#notsponsoredbutwishitwas Amirite?

A few weeks ago I gave some topics for choosing where to put your hotel loyalty but I didn’t go into a lot of detail about why I chose the brand that I chose. I love the Marriott brand (even more since their huge acquisition of SPG) and here’s why:

1. So. Many. Options

The first and most important reason why I prefer Marriott is because their portfolio is massive and within that portfolio are hotels at essentially any price point and amenity expectation. I love that no matter what my accommodation budget is for any particular trip, I know that I can find a Marriott brand that will fit my needs and I can accrue points.

Two examples on either end of the spectrum: a trip to visit family in Florida and a first time visit to Venice, Italy.

There is a Springfield Inn and Suites where my family lives in Florida and the prices are always great for the few days that we visit. In addition to fantastic pricing, the offer free breakfast and that’s always a bonus. Because I’ve been to Florida dozens of times in my lifetime, I’m less concerned about the kind of area I’ll be in (location, location, location), nearby restaurants (Hello, family home cooking) or needing to be near other sites/beaches (renting a car in the US is simple and that’s the route we usually take). So without needing to take those things into consideration, I choose this brand of Marriott hotels for my stays to visit family. And the free breakfast cuts down on costs because who doesn’t take some fruit or other goodies for later?

For our visit to Venice, I had about 80,000+ Marriott points in my account from a sign-up bonus that I hadn’t used or had plans to use. After a lot of research on hotels in the area, I decided on the JW Venice for two nights, after staying in Venice city proper the night that we got in to the city. At the time, our redemption rate was 40,000 pts/nt, and although this has gone up, I couldn’t recommend this hotel more. After running around (see getting lost) the canals of Venice from sun up to sun down, we so looked forward to that private water taxi ride back to their private island and our plush room. Even the basic points room with no upgrade was beautiful. While breakfast at a JW is not included in the room rate, that didn’t matter to me because that wasn’t the type of trip that I was taking at the time: my goal was to eat my way through Italy and enjoy my hotel for few hours I spent there. Added bonus: nicer hotels usually have fantastic restaurants and bars. We didn’t experience the Michelin starred restaurant on site but we did eat at another restaurant on the grounds that was phenomenal.

In the case of hotels on either spectrum, Marriott has a ton of brands and, like I said, with their acquisition of SPG, that portfolio has only grown. The possibilities between budget and extravagant are endless.

2. Status

With my Marriott credit card, I get automatic Silver status. Which really isn’t a big deal to people who stay at hotels a lot during the year and rack up enough nights to have Gold or Platinum status but for me, someone who only stays hotels maybe 10 days total a year, having status of any kind makes me feel special.

Silver Elite Status comes with wifi with every stay, a dedicated Marriott Rewards Member check-in line, a goodie bag of snacks at some locations and extra nights to pad your account for the current and following year. This means that even if I only stay at a Marriott one night this year (which is almost the case), I keep my status for the following year. This is a perk that comes with being a card member on top of the bonus points you get after meeting the spend minimum.

If you’re able to stay more nights than I am, that’s even better because that means that you could earn elevated status sooner.

I think that you can get status through other hotel loyalty programs by opening a credit card but I’m not certain; I pull 99% of my loyalty into Marriott and sometimes I’ll go through Hyatt if I like their prices.

3. Locations & Availability

Marriott has thousands of hotels all around the globe and, again, because they have so many brands, you’re almost guaranteed to find a hotel within their portfolio anywhere you want to travel. I’ve saved hotels in Egypt, Singapore, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, etc. This is important to me because it lets me know that no matter where I want to go, I know that I can earn points towards my favorite hotel chain and future (free) stays.

Furthermore, because of the variety of brands available, I never feel like I’m staying at an American hotel while abroad. Some all-inclusive resorts are like that and I’m of the mindset that if I left home for a reason, it wasn’t so that I can be at home somewhere else.

4. Overall Convenience

I think that it is also worth noting that the reason why I ever choose a hotel over an Airbnb is purely for the convenience of it all. Especially when traveling with a small child, I want to know that I can get to my hotel and order room service. Or in the morning not have to worry about where we’re going to eat right away because we’re no longer on our own schedule or able to just get ourselves halfway decent and go. I appreciate that Marriott makes me feel special not just because I have status but just because I’m a rewards member.

Again, I’m not speaking to the experience of other hotel brands and their loyalty programs; I can only speak to my personal experience with the Marriott brand.

I’m dying to know, do you already put all or most of your loyalty into one hotel chain? If yes, which one and why?

And if not, what are you waiting for?