mpclaw

Is it just me, or as I approach 500 stays and 10 plus years to make lifetime platinum, I look forward to getting off the the Starwood treadmill. Sorry Starwood, in so many cities your hotels are no longer, or never have been the top hotels. Locations tend to leave a lot to be desired as well as skyrocketing rates and surcharges. All locations near LAX are 3.5 stars at the most.

Hotels in other areas of Los Angeles are a hodgepodge mix of mediocre tired properties that have been repainted just a few too many times. The old Santa Monica Four Points now Le Meridian. Seriously? The name change nor the "makeover" warrant $400 plus rates.

Those wanting to avoid Times Square in New York have few choices. The Meridian has been badly in need of a makeover for at least 10 years.

San Francisco hotel owners are now driven by greed and price gouging. The list goes on and on.
Don't get me wrong here. I look forward to staying in the wonderful hotels throughout Europe.

I look forward to making Platinum for life. And don't get me wrong here. I appreciate the status and the amenities. But once achieved, I can chose far nicer non-Starwood properties in the cities lacking fine hotel and need not stay in hotels I really have no desire to stay in simply to maintain the platinum status.

CPRich

I can't answer whether it's *just* you, but I'm LT PLT and have 99 nights this year. The properties near my project site are the best in area, so it's an easy choice.

czj48

OP, you are just going to get a whole series of posts here from those who have only ever had a great time at SPG properties. You already know who they are.

It's difficult here (I know) to have a rational discussion about the realities of the hotel industry today, particularly about SPG.

The fact that the top SPG management has been fired for non-performance over the past few years, which fact is widely published, not just in the industry trade journals, but in the NYT and WSJ, is just ignored here.

The fact that you appear to be an LA-NY frequent traveler, and are dissatisfied by SPG in those landmark markets is even more telling.

They appear to be doing no market research at all, and that is from one who, now retired, did it years ago for hotel chains. Sorry to see them making such basic management mistakes. I hope they can turn it around.

iflyjetz

mpclaw, I completely understand your feelings. I joined SPG in 2003 and walked away from them in 2006 in favor of Marriott due to a number of reasons. I'm now Marriott LT Plat but have pretty much walked away from Marriott because their brand has gone downhill over the last few years. I'll still stay at a Marriott on occasion, but I now find myself alternating paid stays between SPG and Hyatt. I've got a few more years as SPG Plat for LT Plat, and once I reach that, I'll stay less at SPG and simply pick whichever hotel best fits my desires (while still maintaining Hyatt Diamond; I'll never hit Hyatt LT Diamond).

Because I'm splitting stays between SPG and Hyatt to maintain status, I find myself staying at Marriott properties only a couple of times a year right now. I expect that to increase once I've got LT SPG; I'll probably end up splitting ~20 stays/yr between Marriott and SPG. The nice thing about that is that I'll have top status at both chains without having to stay a bunch of nights with them annually.

Lifetime status removes the golden handcuffs.

When I approached Marriott LT Plat, I started looking at other hotel chains and started this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...endations.html

I'd recommend that you make a list of what's important to you in a hotel loyalty chain and consider going for status with a second hotel chain. I noticed that you're an original member here from 1998 so I'm going to guess that going for a second lifetime status probably doesn't interest you. Personally, I'll be happy with LT Plat with Marriott and SPG - after that, I'll be too close to retirement to try for a third.

stimpy

As a LTP I'm not at all tired of the brand and certainly not tired of the benefits. But I can name you a number of Sheraton's that I'm tired of! Some Westin's and LM's too. However I am not at all tired of St. Regis and most Lux collection hotels and there are even a fair number of Sheratons that I enjoy, but those are almost exclusively outside the US.

Flying Lawyer

At least LTP was not enough to learn how to spell the name of the brand.

pricesquire

Of course you're tiring of the brand! Look at how many SPG stays you have. Men tire of their wives after this many stays...

I will say that I was as SPG obsessed as the next guy, but I am now totally hotel agnostic. Couldn't be happier!

IluvSQ

It sounds like OP is staying mainly in USA properties, which is not SPG's strength.
Asia/Pacific, Europe is where I find SPG shines.

EricH

As I approached LifePlat, I tired of the traveling and work cut back on travel. LifePlat allows me to maintain status even as my stays have been much reduced. For the OP's situation, I can see a real advantage that you can go nonSPG if the alternative is attractive, cutting out the properties you've previously stayed at despite disliking them.

CLEguy

That's roughly where I am. With 6 years of platinum and ~430 nights, it's not that I'm tiring of SPG per se, but rather of travel in general. Add in all the one-off stays with Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, etc., and I'm looking at basically 2 full years of my life spent in hotels since mid-2009.

We can talk about great properties that go the extra mile all day long, but eventually it just wears you out.

abk

Before I achieved LTP I would stay at an SPG dump just to get night/stay credit. Now that it doesn't matter anymore, when there are no convenient SPG properties or a property that looks more interesting I stay there. I still like checking into an SPG hotel as I know that I will be treated right because of my status.

iflyjetz

It's nice to have the golden (make that Platinum) handcuffs removed due to lifetime status. Not having to chase status annually with a particular brand makes it easier to choose other hotel options.

UKTraveller4Fun

Hi

Being a LT Plat and also having Ambassador status long before it even existed I do feel like Starwood has lost its way somewhat which to be fair by removing its CEO Starwood itself is almost agreeing with.

I think Starwood was far to cautious when the recession started, backing out of projects and not maybe being as ambitious as other players in the market. As such its meant that it is playing catchup in many key areas (apart from China and to a degree Asia where the brand is still quite strong) and that catchup is failing.

There was a time Starwood was known as a group looking to takeover other hotel groups and be on an upwards spiral, its safe to say the last few years it is generally more of a downward trend and the fact Aloft is the only real success (different people will have opinions on how much of one) that Starwood can shout about!

Its a great shame but Starwood as a group is available to be bought and actually there is not that much interest, which pretty much sums it up!

All that said there are some fantastic properties out there and plenty to aspire to so its not all bad, you just have to be more careful when picking these days!

365RoadWarrior

I was a Lifetime Platinum on Day One of the program. I continue to stay at SPG properties at well-above the 50-night threshold. I earned the status; I'm accepting the benefits. They earned my loyalty; I continue to support SPG.

Most of my stays are at the "basic" properties, Four Points and Aloft, so the benefits are often limited. But SPG is better represented in my African arrival/departure cities than anyone else (mostly Le Meridien).

So why no "burn out"? Burn out for me comes when I get too much of "the same". A Four Points in Bakersfield (a good one, by the way) doesn't bear much resemblance to a Le Meridien in Gabon or the Sheraton in Bangkok or the Element in Houston or the Palace in San Francisco.

Beano HK

Just curious how you got Ambassador status before it existed?