littlesheep

Now that looks nice. Pity so few of them.

SamirD

Most newer properties have a smaller room size. In fact, it almost surprises me how small these days. It's sometimes 1/2 the size of what a room was 20 years ago. And because of that lack of space and amenity creep, there's more stuff being packed into a smaller space than ever.

pinniped

They're all new. The whole brand is about 5 years old.

And I haven't really noticed room shrinkage at other brands in the rural/suburban/extended-stay range. In fact, some of the newer Residence Inns seem to have bigger rooms...or maybe they're just more well laid out. (Or maybe I've just gotten fewer of them with the fake fireplaces that take up a lot of room.)

At least a couple years ago, Hyatt's fastest growth was in the HP brand. Those rooms are all enlarged, like an SHS, although not suites. It seems like Marriott is investing in the SHS brand quite a bit...again, nice big rooms, although most properties have few if any suites (contrary to the name of the brand).

At what brand do you notice a 50% reduction in room size from a mid-90's building? The only one I can think of where they've maybe gotten a little smaller is Courtyard.

brendog

I have stayed at quite a few Wingates, and found them tolerable when it was a newer brand 8-10 years ago. Most of the properties, as is common throughout the Wyndham portfolio, have not aged well.

BW in the US is extremely hit or miss. There are a few that I stay at with some regularity that are quite nice. I have stayed at many, many others that are complete dumps, though.

SamirD

From mid-1990s, not many, but going back to the late 80s, I've noticed that overall square footage has dropped, mostly because rooms aren't as long as they used to be. No brand in particular, I've just seen it on the plans of to be constructed properties or recent constructions. I'm sure it can also vary in different regions and markets.

pilotalan

And tremendous variability. At my HQ (where I travel a lot), there's a Courtyard on one side and an HGI on the other. Same prices, both new construction. Urban environment.

The HGI is one of the best HGI's I have ever seen, with a very nice restaurant, bar, room service, large rooms. Almost a full service Hilton.
The Courtyard has the smallest hotel rooms I have seen in the US, and tiny lobby, and is just cramped all the way around.

SamirD

A lot of this also has to do with the brand construction standards, which change almost every year depending on what emotion is running through the brand.

I remember back in the day, Hampton Inn was going to make an economy brand that only had a stand up shower and no tub and cut the size of the room by 1/3. Obviously, it never made it into production.

darthbimmer

BW groups its hotels into 3 tiers: basic, Plus, and Premier. I've stayed with a few of the Plus properties and found them comparable to a Hampton Inn or Holiday Inn Express. I haven't stayed at any of the basic BW properties as they've generally looked like lower end, motor-court style motels. Have your "miss" experiences been at these basic properties or one of the uplevel brands?

pinniped

In the 1980's and earlier, what were the primary choices for the kinds of rural/suburban hotels we're talking about here? Brands like the original Holiday Inn and Howard Johnson's come to mind. Maybe Ramada was more of a common brand then?

I guess I look at it the other way and say our total choices are much greater now. We have all of these "minisuite" brands and full-suite brands to choose from if we want space.

From a standard room perspective, I'll admit I've never measured the square footage of an HIX, Hampton, Fairfield, etc. room. They always seem fine to me. The places I feel the most cramped are older hotels in Europe, especially in boutique or non-chain hotels where each room may be individually bookable, eliminating upgrades and the like.

Interesting...this prompted me to do a few queries. The basic BW's are what I remember. A straight motel look, some with exterior doors, very mom & pop feel. The BW Pluses and Premiers look like they could be on par with a Hampton Inn or HGI...it's hard to tell. The look more suburban than rural, interior hallways, newer buildings, etc. Places I wouldn't mind getting as a Priceline result, although it's probably not enough to make me want to jump in with both feet to their frequent guest program.

CMK10

For me I like the Hilton Garden Inn most, but only if I'm Gold or Diamond with Hilton so I can get free breakfast. They're also good about upgrading elites and they're usually very consistent (and often quite nice in big cities).

I put Hampton Inns next because they're usually decent enough, they recognize status and I know if anything goes wrong, I can invoke the Hampton 100% Satisfaction Guarantee and the room will be free.

Next Holiday Inn Express. They're usually a little worse than a HI though you get the bonus of Cinnamon Rolls.

After that, all Choice properties.

I don't have enough experience at the mid-tier Marriotts to rank them.

mapu

If you decide to stay at a Hilton property keep in mind that there is a 100,000 point maxiumum per stay except when you stay at Homewood Suites or Home2 Suites.

I am sure other Hotel loyalty programs have similar limitations burried in their T&C.

Whatever you do, stay a mile away from Choice or Wyndham hotels. The terms Comfort and Quality are interpreted wildly in these programs.

brendog

I only stayed at one basic last year (Somewhere in TX, IIRC...), and it was actually fairly nice. I haven't stayed at a Premier in years, but did stay in several Plus properties, which ranged from Days Inn quality to almost CY/HGI quality. I only had 10 or so BW stays last year, but still found quite a bit of variability, which I didn't see in my 50+ CY/RI stays.

pinniped

I like almost every mid-tier HH brand better than its Marriott counterpart.

Hampton > Fairfield
Homewood > RI
HGI >>> Courtyard
Embassy > SHS

I still stay at a lot of RI's (because there are so many of them) and SHS's (because Embassy can sometimes be more expensive than a full-service hotel), but I *like* the HH products better.

No experience with Home2 Suites. They *look* better than a TPS.

At the mainline & up levels, it's the exact opposite: I almost always prefer a Marriott/Renaissance/JW/Ritz over a nearby Doubletree/Hilton/Conrad/W=A. Even today, where I'm MR Gold and HH Diamond.

pinniped

Good point. With any program, two things might happen:

(1) the hotel itself will want to check you out & in once every 30 days for their own legal/accounting purposes
(2) it might be in your own interest to check out & in at more frequent intervals, such as when your nights stayed would reach a status threshold, you're doing a nights-based promotion, or (obviously) if you're closing in on that 100k max at HH.

(Check outs/ins at the same hotel don't generally help you on stay-based promotions. Promotions still count it as 1 long stay unless you go somewhere else for a night.)

When I had a long-term RI stay near a client site a few years ago, the hotel gave me a monthly rate and we did a check-out each month. Also helped with my own expense reporting and had the side benefit of posting points/EQN to my account on a regular basis.

emma69

I'd check them out in person if at all possible, even if that meant spending the first week of the 2-3 months in a few different places. I've stayed at a great Holiday Inn, and an absolutely dreadful one, ditto with several other brands mentioned, including Wyndham, Best Western and Embassy Suites. The buildings, as well as the staff can make or break a stay. For a long stay there should certainly be room for negotiation with the property manager about room type, location, rates, etc. For example, one I stayed in had a great manager, who kept the rooms either side of me, and above me empty if they could so I wouldn't be disturbed (it was the sort of place that families stayed, a million to a room as someone mentioned above, so this was a real benefit to me) At that property we also came to an arrangement on laundry (aka not the silly rates on the hotel laundry list). Having an in room washer / dryer can be a real plus, although it is not terribly common. Next best would be having the hotel have laundry service (not all do), and thirdly a laundry room guests can use. Otherwise you are going to have to find a dry cleaner or Laundromat somewhere, and that can be both time consuming and expensive (depending on what your employer covers).

I'd consider the following:

1. Room comfort - at minimum on business I want a comfy bed (for me that means firm), a decent sofa to sit at, and a table I can use as a dining table, and a proper work desk and chair. A decent TV (in a sensible place - so may are at weird angles), a great bathtub and shower and enough space for my belongings are also key. Decent heat / AC depending on where you are, and windows that open are also important. A quiet location, or very good insulated glass are also things you may want to look at.

2. Facilities in the hotel I need - I need somewhere to work out, ideally a swimming pool. I once spent a long time at one hotel that didn't so I got gym membership up the road which worked well. A restaurant of some sort (not a vending machine a la some HIX) and a bar so I can actually socialize if I want to. Having a kitchen may be very important to you - it depends on what and how your normally eat, and what is available locally (and your schedule).

3. Location - both to the work office, but also things to do in the evening (parks to walk in, restaurants, shops etc.) I don't want to be reliant in having to take a car everywhere.

4. Points / tier / airline mile potential - the various rules on extended stays could mean that you are better staying at your property Sun - Sat and spending Saturday night elsewhere (so it becomes multiple 'stays' not one block). This varies by chain and by individual hotel. Also check with your employer - depending on the work pattern, would they be ok with you staying somewhere else Friday and Saturday night (aka a weekend somewhere else) if it is a comparable cost? Could be a good way to maintain your sanity, and see a bit more of your destination state / country.