not need a premium brand or luxury brand in 2~third tier city for business or just one night quick visit, it all depend on the purpose of traveling, who said someone usually staying at a CY or FI does not spend on full service luxury hotel usual as other did? I'm the one who stayed at courtyard in Asia usually at city options, but I've also appreciated of luxury collection properties that I've been to in Bali, Tokyo ,Dubai al Maha at the same time for vacation. Starwood company can not see that , and in my opinion they are doing better than Marriott in building resorts but fail at providing enough and consistency limited - premium business hotel in city destination, take Hong Kong and Singapore for example.

It's also a very good example taking Renaissance and W in business location to clarify the "bias".

UA-NYC

bhrubin

Huh?

John Aldeborgh

While I travel a lot, by most standards, I must be a simpleton, to the horror of the Marriott marketing MBA's. I chose hotels for 3 basic reasons, comfort zone, location and habit. I travel internationally on business for the most part, I don't like surprises and my schedule is my priority so location matters. Once I find a property that meets my minimum standards for convenience and location I am loyal to that specific property, because it's easy and I don't need to think. I require lounge access, laundry service and not much else. I appreciate room upgrades but honestly don't care as I use the room to sleep and make conference calls. When I look at the Marriott portfolio of products my head starts to hurt. How can anyone comprehend the razor thin market segmentation they offer today, I guess I'm just too flexible to get the value proposition, it's just confusing to me. To me there is as much variability within the single Sheraton hotel brand around the world than there is in much of the Bonvoy portfolio. FWIW, I can count the number of resort properties I've stayed at on one hand, it's just not my thing, always preferred the VRBO type of experience for our family vacations.

Horace

Marriott now officially has 30 brands, consisting of Marriott's 19 pre-merger brands and Starwood's 11 pre-merger brands, (In reality, there are even more brands because some brands have distinct sub-brands.)

It's easy to learn how brands compare. Marriott does a pretty good job explaining how each brand is positioned.

https://www.marriott.com/marriott-brands.mi

Sure, some of it is just meaningless marketing language. But, overall, it gives a good idea of where each brand is on the economy-to-luxury scale and on the traditional-to-trendy scale.

I'm amused when I see a TripAdvisor review in which someone complains about a Moxy Hotel because it's not at all like a traditional Marriott Hotel.

Some brands are in a very similar market segment, especially full-service brands. Still, from the perspective of hotel owners and Marriott International, each brand has a reason and a future. For example, Marriott can sell franchises for Renaissance, Sheraton, Westin, Marriott, Le Méridien, and other brands in the same downtown. Each hotel can have its own identify, which is better than having a half dozen hotels of the same brand within blocks of each other (or having only one hotel there because of geographic exclusivity for a brand). As guests, we can choose the hotel that provides the beat combination of location, style, amenities, favorable reviews, and price.

With the acquisition of Starwood, Marriott International filled some holes in its brand structure. Luxury Collection gives Marriott a luxury "soft brand" positioned above Autograph Collection. Four Points gives Marriott a conversion brand for limited-service hotels. Aloft is a different take on a stylish alternative to Courtyard than AC Hotels. Element gives Marriott a "distinctive" extended-stay brand.

bhrubin

I don't stay at 30 brands. I stay at the brands that most interest me: almost entirely luxury and premium brands. It isn't so hard to distinguish between them. And I always check out reviews for properties, anyway, since brands don't always tell the whole story regardless of how many there might be.