LAX

Before Wyndham's purchase of LQ, I have occasionally stayed at LQs when the Marriott properties run much higher than the nearby LQ. Now that LQ is part of the Wyndham, I would be interested in other brands of the family. For those of you that frequent both chains, which Wyndham brands would be comparable in terms of quality to Towneplace Suites, Fairfields, Four Points, & Courtyards. TIA.

LAX

jebr

Admittedly, I haven't stayed in Marriott much, so I don't have much "on the ground" experience.

That said, Hawthron Suites is the only extended-stay brand in the Wyndham lineup, and it's probably a notch below Towneplace Suites (but a notch above cheap extended-stay hotels like Extended Stay America.) The closest to a Fairfield or Four Points would be either a Wingate or Wyndham Garden, and Courtyards perhaps to the same market as a La Quinta or AmericInn. That said, I'd generally place Wyndham properties in the same market class as a notch below a Marriott, especially in terms of consistency and brand standards. Wyndham doesn't seem to strongly enforce brand standards, and that can cause major issues on the lower end of the spectrum. There'd probably be less of that on the midscale end that you're looking at, but it's still an issue and I wouldn't stay at pretty much any Wyndham hotel without reading the reviews first and making sure it's not a poorly maintained hotel.

sdsearch

The two Wingate's I'm familiar with, one was a conversion from a Hampton and one was a conversion from a Holiday Inn Express (and didn't change a lot in the conversion), and since those are in the same category as Fairfield, I"d guess that Wingate is the closest to Fairfield.

Since Courtyard has a bistro (domestically) or sometimes a restaurant (overseas) but no free breakfast, while La Quinta has a free breakfast (though with less variety than Wingate), I wouldn't equate Courtyard and La Quinta. La Quinta varies a lot in quality already (even before Wyndham, which has the same inconsistency issue, takes it over), so it's hard to match it to any one Marriott brand.IMHO. I can't think of a Marriott brand with as little variety for breakfast, while having a breakfast, as La Quinta has (the traditional La Quinta breakfast having only hardboiled eggs and no hot items, though some La Quinta have switched to hot-but-bland eggs and multiple containers of exactly the same stuff. Meanwhile at the ones I've been at least, the room are spacious but not true suites, so it sort of matches TownePlace Suites but not at the detail level.

rbAA

Of the other brands of Wyndham, about the only other comparable to Marriott would be:
The Wyndham Grand but I've only stayed at the Chicago one, and it was as good as the Marriott nearby, though they gave me a room with a terrible view claiming they were full;
I've stayed at one of Wyndham's timeshares, as two bedroom condo style in Windsor, CA, which was very good, of course, no F&B but a full kitchen so I always feel that's better than any hotel breakfast;
Tryp is also one of their better brands, though I've only stayed at the St Augustine, FL property;
Wingates are OK, but not as nice as the Fairfields I've stayed at and usually about the same price;
Some Ramadas are in a similar boat as Wingate, again I've only seen the Dallas one as worth staying in;
Microtel, at least in Palm Coast, FL, is OK but well below the quality of any Marriott, but at $50 doable;
Baymonts are just slightly better than Microtels, but at a decent price point for a cheap stay;
Days Inn, Super 8, Travelodge, and Knights Inn are much poorer quality and never seem to be consistent (well the Days Inn in Palm Coast was at least clean and no where near as bad as the Days Inn Ormond Beach Hwy 1 which was a run down mess.) I haven't found anything in Marriott brands that approaches their low levels.

storewanderer

Hawthorn Suites is like those old 90's Residence Inns. The sprawling apartment complex like properties. So it is comparable to a Marriott brand of a bygone era.

Wingate is very comparable to Fairfield. Purpose built Wingates are quite nice. I used to stay in one that was rather short lived in Rancho Cordova, CA after it opened, which turned into a Fairfield Inn ironically. Beyond changes in colors, etc., the property is basically the same now as it was as a Wingate.

Baymont is where those old 90's Fairfields or Hamptons with the exterior corridors go to die.

Microtel... be careful. Purpose built ones were okay when new but cheaply built and have worn down over time. Perhaps on par with a newer Motel 6.

Super 8, Days Inn, Ramada, Travelodge (they did divest Knights Inn...)... I suppose it depends how much adventure you want. These brands are where Quality Inns and Best Westerns in bad neighborhoods go to die. Nothing comparable to this in the Marriott landscape... past or present... way way below anything.

History of Microtel and Hawthorn was those were developed by Hyatt and sold to Wyndham in the 00's.

cubbynole

To echo what the others have said, expect at least a notch below with the Wyndham brands. Of the two Wyndham Grand properties that I've stayed (Chicago and Pittsburgh), the Chicago was as nice as any Marriott or Hilton I've stayed at in Chicago whereas the Pittsburgh location had a great location and that was about it (tiny room, no fridge, worn furniture). I would slot a full service Wyndham as comparable to a Four Points in the Bonvoy hierarchy; Wyndham Garden is similar in amenities to Courtyard, but I'd pick Courtyard 100% of the time if price is remotely comparable. Wingates and some LQ are comparable to Fairfield Inn, Hawthorn Suites is a notch below TownePlace. With Marriott/Bonvoy (and Hilton) I feel I've never had to do much research, anything that fit my price point and location would be fine; whereas with Wyndham is you really need to do your research on the properties, ESPECIALLY below the Wingate level (LQ is too hit or miss especially with their old exterior corridor properties, though the newer builds have been very nice) - there are some very fine properties (Days Inn & Suites in Prattville, AL being one), but there are also some places you really want to stay. And storewanderer is spot on with Baymont being old 90s exterior Hamptons.

uscgto

IMO, They are not comparable. Apples and Oranges.

I have spent 80 plus nights at Marriott in 2019 - all variety Category 1-6
I have spent 50 plus nights at Hilton in 2019 - all variety

Due to certain location issues, I was restricted to La Quinta property (4 mile from work location) at $125 / night vs 46 mile for the nearest Hilton / Marriott a 180-200 / night

As long as the location provides a fitness center and a clean room, and lobby I am fine. I choose La Quinta over Marriott simply to save 1.5 hrs every day (worth $200 / day) in commute and another $50 bucks / night.

TTT103

The challenge with Wyndham is that they don't heavily enforce brand standards, so inconsistencies exist within their brands to a much greater degree than Marriott. In addition, Wyndham will do quite a bit not to lose a property. For example, when the eight Italian owned Viva Wyndham properties wanted to leave Wyndham, they were offered a deal to remain Wyndham branded properties, but not participate in Wyndham Rewards. They are not required to pay for points, redeem points, or recognize status. I know of no other major chain that allows properties to opt out of their loyalty program.

Eleventeen

Yea that's the problem i see with there program. While it offers some good stuff and even some features bonvoy doesn't spell out like early check in (though for marriott in practice for platinum or higher, I've never had a hotel try to charge me for early check in anyways), there's no guaranteed compensation for hotels that just don't honor the benefits that should be guaranteed.
Plenty of hotels in the bonvoy family like to try not to participate in any of the benefits - claiming the usual rhetoric - "we aren't a marriott bonvoy property, we are just part of their reservation system" - autograph collection and luxury collection in the USA i find are pretty notorious for this. Nice thing with Marriott is if they try that crap, as long as you know the rules, you can often get guaranteed compensation. If not from the hotel, from marriott directly. I got the $100 comp or more at a couple different luxury collections now. Particularly easy for the welcome gift, since a lot simply offer nothing, or if you ask for the amenity, they have no clue, so the amenity automatically becomes $100.

A few in Marriott have also negotiated to provide very little benefits but keep the booking system, and even got that in the terms, so its harder to get much compensation if you deny you benefits. (Bahamas Atlantis, and Cosmopolitan come to mind. )
Though at the cosmopolitan when I went, while most of the staff is completely unaware of the program (they know a bit about the casino program - the two kinda fight with each other), they do have a dedicated autograph collection check in/lounge area which are decently trained in marriott benefits. They don't fully honor the normal benefits, eg: no free breakfast, but they actually even do some stuff they don't need to, like offer late checkout (they are technically exempt since everything in the vegas strip is considered a resort). And you can still get free breakfast via virtuoso anyways. (And there breakfast is not breakfast, its a mega buffet brunch that will be more than enough even for a huge dinner, since it runs until 6pm).

They also tried to claim the platinum/titanium suite upgrade is "1 tier only" (And i asked for a 2 tier upgrade). Which is isn't - they didn't get that in the terms - titanium upgrade is the best room available, including standard suites or better views - they just put in on their own website, which simply does not matter - it only affects bookings done on their own website and I booked thru marriott. I simply agreed to the upcharge for the best suite, called marriott and then marriott contacted their managers, thus they waived the upcharge at checkout.

IHG does the guaranteed compensation thing too for people getting denied upgrades.

Hopefully wyndham adds some guaranteed compensation for hotels not honoring the terms. In the USA especially, fining each other is the best path forward to compliance. Money talks a lot louder than anything else there.

storewanderer

I mean, seriously, most Wyndham properties in the US have nothing to offer an elite member. They just have nothing. Travelodge, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Ramada... these dumps have nothing to offer. You don't want early check in or late check out, you just want to get some sleep and get the heck out. These are not in aspirational locations and not the kind of place you want to "stick around" at. Maybe one of the few nice Wyndhams like the one in Gettysburg, PA would be able to offer some elite benefits but those properties are so few and so far between...

Then there is the "pet friendly" La Quinta chain. That was a nice marketing decision but it sure stinks (literally) for people who don't like dogs or the smell of dog pee.

Better off with Choice Hotels for a low tier program; stick to Comfort Inns.

jebr

Many of them are okay, especially for a night or two. Early check-in or late check-out could still be valuable, even if they're not destination properties. Lots of weddings are mid-afternoon, and being able to check in and change before the ceremony (if you're traveling in that day for it) is a definite benefit. Or maybe you have a late afternoon flight and would like to freshen up or pack up at 2 PM instead of being kicked out at noon.

If Wyndham could consistently offer some sort of guaranteed early check-in/late check-out benefit, that'd be valuable even at lower end hotels.

Not sure I agree with "stick to Comfort Inns," but agreed that they currently have the better program. They're much more aggressive lately with promotions for points earning, and their more granular points chart leads to some better redemption options.

storewanderer

These low end Wyndham Travelodge and other junk properties aren't set up to handle late check out or early check in. They are running on skeleton crews (often times the family running the place is doing everything) who are on duty all day and all night and they cannot afford to have a bunch of unpredictable late check out and early check in transactions and get things turned around for the next night, along with fitting personal errands into that mix. The last thing these properties want to worry about or hear about is "Guaranteed Reward Benefits." For properties that want to provide a gesture of good service to a customer, they are free to offer late check in or early check out to any customer they please. The nature of these low end properties is that they cannot really do "Guaranteed Benefits" because Wyndham has such limited operational control over the properties (literally none). Same reason Best Westerns don't do any "Guaranteed Benefits" though they sure seem to hold properties to a higher standard on condition than Days Inn, Travelodge, Howard Johnson, Ramada, etc. junk properties do.

jebr

Wyndham could still offer those benefits, guaranteed, with specific brands. A "based on availability" early check-in/late check-out benefit is nearly worthless unless I can guarantee it somehow in advance. Hotels could be required to have a certain percentage available for early check-in or late check-out online when someone's logged in as an eligible member. It could even be tied to specific brands, so hotels that don't want to offer the benefit could still be part of Wyndham, just as a different brand. (For example, maybe Ramada and Howard Johnson have it, but Days Inn and Super 8 don't.)

I get that Wyndham may not want to put that pressure on their hotels, but until they do, any on-property delivered benefits are too hit-and-miss to be a selling point. With other reductions in the program, it becomes much harder to justify being even semi-loyal to Wyndham brands.

sdsearch

With a program which allows hotels to opt out of giving points, redeeming points, and honoring elite benefits, just to keep the hotel in the program, I don't see any reason to expect Wyndham to put any pressure on their hotels until they stop having hotels which have opted out of everything.

If you pay attention to their TV ads, Wyndham seems to care most about their hotel count and little about anything else.