pinniped

I've kind of wondered if there won't be a future evolution by Marriott and Hilton into the realm even more rural than Fairfield and Hampton.

I know that sounds nuts, but there's a market there. New Hamptons and Fairfields these days have gotten pretty good: they've upgraded the product and command $100-125/nt in most places. As such, they tend to be right along major interstates and usually within an hour or so of a large or medium-sized city. They can't get *too* rural.

Thus it wouldn't surprise me if one of them devised a concept in the $60-80/nt. range that they could deploy to less-trafficked interstates, state highways, and small towns that today might be lucky to have a Best Western type of place. It seems like there's a huge fragmented market full of lousy motels: ripe for one of the Big 3 (I'll add IHG to this...although I'm not sure how you brand HIX to something even lighter while still keeping the HI name) to come in and dominate with a clean, fresh brand.

Since the lower end is where the profits seem to be, I'm just surprised it hasn't been done.

This is what goes through my head when we're roadtripping late at night to Minneapolis, getting to an MSP airport hotel at 1AM. Last Marriott/Starwood/Hilton on I-35 is in Ames, 3.5 hours south. Between there and MSP, it's nothing but truckstops and strong coffee.

Tizzette

I have saved them! The ones with lids that screw off, so I can refill with my own brand of shampoo and conditioner. I like to fit all my various toiletries and makeup in one 311 bag so everything is conveniently in one place. Little hotel bottles and sample size jars make it possible. 3 oz. travel bottles are too big.

I have a friend who saves all the hotel's toiletries and soaps every day to donate to women's and homeless shelters. Housekeepers like to give her even more. The small sizes are easy to use, whereas they don't have anyplace to store full size products. I do it too but not as faithfully. It's a good giving idea for Flyertalkers.

Calliopeflyer

In my last year's worth of business trips, Best Westerns have been better than the Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, or Four Points. I'd say they are lucky to have a Best Western......I've found them most consistent in level of quality from location to location too. The others seem to vary a lot more in different locations - great at some places, lousy at others - so you don't know what to expect.

Personally, I'm becoming a bigger fan of Country Inn & Suites.

Kagehitokiri

in other words certain "select service" brands further reducing their service?
what impact will marriott/starwood merger have (including their competitors)
most properties are franchises, i imagine owner/manager remain important factor

i only recently noticed that best western is a nonprofit basically a coop, not franchise

agree with others re hyatt place/house. are they all new build? good hard product value.

courtyard - 353(?) owned/managed in US
22 owned/leased
334 managed
742 franchised

hilton garden inn - 6 owned/managed in US
2 owned US
54 managed - 4 US , 8 americas, 20 europe , 6 middle east & africa ,16 asia
661 franchised - 598 US , 31 americas , 32 europe

Low Roller

I find that Hampton Inn and Best Western Plus are pretty much interchangeable (as long as they are both fairly new builds). I've been in towns where the Hampton is better and others where the BW is better. But BW also has alot of refurbished properties in smaller markets (even at the Plus level). Some of these are ok for a quick stop on a roadtrip but it would be pretty depressing to have to stay there on a regular basis.

pinniped

My *good* Best Western experiences have been outside the U.S. Stayed in one in London once that was a bona fide 3-star hotel with a good pub and everything. Really sharp place right near the Bayswater tube, a great location. Wonder if it's still there...

In the U.S., it's been a long time since I've stayed in one but when I did it was truly the barebones roadside motel. Built in the mid-20th century, park your car in front of your room, window A/C units, no breakfast. They didn't appear consistent or possessing much real branding, which would be consistent with the idea that's more of a coop that hotel owners can buy into. I wasn't aware of the "Plus" designation or the idea that there's a central company out there building a product comparable to Hampton or Fairfield.

Travelchurner

Mid range Hyatt I've found to be very good.

formeraa

Obviously, cbn42, you must have perfect vision. Living life with some vision issues (thick glasses, contact lenses, etc.), the light is very important to me. I just like to make sure that there is enough light in the room for me to be able to see reasonably well.

Some of the mid-range hotels are often better than some of the higher-end hotels. For example, I find that the CY hotels often have great lighting. They replaced 60W standard bulbs with the CFL equivalent of 75-100W. I stayed at a remodeled LQ last week, which had decent lighting.

pinniped

No question about it!! We've probably all stayed in older, higher-end hotels that had a weak light by the door, one standing lamp somewhere in the room, and one or two bedside lamps. A bigger room might have a separate desk lamp. Even with all of them on it's still a pretty dim room.

Newer hotels are more likely to have wall lamps higher up, dedicated (bright) reading lights by the bed, and more modern tech (CFL at least) in general.

Overhead lights seem rare in hotel rooms - there's probably some construction or electrical code thing at play - but newer hotels seem to address lighting a little better than older ones do. And since it's these midrange brands that are the fastest-growing, usually we're talking about a newer build.

empedocles

Curious as to the issues with Candlewood. I've stayed at 3 or 4 over the last 5 or so years and they seemed on-par with all the other mid-tier suite hotels.

pinniped

I only have a couple anecdotes - North Dallas, Jonesboro (AR) - and they were grimy, dirty hotels.

It's entirely possible that it was the best hotel in Jonesboro. I was roadtripping, working an IHG promo, and picked it sight-unseen about an hour before I arrived. (But it was still a dump.) Screwed up my timing: thought I could make Memphis before getting tired. Lesson learned: don't get stuck in Jonesboro.

North Dallas, near the Galleria, has a wide variety of much nicer properties in a similar price range, both all-suite and not. The area has an office-park vibe and the bland (but usually clean) hotels that go along with that. The CW was filthy and creepy in general.

I seem to recall in both cases that I'd already done recent HIX and/or Crowne Plaza stays. They like to set their "big" promos up to make you try different brands, and it was the Candlewood or nothing if I intended to keep going on the promo.

If there are good ones out there, I haven't found them.

beachmouse

Other than really awful wifi and housekeeping forgetting to move dishes from dishwasher to cupboard before we checked in, the Candlewood in Grand Junction, CO was clean, nicely kept, and run well.

darthbimmer

My main gripe about Candlewood is that the cost cutting is too obvious. Shared facilities are limited and what they do provide is too small. Even the hallways and foyer are obviously designed for cheapness. Also, in my experience, the staff are sloppy at their jobs. Perhaps they're not paid enough or provided enough training or routinely under-staffed. Again, more obvious cost cutting.

RichardInSF

That current midrange chain hotels are better than what was in those same towns before the chain arrived is not a justification for all the cost cutting. A car with safety features removed is still a faster way to reach your destination than a horse, but that doesn't justify the degradation.

Let's avoid logically spurious arguments!

Kagehitokiri

consolidated ownership by institutional owners may also contribute
commercialobserver.com/2014/10/the-rise-of-select-service-hotels/
nreionline.com/mag/select-service-hotels-entice-developers

hotel chains competing for big jumps in hotel/room counts may loosen already loose/select standards