My 2-cents worth....

In the eighties and early nineties, my preferred vendor was Hampton Inn. Typcally, they did absolutely nothing to reward your loyalty. Plus discounts versus rack rate were seldom, if ever available. (AAA..."so what"). The deal was you got a nice room, a breakfast, and a decent (if non-discountable) rack
--rate. I found them comparable to Courtyard, as a brand, but at CY, you had to pay for the brekkie, so the free breakfast was the dea maker. I was a member of Marriott's "Honored Guest" thingy with a red card, etc., but Marriott was a secondary vendor for me.

But Marriott kept adding locations and improving the program. Adding Fairfields and Courtyards to the mix is what finally won me over (although I had been heading in that direction anyway). By the time Hampton was folded into the Hilton program, for me it was too late. I was sold on the Marriott brands.

Hilton has some properties that are equal to Marriott, but imho at the full service hotels, there's usually no comparison. Marriott has a consistently superior and better-managed product. In my view, Hampton Inns are usually ok....but full serv Hiltons are wildly inconsistent. (The last one I stayed in had no heat....in JANUARY!). On top of that, I've found the Marriott Rewards program to be invariably fair and easy to use. Plus...and this is a big plus...at Marriott branded properties, I'm almost always treated like the staff and management are truly glad to see me.

Marriotts aren't foolproof...."even Betty Crocker burns a cake once in a while"...but when I include Marriott in my business and leisure travel, I find that not only do I have one less thing to worry about on the road. And they'll also appropriately thank me for the business.

Agree. The last is the most important item to me. If the property is not up to standards who cares how good the program is?

For me the choice has always been simple--whichever chain has the property closest to where I usually need to be for business wins the day. Having had years of benefits as Marriott Platinum and Hilton Diamond, I would say rewards are quite similar. Possible advantage of Hilton at the highest level is the Diamond Desk that can get you reward stays even when a hotel is not offering reward space. Also consider luxury properties to use your points. JW Marriotts are fabulous and good value for money (Phuket, Shanghai, Honolulu, Lass Vagas, Phoenix, Capri, Rio). Hilton is developing some fabulous properties (Tahiti, Fiji, Seychelles, Evian, Sicily) in addition to some that are already operating (Cabo, Rome, Barbados).

I think Marriott's are better as you can shop in the rewards skymall and buy fairly nice things. Got a $600.00 Napa leather Tumi bag.

Marriott ---> Hilton...Brand Equivalency?
 

I'm curious as to people's thoughts on brand equivalency between Marriott and Hilton. Which particular Marriott brands align best with Hilton brands? I realize there are certainly quality differences amongst the individual properties both within and across brands, but this is how I see them:

Fairfield Inn ---> Hampton Inn
Courtyard ---> Hilton Garden Inn
Residence Inn ---> Homewood Suites
Marriott ---> Hilton
Renaissance ---> Hilton or Conrad ?

Not sure where Springhill Suites & Townplace Suites (on the Marriott side) or Doubletree & Embassy Suites (on the Hilton side) lineup. I don't believe Springhill or Townplace are equivalents of Embassy, at least they don't seem to be positioned that way by Marriott. Thoughts?

That's a pretty good list, but I would lump HGI in with HI as being equivalent to the Fairfield. Courtyard is equivalent to Doubletree (this didn't used to be the case, but it seems that Hilton has seriously devalued the Doubletree brand since taking over).

You're right that Marriott doesn't have an equivalent to Embassy Suites, unless you count the very limited number of Marriott Suites properties.

I think that Marriott and Renaissance are basically equivalent to each other, which you can then equate to Hilton/Conrad, although IN GENERAL full-service Marriott or Renaissance properties are superior to full-service Hiltons in atmosphere, amenties, and especially service.

So I would revise your list as follows:

Fairfield Inn = Hampton Inn = Hilton Garden Inn
Courtyard = Doubletree
Residence Inn = Homewood Suites
Marriott = Renaissance > Conrad = Hilton
Marriott Suites = Embassy Suites
Springhill Suites = TownPlace Suites = ???

I'm not sure that comparing CY to Doubletree is entirely accurate. Though I'd take a CY over a Doubletree anyday, isn't a Doubletree considered a full-service property (hotel restaurant, bell desk, etc.). CYs generally are more limited service, with very few exceptions.

Also, in fairness to Hilton, I think that HGI's are more on the level of a CY, and that HIs are often viewed as more consistent than FIs. There are some very nice FIs, but there are also some that are very old and tired.

Just my 2 cents.

Boy, I disagree. HGIs are way above Fairfield Inns, and Courtyards may be equivalent to Doubletree Clubs, but there are still plenty of full-line Doubletrees out there.

There aren't a lot of direct equivalencies between the two buckets of brands, but I would stack them like this, from high to low:

1. Conrad
2. Renaissance
3. Marriott
4. Hilton (properties too uneven to rank 1:1 with Marriott)
5. Doubletree
6. Embassy Suites (too many aging big boxes full of plants, and they smell like old chlorine, and value for money is often poor)
7. Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites (different missions, but same price range and amenity levels)
8. Residence Inn
9. Courtyard by Marriott
10. Doubletree Club, if any are left (often rebadged, acquired properties, very inconsistent)
11. Hampton Inn
12. Fairfield Inn

If we throw Ritz-Carlton into the picture, would that make Conrad = R-C ?

According to Hilton yes....personally I'd say Conrad = JW

I'm curious about how Marriott decides whether a full-service property is a Marriott or a Renaissance. It may be arbitrary or it may be criteria-based, but (outside a general feeling that the Renaissance tend to be a bit higher class) it's a mystery to me. :confused:

When Marriott took over the Ramadas in Europe, some were rebranded as Renaissance (e.g., the one in Munich) and some as Marriott (e.g., the one in Sindelfingen).

Renaissance are suppose to be unique with a destination restaurant (while not directly positioned against W that would be the closest example I can think of, "Savy" is the word Renaissance uses to describe itself)

For the past few years there have been financial incentives for developers to assist in growing the brand because of it's smaller size (ie Marriott has been hovering around 350+- domestic hotels for years...Renaissance when purchased by Marriott had less than 70)

Both the MHR & RHR brands are = in "class" but definately targeted towards different segments of the market place

I respectfully disagree with you. Hilton Garden Inn is definitely NOT Fairfield. It is the equivalent of Courtyard. In fact, the nice thing about Hilton Garden Inn is that the restaurant is OPEN for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in EVERY hotel (unlike Courtyard's wide variety of hours by hotel). There is no Hilton equivalent to Springhill Suites and/or TownPlace Suites.

OK, that makes sense, and now that you mention it, the "destination restaurant" does seem to be the discriminator.

Thanks, socrates!

Except I can think of a handful of full-service Marriotts with "destination restaurants". The most notable being the San Jose Marriott, with its hip, trendy bar and restaurant.