Kagehitokiri

(many here) do not choose based on loyalty, but dont turn down rewards if choice offers them

private rentals - can be done through a local property management company, units can be in hotels

boutique and or upscale hotels can be better value and lower price vs regular (not upscale) chain hotels

how do you redeem hilton? then there can be answers as to comparing that to marriott or others

darthbimmer

I agree with you on not being loyal to rental car companies. Up 'til a few years ago some of them had frequent renter programs that returned worthwhile value. Nowadays they all seem poor. I find much more value in crediting rentals to an airline such as Southwest, which pretty much always has bonus promotions going with all the majors. I compare prices across all of them and pick whichever is cheapest among the reputable ones. I do still sign up for the rental programs-- for the expedited service. It's great being able to complete my transaction at the desk in under 30 seconds!

sbm12

Wow...that's an impressive string of bad luck.

pinniped

I've had good experiences with VRBO, Booking.com, and Homeaway over the years.

I've had bad experiences with Airbnb.

VRBO and Homeaway seem to have a more well-seasoned and trustworthy group of people posting available rentals. I've also never had an unreasonable request from a VRBO or Homeaway host, such as access to my social network information or a photograph to prove that I'm not of a race the host doesn't want to rent to. I've never felt like a VRBO host was "vetting" me any more than a hotel reasonably would (e.g., does the payment process): if a unit was available, it was available for me to book. My Booking.com rentals have always been rather professional as well: usually picking up keys from a management office that regularly handles these kinds of rentals. (I've always done flats from Booking.com and single-family houses from VRBO, for what it's worth...)

I've certainly read about bad experiences on VRBO and good experiences on Airbnb, but I really do think the two platforms attract different kinds of hosts and renters - at least up until the past 1-2 years. (I hope Airbnb doesn't ultimately crush all the other platforms.)

StartinSanDiego

We find our travels often don't coincide with good hotel offerings. I don't use AirBnB, for the reasons outlined above... too many variables. We do use Hotels.com and Bookings.com as a way to access off-the-beaten-path hotels in rural areas. These platforms seem to be a bit more structured than Airbnb. We prefer hotels with a staffed front desk, however small it may be, not an arrangement to meet someone to pick up a key, often after a long day of travel. We try to pick highly rated establishments with good reviews. Even then, we've had trouble with the keys, significant language barriers, and have run out of toilet paper. They can also be really hard to find. Adding WhatsApp has helped when we're lost or there's an issue.

As a purely leisure traveler, all my chain hotel status comes from credit cards. I'm not loyal enough to any particular chain to find that it matters, although free breakfast (when available), early check in and late check out are all great benefits that I want to keep. My hotel cards include:
SPG Fantastic hotels, but can be pricey on points.
Marriott The category 5 or less have required a bit of effort, but the amazing Nights & Flights package has worked out.
Club Carlson Amazingly, this program still working for us after tanking the benefits a few years ago. The earning ratio of the Club Carlson credit card (5pts to the dollar), and the large numbers of hotels in Europe have made it easy for us. I also like the simple yearly bonus of more points (40K upon renewal), rather than a certificate with an expiration date. We also get the domestic certificate for $10,000+ in spending, but that isn't a benefit I need.
IHG The yearly free night anywhere is great. I have yet to maximize this with an amazing hotel, but I know I will someday.
Hilton: I dropped the Citi card, may reapply for the new Amex card.

I'm considering adding Wyndham to my arsenal.

pinniped

My hotel cards:

- SPG Amex: my everyday spend card. 4+% total return on general spend, whether as a high-cost Starwood award redemption or just plowed into my next Marriott Travel Package.
- Hyatt Visa: free night more than pays for itself. Adequate return on a no-FX fee card, and fills a key role for me in terms of awards - the ability to do 1- or 2-night awards without taking a big value hit.
- Two Marriott Visas: I forget why I ended up with two of them, but whatever...it's two free nights per year that more than pay for the annual fees. Sadly, the 15 EQN bonus only posts once per year. I no longer actually use these cards for anything. (SPG Amex is better at Marriott hotels.) The power of the Category 5 award gradually weakens over time as many of my past redemptions have crept up to 6 or 7, but I'll hang on to these two cards through 2019 when I assume they will be part of a broad overhaul of Marriott offerings.
- One Hilton Citi Visa and one Hilton Amex Surpass. Hanging on to both until I see what kind of upsell teaser Amex sends me for their new top-tier card. I assume I will consolidate credit limits and dump one of these cards, as I don't run a ton of spend through either one (just enough to trigger the free night).

Also have the Citi Prestige card, a "Thank You Points" card that includes 4th night free on hotels (limitations apply). Annual fee due in May: I may call for some kind of retention offer and, if nothing good is given, downgrade this to some sort of no-fee card and sign up for a CSR card. I actually use the Priority Pass benefit quite a bit, so count me as maybe the only person in the universe who actually *likes* that program - especially if they add more restaurants.