Hotels, franchise vs. nonfranchise?? (reviews, holiday, experiences)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 22,983,871 times
Reputation: 36027
I usually read reviews like crazy but lately, due to being in the Hilton rewards program, I've been booking their chains as I've never had a bad experience at any of their properties ... My favorite are the Garden Inns.
chain isn't as important to me as style of hotel. i prefer all-suite hotels like residence inn, staybridge suites, summerfield suites, embassy suites, etc.
Most of the time I travel for work, thus I prefer chain hotels. One time I had to stay in a hotel for so long that I racked up enough points to book a room in a large city at the last minute during one of the busiest long weekends. Love the perks.
On the other hand, if I'm traveling on my own dime, I go for the most affordable option. If it's in Europe, I'd even stay at hostels. There are some really nice ones out there.
brand loyalty programs are obsolete with sites like priceline IMO.
For people like us, I would agree. I have accrued points on perhaps THREE hotel stays in the past two years.
However, I think that they are doing better than ever. There are a LOT of people (generally using OPM) who live to see how many points they can accrue in a given year. They may pay SIGNIFICANTLY more to get those points than if they would find the best deals in the area.
Hotels/Motels that are corporate owned are generally, IMO, maintained better than their franchised partners. Best Western is a good example. We've stayed at many a BW and the franchised ones in many cases were no better than a Motel 6. We did complain to BW headquarters and have noticed that they pulled their franchise on some of them.
When travelling check with a AAA book or google ahead of time for reviews on the place you want to stay at.
I stay at whichever is cheapest. That can include sleeping on park benches, or when I have the van with curtains, in the vehicle. (Just kidding about the second sentence)
Around the U.S. I usually stay at national chain hotels. Once in a while I might stay at a mom and pop place. Most of the hotels I stay at in Africa are brands I have never heard of. However most of them actually have an affiliation with one or another of the major hotel chains.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.