sleuth

Not a bad purchase at all. I did not know Barclays is Wyndhams financial advisor. Interesting given the credit card link.

Wyndham Hotels to buy La Quinta.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/18/wynd...5-billion.html

sdsearch

The one big thing IMHO La Quinta does better than WyndhamRewards is show you all your reservations (without having to know reservation numbers) online when you're logged in. I hope WyndhamRewards can finally get that working before they merge the La Quinta program in, because that would an awkward loss for people who come from the La Quinta side.

travelexpert

Are there any WOW aspirational La Quinta properties?

Maybe one with ocean front accommodations.

sdsearch

I doubt it. Are there WOW aspirational Comfort Inn properties? WOW Aspirational Holiday Inn Express properties? WOW Aspirational Wingate by Wyndham properties?

La Quinta is in a similar hotel "space" as those brands. You're much more likely to find them at airport locations than any other type of location. To rule it out, you'd have to go through this whole list:

La Quinta Inns & Suites - Hotel Directory, Hotel Locations by State

and check maps for cities on the ocean one by one. But the ones I checked, even when they're in a city on the ocean, the La Quinta property is not at the ocean front itself.

What makes it good for WyndhamRewards members is simply that they're at about Wingate by Wyndham level, and thus above Travelodge / Days Inn / etc level. WR has too few brands even at the Wingate by Wyndham level.

So I see it as more of a decent new brand to stay and earn WR points at, rather than a brand to redeem WR points at.

I got acquainted with La Quinta a few years ago when it had consistent promos of 1000 UA miles for a single-night stay (with room rates often under $100). Then they reduced that to 750 UA miles, and then sometime last year even that stopped working reliably (in terms of transfering to UA).. Their IT is pretty messed up. Thankfully that'll disappear in this merger.

purplenightskylovertv

This is interesting to be really honest with you guys. I heard La Quinta is nice, but I never stayed at one, not even when I was a little guy. I've seen a handful of La Quintas that stay exterior-corridor, and I've seen some that have taken over a Hampton Inn property (an interior-corridor property, which is dumb).

beachmouse

I've had good luck with them as a Courtyard/Holiday Inn Express/Hampton Inn alternative when those seemed on the expensive side, the LQ was 25-30% cheaper, and the Choice alternative seemed kind of dodgy. I'll miss their rewards program, where you could get 50 points for sending out a tweet with their hash tag once a month and keep your points from expiring indefinitely.

Their newer builds are generally interior corridor and pretty nice for that level, but they aren't good at purging the older properties that aren't quite up to current standards. Wouldn't be surprised to see a few of the old ones nudged over to Days Inn and such after the merger is complete.

sleuth

purplenightskylovertv

That one used to be a Wellesley Inn ages ago.

sleuth

SBT

I am a fan of the LaQuinta Returns program. Its a hidden gem. Two great benefits are upgrades never expire and the points and cash deal provides the best redemption value in the industry. $15 gets you an upgrade point redemption to the next highest level. Customer service is excellent and USA based. Their newer properties with interior corridors are on part with Hampton and Courtyard. Will miss this program.

jrobinson5

Not sure if this counts as "WOW aspirational" but there is a nice-looking La Quinta in downtown Santa Barbara, California, which is typically a very expensive city to stay in. Right now the 2 Wyndham options in Santa Barbara look pretty dodgy, so I'm looking forward to when I can use my Wyndham points there.

wlp07

Anyone care to speculate as to the rate at which LQ rewards points will convert to Wyndham Rewards points? 1:1 would be sweet.

maxp0wers

i came here to ask the same question. I don't have a LQ account, but I do see that they run a pretty consistent Twitter points promo program. Wondering if it would be worth it to try to pick up a few thousand ( if possible ) of LQ points that way until the actual merger.

storewanderer

La Quinta is a good purchase for Wyndham. La Quinta has some properties that are on par with an average Hampton Inn or Holiday Inn Express but in general I think they are a step down from there more like a Comfort Inn.

There are still some pretty old exterior corridor La Quintas around as well as some weird conversions from other things... but they seem to try to refresh the older properties.

Ironically in Rancho Cordova, CA there is a building that was built as a Days Inn in the early 90's (5 or so floors, interior corridors, far nicer than Days Inn now) then played for a while as a Holiday Inn before finally settling as a La Quinta.

Emskevin

I have been staying at the Microtel Wyndham property directly across from the domestic gate at ATL. Property is better than the more expensive Super 8 next door. I usually pay in the $50 range through the app but the $16 ATL hotel tax keeps it just south of $70. The LaQuinta on Virginia looks nicer but I doubt its worth a $30 a night premium for my type use.