Advice on other chains
 

I have a fair amount of stays every year, maybe 100 (not big, but a fair customer). Everything so far has been focussed on Marriott. It's just been simpler to stick to one chain. But in this forum I'm hearing about a lot of other offerings from competing chains. I haven't taken the time to research all of them and was hoping folks could give me some ideas on who should be in my short list.

I'm not sure I'm going to permanently leave Marriott. But without any promotions, and what appears to be a number of them at other chains, I figure I should at least look at the other chains. I've got a week vacation booked with Marriott and I couldn't believe how long it took to earn it. If I could earn a night for every 2-4 nights I stay at another chain, it's much more valuable to me than the Marriott earning rate. I had my hopes up when I heard about the stay two nights, earn one free, but that was a huge let down. Apparently Marriott has some MBA types telling them all about incrimental value, etc.

I'm guessing most chains will match my Marriott Platinum status, or get me close enough that I get most of the "enhanced" services (just want the free breakfast).

Any thoughts on another chain?

I guess I can't be too harsh on Marriott. Everybody seems to be doing the "cost cutting dance" these days. The problem is that they've forgotten the age old rule, before freshly minted MBAs took the helm, that it's harder to get a customer than it is to lose one. So here I am, looking for a reason to stay, and by the day getting tempted by the competition. I hope Marriott is considering how they are going to get lost Customers back or if their service is superior enough to their competition that we'll come back. Seems like a big gamble in what appears to potentially be a commodity type business. I'm no expert on it though (I don't personally consider my MBA a license to be an expert on everything...)

I probably can't help you on a free stays hotels as I believe that is Hyatt/Priority Club offering those. I'll offer my view on Hilton as a recent 'convert'

About a month ago I shifted about half my stays to Hilton from Marriott. I'd been 100% loyal to Marriott for the last 3 years since finishing university with about 150 nights a year on average. Hilton were pretty bad in the status matching department, they gave me a challenge of 21 nights to get diamond (Normally diamond takes 60 nights, or 27 stays). I stay in a hotel about 3-4 nights a week on average so in some ways, if they didn't realise how willing I was to check-in/out, it was quite a saving.

Their earning rate is about the same as Marriotts in standard points, with about the same cost of nights (In my mind I equate them 1 hilton = 1 marriott point). However when I started with Hilton I was receiving a 'double points' promo. This then switched into a extra 1000 points per night and 3x the standard airmiles. As such it means I earn about double hotel points at the Hilton I stay at (which gives around 1000 base points), plus 3000 bmi airmiles (you need 9000 for an economy return in Europe which is good for me, 1.5x that for business). Marriott can't compete in this way as I get hotel points worth about the same in the two chains, but the airmiles are worth quite a lot extra - as was having a choice of two chains when I go on holiday. When I get gold/diamond I'll also get another 1000 hotel points on checking in and as my current pattern is to check-in only for 1 night to maximise on the check-in gifts from the two chains it will also work out nicely.

Having said that I still stay about half my nights at Marriott as they tend to have nicer hotels in my local area and I'm intending to be top tier in both chains. But, it does mean that Marriott will have lost ~80 nights by the end of the year from me.

As for why I switched: I no longer felt that Marriott was offering me a proposition that was too good to go to not try out other hotels. I was disappointed in the end by the increasing redemption cost that eroded my existing points, and Hilton's offer of 'free' airmiles as well as hotel points was very attractive. I haven't really noticed cutbacks in services in the UK - but my local Marriott has dropped from being full each night to being half empty much of the time (it is very business focused).

I split my stays between SPG and MR - I've been PLT at both for many years. SPG will match a MR PLT, and if you do it now it will be good through Feb. 2011.

The nice thing about SPG is *real* award availability - if a standard room is available to buy, you can redeem it with points (unlike MR's fake "no blackouts" policy.

The ration of earned nice per revenue nights isn't as high, but a ton of points does me no good XMas week at MR, whereas I've been able to ski at Steamboat Springs twice on SPG points. SPG has also been a bit promo-crazy recently. One free weekend night through Sept for every 2 stays, starting next month.