rucksack

As a Lifetime Platinum, I no longer care about earning status and have been choosing whatever hotel fits my needs best in the moment. Increasingly, I've found myself staying at independent and boutique hotels and it's made me rethink how I value my Marriott status.

For example, on a recent trip, I stayed at one Marriott property (Luxury Collection) and three boutique hotels. Here was my experience with each:

• Hotel 1 (Luxury Collection): upgraded to a room with a better view and balcony, free breakfast (via status), didn't need late checkout
• Hotel 2 (SLH booked with Hyatt points - no Hyatt status): upgraded to a villa with a private pool, free breakfast (for all guests), didn't need late checkout
• Hotel 3 (Boutique booked direct): upgraded to a room with a better view and balcony, free breakfast (for all guests), received 4pm late checkout
• Hotel 4 (Boutique booked direct): no upgrade (hotel was sold out), free breakfast (for all guests), didn't need late checkout

In short, I received the same benefits (upgrades when available, free breakfast, and late checkout when requested) at the boutique hotels I stayed at regardless of status. Sure, I didn't earn points for those stays, but the rates were significantly lower than the comparable Marriott options.

These hotels presumably offer these benefits because they need to compete with loyalty programs, and good reviews are a lot more important to their business. Granted I'm in a privileged position because I have lifetime status, but I wonder if many folks chasing status would be better off just staying at boutique and independent hotels.

Sam P. Goodman

It varies for me, but a recent stay at an independent resort helped me see that the biggest benefit of loyalty for me is probably point redemption (which is nothing to sneeze at). At the independent property where I obviously have no status, we were on a cash rate with breakfast. They upgraded us to a great villa without asking. Food prices were reasonable. Service was impeccable. So, I felt like I was getting elite treatment despite being a regular Joe. Big difference is I probably would have redeemed if it were a Marriott (and been around a bunch of other elites expecting perks).

ftrichard

I'm in the same position: LTP and I re-qualified as Titanium this year however I do feel this is wasting opportunities and money now. Last weekend we stayed at Le Meridien Saigon - a hotel I like a lot which has an excellent lounge offering of high-quality foods in the evening, three-hours of booze, a good lounge breakfast, and reasonable room upgrades (twice now I've got the Studio Suite facing the city rather than the two-room suite facing the river). Despite the numerous good experiences we decided that next time we would book a boutique heritage hotel - there are many - for a fraction of the cost that would give us a more authentic experience and encourage us to eat out in the evenings at HCMC's excellent restaurants.

My question off the back of this is: when going off brand from Bonvoy which booking channels or research tools do people use rather than just blind searching on Google.

I'm not talking about going off brand to one of the other major chains - Hilton, Hyatt etc. - or their affiliates with no status because then you really would be bottom of the pile but rather seeking out truly independent hotels that live or die by their daily customer experience and don't pay franchise fees so their room rates more fairly reflect the cost of providing the service.

8420PR

The best approach must be to evaluate how much value you are getting from the Bonvoy perks, and include that in the decision making process. If that means an independent hotel comes out top, then book it.

I would add, whenever I have booked independent or boutique hotels I have never received freebies such as upgrades or breakfasts that were not included in the rate - it has always been I get what I booked.

Also, my worst hotel stay was at an independent hotel in Barcelona where we arrived late and were given a very smoky room. I guess we were just one of 50 guests, and they had to pick someone to get a bad room. I feel status at a chain reduces the risk of this happening - not least because of the financial penalty if a status customer opens a complaint.

craigthemif

LTP are free agents by default.

Because you don't NEED elite night credits, you automatically find yourself evaluating your options for each hotel stay because you don't NEED to stay at a Marriott.

WilcoRoger

Going off-chain, I use hotels.com - (top)cash back - up to 11% + hotels.com's own reward scheme (still at 10%) are difficult to beat.

Interestingly booking.com offers wider choice in some cases - last summer we had booked some nights with them, because hotels.com showed no properties at all where we travelled (Estonian rural archipelago)

rucksack

I usually use a mix of travel magazines/blogs (like CN) and TripAdvisor to find well-reviewed properties. Another good method is using travel blogs to simplify identify the neighborhoods you want to stay in and then using google maps to search those areas visually.

It definitely takes more time than just searching Marriott’s website, but I enjoy the process and learn about the destination as a part of it.

supatight80

Right...And which chain is that?

Schnit

Hotels.com used to give 10% back on all hotels booked, which made for a great return for someone wanting to be a free agent. With the new program they have its not as rewarding, but still better than just booking direct

EuropeanPete

As an LTP myself, I have found myself booking 10-30 nights a year at Marriots where it's been some combination of 1. I like the hotels and 2. I get value out of benefits provided by my status which make Marriott a logical choice, usually over an independent/ chain which I get no benefit out of.

If Bonvoy reliably delivered on their promises they'd reliably have 100-150 nights a year from me, but bearing in mind all the trouble I have with just the basics (from IT reliability through to customer service or Bonvoy benefits), I do need a specific good reason to book a Marriott.

estedman

I now stay at what fits my need in a location, instead of always picking Marriott and even driving an extra hour just to do so.

scubadu

I suspect a strong driver for many is that free agency often requires using $'s rather than points as currency. Obviously not always true, and certainly one can use "pay with points" strategies, etc. but those aren't always the best usage of points for those that want to maximize value of said points.

But yea, certainly if paying with cold, hard cash, one should go where they are treated best...

Regards

notquiteaff

I think that is no longer the case with their new OneKey scheme, introduced this summer.

Hotel.com rewards becoming OneKey

Yes, indeed. I have not used hotels.com since the change. I have some credit to use up, but otherwise I am done with them.

SPN Lifer

Rather than be a free agent, I personally find it more rewarding to be a double agent. And if I travelled enough, it could well be worthwhile to be a triple agent.

rucksack

True, although with Bonvoy points trending towards a fixed value with dynamic award pricing, that makes award redemptions a lot less compelling for me. Earning 15 points per dollar spent and assuming 0.7 cents per point, that's effectively a 10% rebate. I find that Bonvoy rates are often >10% more for comparable properties. Now, when I'm staying for work and hardly spend any time at the hotel, earning something is better than nothing.