Marriott and Sheraton brand differences?
 

What differences can I expect between a Sheraton and a Marriott?

Specifically, I'm looking for an airport hotel at FRA. They split the Sheraton into two: One half is gonna remain as Sheraton, the other half will open as a Marriott in November. (By then, the entire complex will have been renovated.)

I'm new to the Marriott chain (hence the question). But I thought those two brands were in the same market segment. Wikipedia says they're both positioned as "premium classic." So I find their move a bit confusing.

Does Marriott have any brand book I could look at if I'm unsure about the positioning of their brands

Marginal difference really, especially given the FRA Sheraton looks quite a bit like the new brand of Marriott. You'll see some trends here and there and over time each brand had their own attributes (Sheraton had/ has a terrible Link Cafe in its middle aged branches), but generally they're two different sorts of out-dated poorly designed American style mid-level hotel. Both have lounges (the Sheraton FRA's lounge is/ was quite good).

There's two parts of the answer.

First, in Eastern Europe, South America, and Australia, there's not a lot of difference in the brand standard and in many cases, they aren't in the same countries.

I haven't stayed in Sheraton's in Western Europe or Asia, as the Marriott choices there are generally excellent.
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In the US, Marriott's are usually better than Sheraton's which are all over the place ranging from a dump to a perfectly acceptable business property. Having just spent a couple of days at a well-maintained Sheraton, one noticeable difference in the US is the lounge. The Marriott brand standard has the lounge open every S-Thursday night, that's not a Sheraton requirement. Also, the Marriott brand standard has a better breakfast standard than Sheraton (meat, not just eggs, more fruit and yogurt). The Sheraton standard doesn't seem much better than a Fairfield Inn, except for real plates and silverware. The evening snacks at the Sheraton lounge are also below the Marriott standard. I've probably stayed at 5-10 Sheraton's in the US and that's pretty consistent.

Bizarre though to split a building in Frankfurt between Sheraton and Marriott. Would be very interesting to understand the thought process.

In Western Europe it varies, really. There are places where the Marriott is clearly better than the Sheraton (e.g. Rome), places where the Sheraton is clearly better than the Marriott (e.g. Lisbon) and places where they are fairly evenly matched (e.g. London). Which makes the Frankfurt split decision even more ridiculous.

To put it differently, the Sheraton brand standard is that lounges are open seven days a week, while Marriott permits lounges to close for the weekend. Moreover, in the USA, guests with lounge access are supposed to be able to enter lounges 24/7 to get small snacks, bottled water, etc., although these usually aren't replenished until the morning or evening.

The Sheraton at FRA is indeed nice and has a good lounge. I'm also puzzled by the division and partial rebranding.

In Canada, Marriott is better than Sheraton. Sheraton just seems... old. The Toronto downtown Sheraton is so dated that it’s the same rate as the Courtyard sometimes.

The Frankfurt airport Sheraton is one of the largest hotels in Europe. It has something like 1,000 rooms. I can easily see a benefit to splitting this into two brand to differentiate customers, even though most of them won't care what bed they sleep in for one night.

Sure, but it would make more sense to split it into two hotels in different market segments then rather than going through the expense of installing two systems/check in areas etc. for two almost indistinguishable hotel brands, no?

Outside the USA, Sheraton is considered a very good brand that is just below luxury; outside the USA, Marriott is much less known and isn’t known to be as good. In the USA, Marriott is considered more reliably solid than Sheraton, though in recent years there has been a massive renovation program for many Sheratons.

Why the Frankfurt hotel went with both brands is curious and not likely to be known any time soon, but I would expect a bit more personality with the Sheraton and a bit more of the solid but reliable quality with the Marriott. Perhaps Marriott corporate wants to showcase Marriott being related to the better perceived Sheraton Internation brand? Perhaps the owner wanted two premium brands for their own marketing or corporate/group business ends? Who cares really?

Possibly, but then again you see a Hilton Garden Inn next to a Hilton or a Ritz Carlton next to a Marriott. Perhaps management perceives greater brand differentiation than the users do?

IHG increasingly do it - Crowne Plaza/HIX at LHR T4, Manchester Crowne Plaza/Staybridge Suites, etc.

Can't name an RC/Marriott joint development off the top of my head but there are quite a few places where e.g. an RC is next to a JWM such as Orlando and LA, so surely a Sheraton / Westin or Sheraton / Four Points could work.

On FRA specifically, it sounds odd, but I don't know how many people here have spent any amount of time walking between the Frankfurt Airport terminals? There is a never-ending stream of people who look exactly like the people who stay in airport Sheratons and Marriotts on a Tuesday night and not many other sorts of people. There's little opportunity to go upmarket and precious little benefit in offering something further below a corporate max spend.

I wonder if there is some kind of corporate deal play here where having two brands of the same hotel brings some weird form of advantage. At the very least, I'm pretty sure that having two mediocre airport hotels will pick up more of the market than one mediocre airport hotel.

Ren/RI in Minneapolis (at the Depot), aloft/Westin at SFO, Marriott/Courtyard in Center City Philadelphia, Marriott/Westin in Boston across from Prudential Center (also connected to a Sheraton on the other side of Prudentail Center), Marriott (Marquis?)/Sheraton in San Diego (near convention hall along the water) are some examples in the USA are examples of some hotels that are connected or share facilities. The W and Westin in Atlanta Buckhead are next to each other but seem to be separate as are a Marriott and something else (Westin?) at ATL on the little train line that goes to the rental car place or the Sheraton and Westin (???) convention hotels in downtown Seattle.

Overseas we have the Sheraton/LC in Buenos Aires and the Pine Cliffs resort development in southern Portugal. In the Denpasar area of Bali, the Sheraton and Laguna (LC) are next to each other but seem to be separate.

In China, at least, neither brand gets a lot of love these days, but Sheraton definitely seems to be the lesser regarded of the two. I've witnessed many cases of Sheraton-->Westin (for good Sheratons), Westin---> Sheraton (for bad Westins), and Sheraton to 4 Points, CY, or simply booted (for bad Sheratons). Many hotels that have retained the Sheraton flag are in third tier cities with minimal competition.

Meanwhile, Marriotts in China don't get reflagged with nearly as much frequency. They are kind of boring (e.g. on the off chance they care about the coveted "millennial" market, they certainly don't show it), but I often pick them in favor of nearby Rens or Westins, and the brand standard is fairly consistent.

In Berlin you can spit from the RC to the Marriott. Some people do!