BuildingMyBento

Sounds like all the Ibis-brand hotels (though, those aren't yet in the US). I don't mind them, save for the consistently bad a/c, and curtains that don't cover the whole window.

Low Roller

I pictured the exact same conversation when I first saw one of those "Save the environment" cards, but I have a soft spot for clever marketing (not sure if that's from my MBA or watching too much Mad Men), but it made me smile to think that there are still smart people in the world.

Low Roller

I agree. In fact, that's what I thought this thread was going to be about when I first saw the title...the fact that there are no decent "mid-price" hotels left.

jrl767

well, I'd counter that it depends on your definition of "mid-price" .. and I suggest that, to a large extent, your perception will be destination-specific (and perhaps season-specific, day-of-week-specific, etc)

gosha83

I notice a lot of upward pressure from the same chains' "budget" hotels, like Hampton Inn. I use Hilton almost exclusively and of the 45 nights I stayed in a Hilton property, some of the best were in the new Hampton Inns. The rooms are smartly designed, modern, with enough bells and whistles to make an impression. If the location is right, I am happier to stay in a Hampton Inn (or a Homewood Garden Suites hotel) than in a mid-range HGI or a non-renovated upper tier Hilton.

If the holding companies continue to modernize the budget hotels, they will leave the mid-tier hotels in limbo, for sure.

caverunner17

It's hard to find an affordable hotel these days, period. A lot of the Motel 6's and Super 8's these days are charging $80+/night.

I don't understand why along a major interstate in a rural area, I can't get a basic 90-100 sq ft room with a queen sized bed for $50 or so. I could care less about flat screen TVs, cable, pools, etc. I just want a bed to sleep on and Wifi to check email.

darthbimmer

I see the mid-range hotel market as improving overall, not declining. New properties are being built rapidly and new brands are emerging. These new properties bring to the the sector more and more features that traditionally have been the province of higher end hotels, while carefully choosing features to eliminate to maintain mid-range pricing.

Not every single property is improving, of course. Some are in shabby shape and some are going in the wrong direction. But that's because there are other factors that cut across the overall trend of improvement/decline. Two big ones are modernness and standardization.

Modernness has been a challenge for Marriott Courtyard over the past several years, to pick just one brand in the segment. The first Courtyards were built over 30 years ago and embodied design and feature choices that were appropriate for the time. By the late Aughts these older properties seems quaint compared to properties designed and built more recently, including many newer Courtyards. To their credit, Marriott has refreshed the brand. We may grumble about how long it took some franchisees to update or quibble about whether we personally like specific newer feature choices (e.g., replacing the buffet breakfast with the bistro), but the fact is Marriott has improved Courtyard.

Standardization is another industry challenge. Some brands, like Sheraton's Four Points, are notorious for being very hit-or-miss. Others, like Holiday Inn Express and Hilton Garden Inn, have stood out for their consistency for years. Still others are seeing their consistency improved. The trend toward greater consistency is an industry improvement. It means we customers will know better what to expect and will less often find ourselves frustrated because a hotel fails to meet those expectations.

RichardInSF

What got me to start this thread was a stay at the Courtyard Burbank Airport (which actually is not at the airport) for ~$260++ a night for three nights, admittedly in their "suite" category.

My feet kept getting dirty because of the total failure to vacuum the floors, I mean really dirty. One morning at 8:30am they slipped a card under my door saying "I see you have 'Do Not Disturb' out so we won't clean your room." That was a reaction to the previous day when they just ignored the DND and knocked on the door yelling "Housekeeping!"

A CFL bulb takes roughly 10 minutes to get to decent birghtness. They could have saved just as much energy using LEDs but I guess CFLs are cheaper. The bedroom had a total of 21 watts of CFL lighting. It was dark even during the day with curtains opened.

As to second tier (Gold) elite benefits, they informed me that I got more points and "premium" internet. That was it.

Yes I complained to the front desk about housekeeping, and I eventually got maid service and the floor vacuumed. But that's more Motel 6 than midrange.

All small things (and there were a few others) but somehow combined, they really degraded the experience for me. To their credit, there were no motion sensors.

cbn42

Over time, a business faced with increasing costs has two options: raise prices or cut quality. Different chains are taking different approaches, but to me, mid-range hotels are meant to be a comfortable place to rest where you don't have to worry about bedbugs or drug dealers like a Motel 6.

No offense, but I think most of these complaints are fairly silly. Why does a room need to be vacuumed regularly when a guest is there? Why does it matter what kind of light bulbs there are, as long as they produce light? If these things are important, then perhaps a full-service hotel would be a better choice.


I highly recommend you look into AirBnB. It often has rooms in rural areas for around that price.

diburning

I actually prefer the wall-mounted shampoo/conditioner/body wash dispensers to the little bottles. It's easier to get what I need without trying to fumble with a tiny bottle. I've only seen the wall mounted dispensers twice though, at a Hampton Inn near AMS, and a Sonesta resort at SXM.

I'd rather take the wall mounted dispensers, or even the tiny bottles over what some hotels have done - replace all of them with bar soap. Bar soap is a pain to use when trying to wash hair.

CKA1

I stay in a lot of small town hotels which are often small, non-chain motels. For example, the Commercial Hotel in Maple Creek is 100/night. It's quite a nice place, but really old and cramped. I can get a similar room at the Maple Creek Motor Inn for 69 bucks. For 31 dollars savings I get cigarette burns on the carpet and linens only changed if I ask. When I'm going to the badlands for a guy's getaway I care more about paying the minimum. I can live with a cockroach in the room, just as long as it isn't under the pillow.

Is there a disconnect between the 100/night and the 300/night hotel? Yeah. 100/night used to get you a clean room, decent room service and a quiet sleep. Now, you're paying 300+ for what a 100/night used to get you. I stayed in a Ramada a while back. No bar, and the hotel restaurant was a Denny's. I phoned room service, not knowing room service was a Denny's, and explained that I'd had a bad meal at Denny's and needed them to send up some ginger ale. You would be amazed at the response. They basically told me that if I wanted some ginger ale, I could either use the vending machine (broken) or come down and drink it in their restaurant and be glad that they'd serve a fellow like me.

Toiletries? I like bar soap, a bit of shampoo and it's nice to have mouthwash. I don't use conditioner or a separate bar of a "body wash bar". If it were just bar soap and on wall shampoo, I'm okay with that. As long as I can scrub down and rinse off in hot water.

Chuck

dinanm3atl

As said I assumed this was what the thread was going to be about.

I used to do a lot of IHG properties but the cost was skyrocketing. Seeing very basic HIE pushing 200 or over. They aren't worth that and unless it's something major in town now sure why the pricing has been there.

That moved me to Wyndham and much happier. Microtel is my go-to and it's a half price HIE in most instances. Higher chance it won't be as good but still usually very good.

I agree. I don't find the dispenser a 'bad thing' or 'downgrade'. Even in a high end property. The little bottles are annoying.

Calliopeflyer

Why does it matter how dim the room is, and whether or not you've got enough light to read by? Gee, I don't know.....maybe so I don't get eye strain, and so I can tell what colour socks I'm putting on in the morning. (Yes, I did go to work once with one navy and one black sock, because the quality of the fluorescent light didn't let me tell them apart). Why should providing a decent level of lighting be considered a luxury instead of a minimum standard?

Peoriaman1

I haven't seen the built-in soap and shampoo dispensers yet. I suppose they might be OK assuming they can be kept clean. These are sort of like the soap dispensers in gas station restrooms I think?

I don't mind the individual bottles. But I usually bring my own unless I am really trying to save space/weight.

BearX220

Well, with great respect, a mediocre single stay at one single property with some housekeeping issues makes a poor platform for arguing that the entire US mid-range hotel sector is in a "long, slow decline." Anecdotes =/= trend data.