CorSter

Reminds me of Hub by Premier Inn

Suspect it'll be priced significantly higher though, to justify that 0.5 night Bonvoy credit.

ftrichard

So, by the looks of it, this Four Points Express brand includes breakfast for all. I expect that the inspiration, then, was Holiday Inn Express which is widespread throughout everywhere now. Let's see what the included breakfast reviews are like.

That being the case, the major difference is that you have to stay two nights at a FPX for one qualifying night vs one for one at a HIX. If you're chasing status and price sensitive enough to stay at this kind of low-end hotel then this probably makes a big difference.

There's not a HIX around Euston and it's perhaps noteworthy that the US chain Marriott managed to secure this property for its new brand when it's an obvious candidate for the UK chain IHG to fill in a hole in its HIX coverage on its home turf. Probably the IHG executives, like most Londoners, know what was there before and believe the site is beyond redemption.

TGLoyalty

IHG has been losing ground in London ever since 2020 it�s lost its best CP and RI hotels to Hyatt

Also Marriott has no budget brand like Ibis in Europe until now so why would it have budget pricing at that level?

ElevatorEnthusiast

If this becomes the cheapest Marriott in the city, I have to imagine they'll drive some business from those who look at direct booking channels and pick the cheapest option. Now when those folks get there and have to deal with the small rooms, I'm sure they'll average low review scores.

Raffles

The EQN thing is a mistake I think, especially as it will be more expensive than the Moxy hotels I'm sure because of location. The bulk of guests will not be Bonvoy members anyway, expect lots of tour groups, school groups etc. If rooms were going to be �49 then ok but I suspect it will be �99 at least, which is more than a Moxy.

MaxFlyer

I really do hope that the 1/2 EQN is a mistake as that will put Marriott members off.

TGLoyalty

�99 is more than a Moxy at Excel or Stratford? Marriott has Excel at �91 lowest on a handful of dates but average is about �125 and Stratford about �15-20 more. Moxy at Euston would be �125-150!

Manchester and some other cities hover around that �100 except Saturday nights and Heathrow and MK often �75 or so

lexdevil

Unfortunately, it's not an error. It just sucks.

Ouch!
https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/earn/hotels.mi

dw

Looking at the Japanese chain that is being converted to Four Points Express (just announced today), the rooms at the properties are indeed (Japanese business hotel) tiny; smaller than a typical Moxy room I�d say.

It seems clear that this new brand is taking a direction where it can house properties that due to room size could not fit under any other existing Marriott flag.

ftrichard

I think Raffles does indeed mean it is a strategic mistake rather than a communication error. But is it really a strategic mistake? Marriott clearly believes adopting the same 2-for-1 strategy at Protea hotels has not impacted reservations so why not roll it out at other cheaper brands where it can get away with it.

I tend to agree that it's likely this hotel will be full of tour groups whose participants don't care about Bonvoy so the value in the brand to the property owner must come from the B2B marketing activities the hotel's sales team undertakes with tour group organisers who will presumably be able to sell their tours on the basis that the included overnights will be in a Sheraton. A Four Points Express by Sheraton.

ElevatorEnthusiast

I would argue that Protea did not fail because, regardless of the EQN, Protea is the only "Marriott" game in many of their respective locations. You can't say the same about FPE in London.

Swanhunter

Not just the only Marriott, but often one of a handful of top tier hotels in a location which means they have a captive market. Not so true in London!

FPE Euston - I can see this being priced at �125+

EuropeanPete

The Bonvoy points devaluation is getting to a stage where you don't really earn any serious value on stays anyways, so for a place like this it doesn't actually make more than 1-2% of difference in the overall value received. That said, some people might find it cheap and insulting and avoid the property anyways. If it does come in at �125 a night, they're unlikely to be aiming at the US-focused Bonvoy-loyal market anyways.

ftrichard

This is why I'm interested in what they will offer for the included breakfast. I mean, breakfast raises a very specific expectation in a hotel in England and should include fried eggs, back bacon, pork sausage, toast and marmalade. You will get this at the cheapest B&B in England and none of this need cost a lot - especially if they buy in a catering block of frozen pork sausages formed from offcuts like lips and rings - so surely they will not think they can get away with some continental rubbish comprising processed meat and cheese on supermakrket white sliced bread with margarine.

No matter, I'm probably one of those you refer to who will find it all cheap and insulting and avoid it even if the room rate is not wildly different than the Marriott Maida Vale that I value highly in its price range.

HadesNL

And if you see what it was before .....
From HfP
https://www.headforpoints.com/2024/0...-euston-hotel/

Saved for eternity before it is erased: County Hotel at Euston

Hope the ghost of the headless abbot isn't still giving a fright ...
Or might be worth the less EQN earning,
just to have a look how they've worked their magic in modernizing the whole lot.