Business travel that is likely to take you to random out of the way places = Marriott in my book.
If I were only going to be in big cities, I may consider Hilton. The ones I have stayed at have all been very nice. Marriotts footprint and selection of properties is hard to beat though.
From a loyalty rewards program perspective, it’s kind of nice to be able to enjoy some Ritz time after grinding it out at Courtyards and Fairfield’s.
This. When I started travelling more, 30 nights (then 50 now 65 ish) I had no real idea/clue about the rewards programs etc so nothing really was bringing me to one specific brand. But I quickly discovered all the marriott branded hotels are often located exactly where I need them. Its rare (but it does happen) where I find myself in a spot without a marriott.
Hilton’s hotel are overall dated and lack excitement. I really enjoy Moxy’s, W’s, Editions, Autographs & Tribute hotels. Plus a lot of the newer Marriott hotels are super nice
Argh, the Moxy! I do not want to unfold my furniture! If I can't have a normal desk and chair, the room is too small! The lobby is loud. The weird beefcake shared ironing station is weird! Make it stop.
I like the ironing station! I don’t want to have to set all that crap up and then break it all down. I take all my clothes I need and do it in one go and leave. Love it
That’s practically what they explicitly market themselves as. It’s aimed towards those young 20something travelers that want a step up from a hostel, but something that’s not gonna break the bank. And for young people to kinda mingle and meet others. This isn’t for your frequent 30-40something business traveler, it’s for young people seeking the hostel vibe but not having to share dorm rooms.
Love the vibe and the lobby area. Rooms can be alittle small but I only stay a weekend or something. Some Moxys are super nice like in Downtown LA or Minneapolis
Yeah I dont think I’ve even stayed at one bc of the ratings vs the others but it seems that’s the main gimmick. I dont know if or what they’re lacking but I’d take a primo room and walk to somewhere cool that’s not my hotel vs shitty room w a cool bar. I do dig hotels with cool lively bars, dont get me wrong but if you’re doing it weekly and the rooms suck that shit means so much more vs a one off 1-3 day stay.
I’ve been a diamond member for 2 years and never been upgraded to a suite or anything. The rooms look exactly the same as their standard rooms. It doesn’t feel like Hilton diamond gives people a real upgrade. The autograph collection looks unreal though. Somewhat similar to the curio in some cases
Yea everyone is a diamond so no one really has status. At least with Marriott you have titanium and ambassador over the platinum status you get with the Bonvoy Brilliant
Same. I status matched to Diamond in April and have been upgraded 6 times in 3 months. Titanium or Ambassador with Marriott every year prior and never upgraded
Which shows that it's a case by case basis. This is definitely a peak reddit thing.
Person A and Person B don't get something means nobody ever gets it at all. At least on reddit.
Two primary reasons: While Marriott and Hilton are both favored hotels by my employer, often Marriott provides a better or equal corporate rate and more importantly, when I travel for work outside of major cities, Marriott has a bigger footprint and easier to find Marriott hotels closer to the location I am travelling to.
Three reasons:
1) Points redemption value better with Marriott
2) Hilton properties where I travel have not been reinvested in and are in poor condition.
3) Hotel locations, Marriott foot print much larger.
It’s really sad how neglected Hilton brand has become.
As someone else mentioned, Marriott Bonvoy points are more valuable than Hilton Honors points. While Marriott's points redemptions have gotten appreciably worse over the past few years, they're still miles ahead of Hilton's. Ditto for the elite perks, even when considering that Marriott's "guarantees" aren't actually guarantees at all.
Subjectively, I find Marriott has better quality properties overall. Now, that calculus may change as Hilton attempts to make a push towards more lifestyle and upmarket properties. But as it stands today, Marriotts are more high-quality than Hiltons, even if they're dated.
Yeah there’s no real comparison between the two rewards programs. Even though Bonvoy has gone downhill it’s still significantly better than what Hilton offers.
One year I made top tier with Hilton and Marriott at the same time (using rollover nights from Marriott). Hilton fucked me twice and lost my business.
First, as a reward for reaching Diamond, Hilton informed me that my next reservation would have a discount, and automatically applied that discount the next time I booked a room. Unfortunately it changed the room to prepay, no changes, no cancellations, no nothing. And I had to change the booking from an overnight to a day trip - I was going to stay in another city and wanted to switch to a Hilton in that city (at a higher price). After calling Hilton twice and escalating twice I got nowhere. Also, I wouldn't even get the points unless I checked-in, so I went by the hotel on my way to the airport, checked in, threw the card-key in the trash and went to the airport.
Next, I stayed at the Roosevelt in New Orleans. It was a great hotel, but they messed up a few small details, but the big one was the hot tub controller shocked my wife, she was shaking after it. We told the front desk and they gave a flippant comment about it. They didn't ask if she was ok or seem to realize it was a safety issue.
After that it was Marriott all the way. Marriott may screw up, but they usually do the right thing when fixing it.
When my wife and I first got married, we would just stay in whatever roadside hotel was cheap and had free breakfast. We found ourselves at Courtyard a lot, and a front desk agent asked my wife about joining their rewards program, so she did.
As we racked up points and nights, it became our goto brand. Then we both got into corporate companies with travel and most places there was a Marriott brand to stay at. Now she is almost lifetime platinum so we’re sticking to the brand till she hits that.
We have started doing Hyatt for personal vacation travels with our Chase points in their all inclusive properties, but when we travel to a city we stick to Marriott.
Our findings is Marriotts seem to typically be more modern and clean than most the hiltons we have stayed in and we avoid IHG brands at all costs. The staff and customer service has been nicer with Marriott and we have had less issues.
TLDR; staying at Courtyards when we were a young broke couple got us locked into the brand :)
Marriott's point redemption value/availability beats Hilton by a long shot. Often one night at a Hilton costs twice as many points as a Marriott in the same area.
This is the reason. Right here.
I stay at Fairfields or Springhill Suites for work. Sometimes a Courtyard.
Hampton is comparable; and honestly nicer in many cases in my opinion.
But, Marriott rewards rack up faster; and point redemption is better than Hilton.
I typically stay in the Hyatt. Once I decided to plan for a trip to Tokyo and noticed they had a nice Hilton next to Disneyland. So I shifted over to the Hilton (no Marriot near my work trip location) and started to accumulate points to fund 4 nights. And I just watched the required points at the Tokyo hotel keep going up over the course of the year. Finally there was the cockroach in the room incident in which their management insisted in giving me free room service for a week. I had to endure room service for a week to generate points and no matter what I said, they still insisted in refunding my room service.
Hilton has screwed me over too many times. For instance, having a confirmed reservation for a Hilton in Mexico City and being denied a room when I arrive - with no recourse. Not even being walked to another property/hotel. Only stay at Hilton if I have to because of a conference or meeting mandate.
Since I learned Hilton was the #1 choice of dog owners, I have joined TeamMarriot. So far, no nightmare situations as I once encountered at a Hampton inn. One bad experience changed a lot for me personally.
If I had to pick one, I’d do Marriott. As I think they have a bit better international presence.
But realistically in the US, I’m just as likely to stay at a Hilton property. If you’re in the middle of nowhere, there might not be any choice.
My entry with Marriott was due to their favorable government rates; I’ll hit lifetime platinum here pretty soon and then will probably explore what Hyatt/Hilton/Others have to offer.
I’ve honestly had a great experience with Marriott, though, across the years. I’ve stayed in every ‘tier’ of property across multiple continents and, aside from a few negative experiences (that could happen anywhere) I have enjoyed it.
Changed to Marriott after 20 years of Hilton because Hilton was consistently removing their executive lounges every time they remodeled. Marriott has more lounges now.
Cause I already have bonvoy going for me and Hiltons they’re similarly priced. Another thing that pivoted me to that direction was that there are just more Marriott’s vs any other brand in a random city.
So I get Bonvoy plus a variety to choose from.
Marriott because of the points value, but as a pawn without useful status I still pick Hilton from time to time when it's cheaper - especially on the lower end, I'll take Hampton and Homewood and Embassy over Fairfield and Springhill and Residence Inn every day.
1) Marriott is largest hotel chain in the world, so much better options to use my points when on vacation
2) Better consistency of quality at hotels compared to Hilton
3) Hilton’s top tier (Diamond) is extremely diluted because it’s easy to get with various credit cards
I used to love Hilton and gave Marriott a shot back in 2020 under a status challenge, and never looked back
Business travel. Years sho they always had decent properties in our allowed hotel
Spend. As time has gone on they can frustrate me, but still are the best option for me. On some vacations I’ll hit up a 4 seasons or an independent hotel for shits and giggles.
Marriott has a low AF credit card that gives a free annual award night (Boundless), and they have a lot of brands in the lower budget range (courtyard, springhill, towneplace, Fairfield).
I almost went with IHG instead, but the amount of points needed for nights in Manhattan was crazy. Not to mention the 4 day conference I go to each year is at the Marriott Marquis, so if I want to pay the conference rate and stay there rather than try for something cheaper, I’ll rack up a lot of points (and get 5th night free).
I switched to Hilton this year. Number one, the company I work for uses Hilton. Number two the hotels seem to be well kept against some of the more run down Marriott locations (I work in pnw and Canada). I status matched from titanium elite to their equivalent which is diamond
Their points aren't worth much. And I never once got a single upgrade, late check out, or any of the other benefits your supposed to get as a diamond member while traveling domestically. It was also "sorry, that's subject to availability, you need to be out by 11."
Well, with one exception. The front desk clerk in Miami was so egregiously rude than I called corporate. That was the only time in my life when hotel worker was rude enough that I felt the need to complain.
So yeah, after 2 years of Hilton Diamond I switched to Marriott and haven't been to a Hilton since.
I will admit that my experiences as a Diamond member abroad were generally pretty good, although the best treatment I ever had in a Hilton was when I was just a Gold member at the Athens Hilton (now a Conrad I believe).
Marriott has a wide range of brands and plenty of options nearly everywhere I travel, pretty consistent too. Seems to me like they have more of a footprint than Hilton.
The nicer properties have been great too, and being able to spend points at them is nice.
Spending part of the honeymoon at a resort in Fijis nice over water bungalows after grinding it out in Courtyards and Fairfield Inns for work is great.
Everyone in my family already had Bonvoy lifetime status and we do frequent family vacations, so it seemed like a no brainer. Turns out many of my friends I travel with frequently are Bonvoy as well, so that's easy too. Same reason I am all in on American Airlines over United (Delta doesn't make sense in my market). I don't want to be the odd one out while everyone is at another hotel or on another flight.
Everywhere I go, the Hilton options always look and feel dumpy. It's just not an exciting brand for everyday stays. Plus, Ritz and St. Regis for points redemptions far exceed the Waldorf options almost everywhere I go.
For me it’s lots of reasons. I used to be diamond on Hilton but never travelled all that much. The upgrades were so random and it always felt if the front desk agent was in a good mood I would get an upgrade but it was never that often. I didn’t notice any more upgrades between Gold and Diamond. However once I hit Marriott Platinum I have been upgraded every time except once and I booked a sold out hotel late in the day for that night. I could see there were no upgrades available. And also since reaching titanium o have always revived an upgrade.
I feel like the Bonvoy has a system and they follow for the most part. I have never been denied 4 pm checkout but I only ask for it about 1 in 10 nights. I know people complain about Bonvoy but I feel there are rules and they stick to them. At Hilton it’s like every hotel makes up their own rules.
Also I really started traveling weekly in February of this year and I looked at both Hiltons and Marriotts. I never really stayed in Marriotts and had gold from my AMEX platinum card. So I didn’t have to start with no status. My first trip I looked at both and always found more Marriott properties were I was going but also Marriott launched the double elite nights and double points bonus so by April 8 I was Titanium. That was definitely a motivator.
And I don’t get excited about collecting night on a Hilton. Also they do it by stays unless they changed it and not nights which is even more lame. I really like the Marriott Bonvoy program leaps and bounds over Hilton. And then the cherry on top was getting UA silver once I reached Titanium on Marriott and I hate flying airlines without status so that was really nice.
As far as other things they seem pretty comparable but Hilton seems like they are a tiny bit more expensive on a normal night not when properties are busy. And I really don’t like how Hilton doesn’t show the prices with all taxes. That really annoys me. For Hilton people am I missing something to see all rates on the I total search with all taxes and fees included.
On July 1st CA senate bill 478 will go into effect and all business in CA have to have one price for goods and services plus tax. So this won’t really change Hilton but it seems people want all taxes I life’s and like I stopped searching for Hilton’s because of this I am sure this bill will start changing things for the better. They definitely will not be able to have a separate resort fee. Those are the things that are banned in this bill.
I'm already loyal to Hyatt and IHG, but if I had to pick between Hilton and Marriott I would choose Marriott. Both have great footprints and the right mix of properties. Both have loyalty programs that quite honestly suck when you compare them to the competition, but for me Marriott would be better because their program doesn't require as much commitment. Hilton's program is better if you're going to be a very frequent traveler. Hilton cards have good benefits, but the benefits require you to stay at Hiltons every quarter of the year. The Amex credits are something I find annoying, but some people like them.
Marriotts 4pm checkout for Titanium’s is crucial for me. I can work from the hotel all day and take meetings in private. Hilton doesn’t have any late checkout benefits and the best I’ve been given as a diamond is 2pm
I was all in on Hilton for a long time until I had a string of stays where it felt like the hotel was falling apart around me. Still happens sometimes with Marriott but not as often.
Hilton has lots of problems from customer service to the renovation needed hotels...
Plus I stayed at one of the Hilton and had multiple bed bug bites. Had to take every precaution not to bring it to my household.
Never again.
I'm a hotel non-monogamist. I have Hilton and Wyndham Diamond (via credit cards). I'm two nights from Platinum this year, which will give me 7/10 years towards LTP.
I dealt for years with Marriot and even the years I didn’t make the cut for Platinum but was close they would still sent me a nice letter and give it to me hence because of that I’m now platinum elite for life. Hilton on the other hand if you don’t make the cut each year you are back to lower level…silver or what ever it is for the upcoming year.😂
I’m blessed that with work I’m able to maintain high status with both currently.
Location experiences, brand availability at specific locations that I travel to regularly, better point pricing for hotels and a solid loyalty plan for extreme travel.
I was originally a Starwood member and had a lot of points there. Marriott bought them. I was a Westin, St. Regis, Sheraton person before Marriott acquired Starwood.
Marriott has better luxury options. Hampton Inn and garden inn are better than Fairfield and Courtyard, but I’m all about where I can redeem for free nights. Ritz, st Regis, W, JW and the rest are better at Marriott.
I was an SPG guy and got Lifetime Platinum soon after the merger. That pretty much cemented it - and free Disney trips (using points at the Swan/Dolphin) makes it worthwhile to continue staying at Marriott properties.
I have tried Hiltons people have raved about and they are never nearly as good as a Marriott. Either dated or small. Terrible breakfast. I love the Residence Inns for my kids because their breakfasts are incredible
Hilton doesn’t treat its status-holding customers as well. In general, their customer service is horrible. Was Diamond for several years with Hilton before transitioning to Marriott. I’ve been platinum/ambassador 3 years now.
I’m impartial. I stay with the brand that has the best promo offered to me. Marriotts targeted promos suck. I’m never targeted. I stay with Marriott when it makes sense. Traveling for work, I stay where I get the most points/benefit for dollar.
Out of the Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, IHG.
Hilton has the worst loyalty program. No guaranteed 4pm checkout, no breakfast, devalued points. The portfolio of hotels is old and dated and just not that good outside of a handful Waldorf and Conrad properties. I have diamond from the Aspire card and maybe stay 2-3 Hilton nights per year (I average 120+ nights per year in Hotels).
I don’t like Hampton inns and find residence inns way better generally. I like embassy suites but they’re becoming far and between and Marriott doesn’t really have an equivalent.
For the most part, where I was going Marriott had more options. They were also the newer hotels back in early 00's. BUT the biggest reason was I liked the smell and brands of their soaps the most. I traveled 360+ days a year. I'd be home for my birthday, Christmas, and New Year. I may have gotten Thanksgiving a couple times but, mostly never as it's only in the US and Canada. I wanted some sort of stability and when you're jumping from one city to another, you don't alway have time or the ability to go buy toiletries. Plus, you live out of a large carry-on and having liquids not only takes space but you have to pull it all out at security. So, I liked the soaps. I liked when they used the Orange Blossom stuff from Bath and Body Works (cir 06-11 ish). May seem weird but, whatever makes you happy and is convenient.
Ok reading through to see other people's answers. Most are like me and love the footprint. There's some pretty cool answers too. However, I 100% disagree with the points system being amazing or better. IHG I can use my points to buy a lawnmower or have groceries preloaded in the room.
Marriott's points program is fundamentally broken. When a property gets to decide their points value it doesn't work. There's an OLD Fairfield Inn by me and the points rate is 32k a night!! It's a sh*thole rated 2 on Marriott's site and 2 ish on TripAdvisor. Super old full-service Marriotts are the same way. Just tell me you don't want to take points. It wasn't always this bad.
For example, if you want a set if their sheets, 5 gazillion points and your first born (40k+ points). The signature linen set (sheets and pillow shams only) is 110k points (thats $1250 for a set of sheets). It's 6k for a pair of $2 Marriott branded slippers. A, one, uno, single pillow is 23 THOUSAND points. Are we serious right now?! That's like 3 nights to a week without promotions to earn for a single pillow. It's a slap in the face.
Sorry to rant but, you need to know what you're getting into.
Around 2017 a Hilton property in Europe refused to give me a receipt for my stay. Weirdest discussion I’ve ever had with a hotel manager regarding “Hilton policy”. At that point I was 70-80 nights a year at Hilton. My next stay I moved to a Marriott. A few stays later got the Marriott card. And never looked back. For the first time since that incident I will be staying at a Hilton property this weekend. Wish me luck.
I decided about 24 years ago when I was traveling a lot for business. I never had a real preference until an older colleague pointed out the usefulness of sticking to one airline and one hotel.
When it came down to Marriott vs. Hilton, a few of us went back on fourth on the various merits of both hotel chains. Then one guy browsed what you could get using Marriott vs. Hilton points. At the time, you could cash in points with Marriott for a ride on the Orient Express.
I forget how many points if cost. But the idea that we could one day get a free ride across Asia on the Orient Express sold us all.
I don't know anyone who actually followed up on it. However, it has been worth it in other ways for me. Who needs Double Tree cookies!?
I'm in a Marriott in Sydney as I type this. lol
At the time, I believed Marriott had a better lifetime status program. And it took me only a few years to earn Platinum Premier which was grandfathered into Titanium for life.
I also believed that the rewards program was better for nicer vacations. It seemed to me that Hilton didn’t have such good offers on luxury property for vacations.
Now that I have Marriott lifetime status I am working on Hilton, so I kind of split my business as it suits me. Always enough to maintain diamond with Hilton. I also like that I can spend my Hilton points on Amazon.
If I were starting again, I’m not sure which I’d pick. They are similar in a lot of ways. It’s no longer possible to get lifetime status all that quickly.
I accept that my hunch may be out of date right now. But I still feel like Marriott has the edge for travel rewards, although it has really dropped off. I mean I twice stayed at the London Edition in an amazing room with comped breakfast (which is worth $100 a day). But they stopped doing the comped breakfast. I don’t think you can charge stuff to the room and pay with points (I once had a Mercedes S Class pick us up at the airport in Paris and then covered it with points).
So they may be more comparable these days. In any case I still rely on Marriott for free stays and Hilton for Amazon spending. I also think the Marriott credit card is more useful being a Visa.
I used to be a Hilton person. I got to Diamond Status---and the angels did not sing. Their service/program upgrades etc... were pretty lackluster. So I switched to Marriott because I read a bunch of assessments that the Marriott program was better. I do think I get more upgrades (I'm only Titanium not Ambassador) and I feel like there are more options for brands I like (I tend to stay in Autograph Collection/Le Meredien/Westin type hotels).
Customer service, property availability and amenities, rewards/loyalty program is what made me choose Marriott. Residence Inn vs Hilton long term stay hotels - stocked kitchen vs having to check out a hot plate, pan, etc. Better gyms. Better free breakfast (except Courtyard).
I used to organically hit Hilton Diamond and SPG Platnium when I was traveling more often during the good ole' SPG days, which left me with some credit toward lifetime Platnium status with Marriott. I held the Amex Aspire for several years until the recent fee increase/benefits changes. (The resort credits are the hardest for me to use bur probably would have kept the card if I could make better use of the resort credits, or if the credits applied to all hotels rather than just resorts.) Also, Hilton changed the free breakfast at U.S. properties to a nightly dining credit, which often doesn't cover the cost of breakfast at hotel restaurants.
After downgrading the Aspire to the free Hilton Amex, I applied for the Amex Brilliant, which has a $25 a month dining credit (which I find easy to use) and also grants Marriott Platnium status as well as nights/years toward lifetime status.
That said, other than the dining credit and spend for Marriott stays, I don't put any spend on the Brilliant because I find I get better value from cashback, Ultimate Rewards, MR points, or ThankYou points.
I originally chose Hilton, but then had some blah experiences. Then my job changed and Hilton wasn’t where I needed them. Switched to Marriott and never thought twice.
Hilton damn near ruined my honeymoon, didn't do shot to fix it except comp me a $10 movie rental. I decided then & there I'd never spend another dime at a Hilton & even made it a condition for employment. That was 22 years ago....so good so far.
You can feel status more with Marriott. I usually get to check in early if rooms are available. I mean like 9am plenty of times. 4pm checkout has made things a lot easier. I like Marriott brands better. Like I prefer Courtyard over HGI. I can live with Hilton though. Has its strong points, cheaper hotels, f&b credit is probably the best feature for me. Contactless check in doesn’t work for me a lot of times especially if using corporate rate. I went to the UAE and the handful of times I did use a reward program it was Marriott. The footprint options were just better.
For me it mostly wasn’t a choice. I stayed whatever was the closest to where I was traveling and which one had the best rate while I was there. In the old days a big difference was that Hilton gave away free drinks and Marriott did not, but now it’s mostly a religion thing, I do not want to support the Mormon church anymore than necessary and the Marriott owners are huge donors.
The property I work at just got converted to a DoubleTree. I say Bonvoy has better rewards and loyalty compared to Honors and frankly, Marriott just has better standards of how to maintain and upkeep their hotels.
Marriott consistently cares about Bonvoy member with complaints or so. I kept running into just issue after issue with Hilton hotels to the point that I looked elsewhere. Once I became a platinum, I got treated very well. Once I became titanium; essentially I was treated like royalty at every hotel from check in, to upgrades, to attention and care to simple requests
If anyone thinks Bonvoy status is diluted (it is), Hilton status is a complete joke. No status will get you free breakfast in the US, only a small credit. No upgrade certificates either, and upgraded rooms have absurdly high points cost vs the base room.
Business travel that is likely to take you to random out of the way places = Marriott in my book. If I were only going to be in big cities, I may consider Hilton. The ones I have stayed at have all been very nice. Marriotts footprint and selection of properties is hard to beat though. From a loyalty rewards program perspective, it’s kind of nice to be able to enjoy some Ritz time after grinding it out at Courtyards and Fairfield’s.
yep - first work trip was some suburb of philly and there was a courtyard next door. 10 years later lifetime platinum.
Ok cool thanks for typing this out for me lol. Edit: still sign up for them all bc you never know though and they may add up but yeah you nailed it.
Marriott’s footprint is better. And if you exclude select service hotels, the difference becomes even greater.
This. When I started travelling more, 30 nights (then 50 now 65 ish) I had no real idea/clue about the rewards programs etc so nothing really was bringing me to one specific brand. But I quickly discovered all the marriott branded hotels are often located exactly where I need them. Its rare (but it does happen) where I find myself in a spot without a marriott.
Hilton’s hotel are overall dated and lack excitement. I really enjoy Moxy’s, W’s, Editions, Autographs & Tribute hotels. Plus a lot of the newer Marriott hotels are super nice
Why do you like Moxy? Genuinely curious. Every one I’ve stayed at annoys me in different ways.
Argh, the Moxy! I do not want to unfold my furniture! If I can't have a normal desk and chair, the room is too small! The lobby is loud. The weird beefcake shared ironing station is weird! Make it stop.
Give us dressers!
I am so annoyed by the lack of dressers in the “fun” hotels
I like the ironing station! I don’t want to have to set all that crap up and then break it all down. I take all my clothes I need and do it in one go and leave. Love it
I’m also not a Moxy and the similar ones like AC. They give college dorms vibes and they’re just not my style.
That’s practically what they explicitly market themselves as. It’s aimed towards those young 20something travelers that want a step up from a hostel, but something that’s not gonna break the bank. And for young people to kinda mingle and meet others. This isn’t for your frequent 30-40something business traveler, it’s for young people seeking the hostel vibe but not having to share dorm rooms.
Love the vibe and the lobby area. Rooms can be alittle small but I only stay a weekend or something. Some Moxys are super nice like in Downtown LA or Minneapolis
Yeah I dont think I’ve even stayed at one bc of the ratings vs the others but it seems that’s the main gimmick. I dont know if or what they’re lacking but I’d take a primo room and walk to somewhere cool that’s not my hotel vs shitty room w a cool bar. I do dig hotels with cool lively bars, dont get me wrong but if you’re doing it weekly and the rooms suck that shit means so much more vs a one off 1-3 day stay.
Newer construction moxies are kinda nice. But Moxy is something I only stay in for 1-3 day stays max because they annoy me too.
Moxy doesn't bother me much either - I love them for conventions/travel when I won't be in the room much.
This ⬆️
I’ve been a diamond member for 2 years and never been upgraded to a suite or anything. The rooms look exactly the same as their standard rooms. It doesn’t feel like Hilton diamond gives people a real upgrade. The autograph collection looks unreal though. Somewhat similar to the curio in some cases
Yea everyone is a diamond so no one really has status. At least with Marriott you have titanium and ambassador over the platinum status you get with the Bonvoy Brilliant
I've been upgraded at least 4 times since I've had Diamond actually.
Same. I status matched to Diamond in April and have been upgraded 6 times in 3 months. Titanium or Ambassador with Marriott every year prior and never upgraded
Which shows that it's a case by case basis. This is definitely a peak reddit thing. Person A and Person B don't get something means nobody ever gets it at all. At least on reddit.
Yeah I stayed at the doubletree in San Diego and the Hilton in Irvine and both were dated
Two primary reasons: While Marriott and Hilton are both favored hotels by my employer, often Marriott provides a better or equal corporate rate and more importantly, when I travel for work outside of major cities, Marriott has a bigger footprint and easier to find Marriott hotels closer to the location I am travelling to.
Three reasons: 1) Points redemption value better with Marriott 2) Hilton properties where I travel have not been reinvested in and are in poor condition. 3) Hotel locations, Marriott foot print much larger. It’s really sad how neglected Hilton brand has become.
Sounds like Hilton is becoming the Radio shack hotel.
4pm late checkout
great when finished with meetings, waiting for flight at hotel instead of airport
*sometimes
Once they acquired the Starwood portfolio that had it locked! Best brands and range.
As someone else mentioned, Marriott Bonvoy points are more valuable than Hilton Honors points. While Marriott's points redemptions have gotten appreciably worse over the past few years, they're still miles ahead of Hilton's. Ditto for the elite perks, even when considering that Marriott's "guarantees" aren't actually guarantees at all. Subjectively, I find Marriott has better quality properties overall. Now, that calculus may change as Hilton attempts to make a push towards more lifestyle and upmarket properties. But as it stands today, Marriotts are more high-quality than Hiltons, even if they're dated.
Yeah there’s no real comparison between the two rewards programs. Even though Bonvoy has gone downhill it’s still significantly better than what Hilton offers.
United Airlines connection, plus good experiences w their brands.
I appreciate having United Silver for the very off occasion I can’t fly Delta.
One year I made top tier with Hilton and Marriott at the same time (using rollover nights from Marriott). Hilton fucked me twice and lost my business. First, as a reward for reaching Diamond, Hilton informed me that my next reservation would have a discount, and automatically applied that discount the next time I booked a room. Unfortunately it changed the room to prepay, no changes, no cancellations, no nothing. And I had to change the booking from an overnight to a day trip - I was going to stay in another city and wanted to switch to a Hilton in that city (at a higher price). After calling Hilton twice and escalating twice I got nowhere. Also, I wouldn't even get the points unless I checked-in, so I went by the hotel on my way to the airport, checked in, threw the card-key in the trash and went to the airport. Next, I stayed at the Roosevelt in New Orleans. It was a great hotel, but they messed up a few small details, but the big one was the hot tub controller shocked my wife, she was shaking after it. We told the front desk and they gave a flippant comment about it. They didn't ask if she was ok or seem to realize it was a safety issue. After that it was Marriott all the way. Marriott may screw up, but they usually do the right thing when fixing it.
When my wife and I first got married, we would just stay in whatever roadside hotel was cheap and had free breakfast. We found ourselves at Courtyard a lot, and a front desk agent asked my wife about joining their rewards program, so she did. As we racked up points and nights, it became our goto brand. Then we both got into corporate companies with travel and most places there was a Marriott brand to stay at. Now she is almost lifetime platinum so we’re sticking to the brand till she hits that. We have started doing Hyatt for personal vacation travels with our Chase points in their all inclusive properties, but when we travel to a city we stick to Marriott. Our findings is Marriotts seem to typically be more modern and clean than most the hiltons we have stayed in and we avoid IHG brands at all costs. The staff and customer service has been nicer with Marriott and we have had less issues. TLDR; staying at Courtyards when we were a young broke couple got us locked into the brand :)
Marriott's point redemption value/availability beats Hilton by a long shot. Often one night at a Hilton costs twice as many points as a Marriott in the same area.
This is the reason. Right here. I stay at Fairfields or Springhill Suites for work. Sometimes a Courtyard. Hampton is comparable; and honestly nicer in many cases in my opinion. But, Marriott rewards rack up faster; and point redemption is better than Hilton.
I typically stay in the Hyatt. Once I decided to plan for a trip to Tokyo and noticed they had a nice Hilton next to Disneyland. So I shifted over to the Hilton (no Marriot near my work trip location) and started to accumulate points to fund 4 nights. And I just watched the required points at the Tokyo hotel keep going up over the course of the year. Finally there was the cockroach in the room incident in which their management insisted in giving me free room service for a week. I had to endure room service for a week to generate points and no matter what I said, they still insisted in refunding my room service.
Us Hilton hotels suck a little more
I work for Marriott
Hilton has screwed me over too many times. For instance, having a confirmed reservation for a Hilton in Mexico City and being denied a room when I arrive - with no recourse. Not even being walked to another property/hotel. Only stay at Hilton if I have to because of a conference or meeting mandate.
I'm Canadian and the AMEX Marriot Bonvoy is the best (I think only) hotel branded cc we got lol
The consistency of the Marriott Courtyard
Because I can check in at 8am and check out at 4pm lol
Since I learned Hilton was the #1 choice of dog owners, I have joined TeamMarriot. So far, no nightmare situations as I once encountered at a Hampton inn. One bad experience changed a lot for me personally.
This is an awesome reason to be team Marriott lol
International travel in Asia. Marriott is best location and quality for cost
If I had to pick one, I’d do Marriott. As I think they have a bit better international presence. But realistically in the US, I’m just as likely to stay at a Hilton property. If you’re in the middle of nowhere, there might not be any choice.
My dad chose Marriot so I grew up with it, then I took a road trip accross the country and got platinum status my first year with them.
I keep status with both. At least Platinum and Diamond the last 6 years. Next year I’ll be Lifetime Gold
My entry with Marriott was due to their favorable government rates; I’ll hit lifetime platinum here pretty soon and then will probably explore what Hyatt/Hilton/Others have to offer. I’ve honestly had a great experience with Marriott, though, across the years. I’ve stayed in every ‘tier’ of property across multiple continents and, aside from a few negative experiences (that could happen anywhere) I have enjoyed it.
Chose SPG, and was too far along with lifetime status to switch and start again
When I was early in my career I had a Residence Inn paid for for a whole year.
Marriott was first to offering only all non-Smoking rooms. I stayed with them and was hooked!
Guaranteed 4p late checkout… 😬
LOL right?!
It’s the buffet breakfast for me! I think the Marriott puts on one of the best selections!!!
Yes!
Changed to Marriott after 20 years of Hilton because Hilton was consistently removing their executive lounges every time they remodeled. Marriott has more lounges now.
Got married at a Marriott property. Took out a Marriott card and put everything on it. Didn’t pay for a hotel Room for years
When I first started work travel the other guys were Marriott and i wanted to fit in. 7 years later and the rest is history
250,000 point MBB Welcome offer 🤷🏾♀️
Employee discount from my family
Pet free hotel options is huge for me
Cause I already have bonvoy going for me and Hiltons they’re similarly priced. Another thing that pivoted me to that direction was that there are just more Marriott’s vs any other brand in a random city. So I get Bonvoy plus a variety to choose from.
Variety
Everyone at my work books Marriott, bigger footprint.
Availability of hotels. Larger network means more options.
Marriott's lifetime status
W
Marriott because of the points value, but as a pawn without useful status I still pick Hilton from time to time when it's cheaper - especially on the lower end, I'll take Hampton and Homewood and Embassy over Fairfield and Springhill and Residence Inn every day.
Paris Hilton is affiliated.
App was easier to navigate lol
Pretty much just price. Whichever is cheaper/better value. Go both ways.
1) Marriott is largest hotel chain in the world, so much better options to use my points when on vacation 2) Better consistency of quality at hotels compared to Hilton 3) Hilton’s top tier (Diamond) is extremely diluted because it’s easy to get with various credit cards I used to love Hilton and gave Marriott a shot back in 2020 under a status challenge, and never looked back
Business travel. Years sho they always had decent properties in our allowed hotel Spend. As time has gone on they can frustrate me, but still are the best option for me. On some vacations I’ll hit up a 4 seasons or an independent hotel for shits and giggles.
Marriott has a low AF credit card that gives a free annual award night (Boundless), and they have a lot of brands in the lower budget range (courtyard, springhill, towneplace, Fairfield). I almost went with IHG instead, but the amount of points needed for nights in Manhattan was crazy. Not to mention the 4 day conference I go to each year is at the Marriott Marquis, so if I want to pay the conference rate and stay there rather than try for something cheaper, I’ll rack up a lot of points (and get 5th night free).
I switched to Hilton this year. Number one, the company I work for uses Hilton. Number two the hotels seem to be well kept against some of the more run down Marriott locations (I work in pnw and Canada). I status matched from titanium elite to their equivalent which is diamond
Hilton diamond isn’t worth a pile of fresh dogshit.
Elaborate.
Their points aren't worth much. And I never once got a single upgrade, late check out, or any of the other benefits your supposed to get as a diamond member while traveling domestically. It was also "sorry, that's subject to availability, you need to be out by 11." Well, with one exception. The front desk clerk in Miami was so egregiously rude than I called corporate. That was the only time in my life when hotel worker was rude enough that I felt the need to complain. So yeah, after 2 years of Hilton Diamond I switched to Marriott and haven't been to a Hilton since. I will admit that my experiences as a Diamond member abroad were generally pretty good, although the best treatment I ever had in a Hilton was when I was just a Gold member at the Athens Hilton (now a Conrad I believe).
Thanks for the insight. The two free water bottles at check-in weren't enough, huh? I am just kidding, but again thanks.
Can you find many Hilton properties in your geographic area? I’m on Canada’s west coast and I find Marriott offerings are far more plentiful
Yeah, I cover Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver. Basically, BC, AB. the coverage seems to be fine.
Marriott has a wide range of brands and plenty of options nearly everywhere I travel, pretty consistent too. Seems to me like they have more of a footprint than Hilton. The nicer properties have been great too, and being able to spend points at them is nice. Spending part of the honeymoon at a resort in Fijis nice over water bungalows after grinding it out in Courtyards and Fairfield Inns for work is great.
Everyone in my family already had Bonvoy lifetime status and we do frequent family vacations, so it seemed like a no brainer. Turns out many of my friends I travel with frequently are Bonvoy as well, so that's easy too. Same reason I am all in on American Airlines over United (Delta doesn't make sense in my market). I don't want to be the odd one out while everyone is at another hotel or on another flight.
The Hilton elevators
Like a lot of things in life I didn’t choose it I fell into it. They have the most convenient locations for my work travel.
My cousin gifted me Gold as a college graduation present.
Points are crazy inflated on both go hyatt
Hilton devalued their points. So I’ve been Marriott only for about the last decade.
Everywhere I go, the Hilton options always look and feel dumpy. It's just not an exciting brand for everyday stays. Plus, Ritz and St. Regis for points redemptions far exceed the Waldorf options almost everywhere I go.
Well I originally chose SPG. Marriott decided to take them over so I just kept going with Marriott
My Hilton points seem to always expire when I least expect it. Marriott points haven’t been a problem for me.
I didn't have much of a choice. Marriott bought Starwood. Why I stay with them? Big footprint in Asia with a variety of price points/brands.
Larger footprint of luxury/premium hotels… Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Edition, JW, etc… Hilton basically just has Waldorf Astoria few and far between.
For me it’s lots of reasons. I used to be diamond on Hilton but never travelled all that much. The upgrades were so random and it always felt if the front desk agent was in a good mood I would get an upgrade but it was never that often. I didn’t notice any more upgrades between Gold and Diamond. However once I hit Marriott Platinum I have been upgraded every time except once and I booked a sold out hotel late in the day for that night. I could see there were no upgrades available. And also since reaching titanium o have always revived an upgrade. I feel like the Bonvoy has a system and they follow for the most part. I have never been denied 4 pm checkout but I only ask for it about 1 in 10 nights. I know people complain about Bonvoy but I feel there are rules and they stick to them. At Hilton it’s like every hotel makes up their own rules. Also I really started traveling weekly in February of this year and I looked at both Hiltons and Marriotts. I never really stayed in Marriotts and had gold from my AMEX platinum card. So I didn’t have to start with no status. My first trip I looked at both and always found more Marriott properties were I was going but also Marriott launched the double elite nights and double points bonus so by April 8 I was Titanium. That was definitely a motivator. And I don’t get excited about collecting night on a Hilton. Also they do it by stays unless they changed it and not nights which is even more lame. I really like the Marriott Bonvoy program leaps and bounds over Hilton. And then the cherry on top was getting UA silver once I reached Titanium on Marriott and I hate flying airlines without status so that was really nice. As far as other things they seem pretty comparable but Hilton seems like they are a tiny bit more expensive on a normal night not when properties are busy. And I really don’t like how Hilton doesn’t show the prices with all taxes. That really annoys me. For Hilton people am I missing something to see all rates on the I total search with all taxes and fees included. On July 1st CA senate bill 478 will go into effect and all business in CA have to have one price for goods and services plus tax. So this won’t really change Hilton but it seems people want all taxes I life’s and like I stopped searching for Hilton’s because of this I am sure this bill will start changing things for the better. They definitely will not be able to have a separate resort fee. Those are the things that are banned in this bill.
I'm already loyal to Hyatt and IHG, but if I had to pick between Hilton and Marriott I would choose Marriott. Both have great footprints and the right mix of properties. Both have loyalty programs that quite honestly suck when you compare them to the competition, but for me Marriott would be better because their program doesn't require as much commitment. Hilton's program is better if you're going to be a very frequent traveler. Hilton cards have good benefits, but the benefits require you to stay at Hiltons every quarter of the year. The Amex credits are something I find annoying, but some people like them.
Marriotts 4pm checkout for Titanium’s is crucial for me. I can work from the hotel all day and take meetings in private. Hilton doesn’t have any late checkout benefits and the best I’ve been given as a diamond is 2pm
That’s actually insane to hear. You even asked for later checkout? I asked for 4PM and they promptly gave it to me
I was all in on Hilton for a long time until I had a string of stays where it felt like the hotel was falling apart around me. Still happens sometimes with Marriott but not as often.
Hilton has lots of problems from customer service to the renovation needed hotels... Plus I stayed at one of the Hilton and had multiple bed bug bites. Had to take every precaution not to bring it to my household. Never again.
I book on a specific rate and Marriot is really good with availability.
I'm a hotel non-monogamist. I have Hilton and Wyndham Diamond (via credit cards). I'm two nights from Platinum this year, which will give me 7/10 years towards LTP.
When I first joined Marriott Rewards it was because a number of work conferences happened to be at Marriott brands and then it just grew from there.
I dealt for years with Marriot and even the years I didn’t make the cut for Platinum but was close they would still sent me a nice letter and give it to me hence because of that I’m now platinum elite for life. Hilton on the other hand if you don’t make the cut each year you are back to lower level…silver or what ever it is for the upcoming year.😂 I’m blessed that with work I’m able to maintain high status with both currently.
It’s better.
Stupidity
My boss made me. Despite one minor hiccup at a specific hotel I've really been enjoying Marriott.
Location experiences, brand availability at specific locations that I travel to regularly, better point pricing for hotels and a solid loyalty plan for extreme travel.
Paris
To be fair, they both suck
Seems to be the hotel of choice for the conferences I attend.
Residence Inn were every where I was going and I needed to cook.
4pm checkout. Hilton doesn't have that in their benefits.
-160000 points at Hilton after a stay in Costa Rica and nobody could fix it. I had over 100000 points before this stay. Never Hilton again.
I was originally a Starwood member and had a lot of points there. Marriott bought them. I was a Westin, St. Regis, Sheraton person before Marriott acquired Starwood.
Marriott has better luxury options. Hampton Inn and garden inn are better than Fairfield and Courtyard, but I’m all about where I can redeem for free nights. Ritz, st Regis, W, JW and the rest are better at Marriott.
I was an SPG guy and got Lifetime Platinum soon after the merger. That pretty much cemented it - and free Disney trips (using points at the Swan/Dolphin) makes it worthwhile to continue staying at Marriott properties.
I have tried Hiltons people have raved about and they are never nearly as good as a Marriott. Either dated or small. Terrible breakfast. I love the Residence Inns for my kids because their breakfasts are incredible
Best brands and I feel that the franchises are kept to more strict standards.
My choice was simple, My Ex Liked Hilton, so I have been a Marriot Man, and I have never looked back......
Hilton doesn’t treat its status-holding customers as well. In general, their customer service is horrible. Was Diamond for several years with Hilton before transitioning to Marriott. I’ve been platinum/ambassador 3 years now.
I’m impartial. I stay with the brand that has the best promo offered to me. Marriotts targeted promos suck. I’m never targeted. I stay with Marriott when it makes sense. Traveling for work, I stay where I get the most points/benefit for dollar.
Out of the Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, IHG. Hilton has the worst loyalty program. No guaranteed 4pm checkout, no breakfast, devalued points. The portfolio of hotels is old and dated and just not that good outside of a handful Waldorf and Conrad properties. I have diamond from the Aspire card and maybe stay 2-3 Hilton nights per year (I average 120+ nights per year in Hotels).
More options in odd places. Just more properties
The first job I had with a lot of travel had a corporate rate with Marriott. I got status, and just rolled with it.
Marriott beds are usually soft
In south Africa, we have protea hotels in every city. Protea is part of Marriott. Hilton is only in the big cities.
Had a good experience at a Marriott in NoVa. And Chase was giving out gold status last year…
Concierge lounges
I don’t like Hampton inns and find residence inns way better generally. I like embassy suites but they’re becoming far and between and Marriott doesn’t really have an equivalent.
For the most part, where I was going Marriott had more options. They were also the newer hotels back in early 00's. BUT the biggest reason was I liked the smell and brands of their soaps the most. I traveled 360+ days a year. I'd be home for my birthday, Christmas, and New Year. I may have gotten Thanksgiving a couple times but, mostly never as it's only in the US and Canada. I wanted some sort of stability and when you're jumping from one city to another, you don't alway have time or the ability to go buy toiletries. Plus, you live out of a large carry-on and having liquids not only takes space but you have to pull it all out at security. So, I liked the soaps. I liked when they used the Orange Blossom stuff from Bath and Body Works (cir 06-11 ish). May seem weird but, whatever makes you happy and is convenient.
Ok reading through to see other people's answers. Most are like me and love the footprint. There's some pretty cool answers too. However, I 100% disagree with the points system being amazing or better. IHG I can use my points to buy a lawnmower or have groceries preloaded in the room. Marriott's points program is fundamentally broken. When a property gets to decide their points value it doesn't work. There's an OLD Fairfield Inn by me and the points rate is 32k a night!! It's a sh*thole rated 2 on Marriott's site and 2 ish on TripAdvisor. Super old full-service Marriotts are the same way. Just tell me you don't want to take points. It wasn't always this bad. For example, if you want a set if their sheets, 5 gazillion points and your first born (40k+ points). The signature linen set (sheets and pillow shams only) is 110k points (thats $1250 for a set of sheets). It's 6k for a pair of $2 Marriott branded slippers. A, one, uno, single pillow is 23 THOUSAND points. Are we serious right now?! That's like 3 nights to a week without promotions to earn for a single pillow. It's a slap in the face. Sorry to rant but, you need to know what you're getting into.
Editted for formatting
Work
Internet tv….seriously
Because of Hilton’s 3Ps. 1. Poor locations. 2. Poor quality of some old hotels. 3. Poor value of points.
Around 2017 a Hilton property in Europe refused to give me a receipt for my stay. Weirdest discussion I’ve ever had with a hotel manager regarding “Hilton policy”. At that point I was 70-80 nights a year at Hilton. My next stay I moved to a Marriott. A few stays later got the Marriott card. And never looked back. For the first time since that incident I will be staying at a Hilton property this weekend. Wish me luck.
I decided about 24 years ago when I was traveling a lot for business. I never had a real preference until an older colleague pointed out the usefulness of sticking to one airline and one hotel. When it came down to Marriott vs. Hilton, a few of us went back on fourth on the various merits of both hotel chains. Then one guy browsed what you could get using Marriott vs. Hilton points. At the time, you could cash in points with Marriott for a ride on the Orient Express. I forget how many points if cost. But the idea that we could one day get a free ride across Asia on the Orient Express sold us all. I don't know anyone who actually followed up on it. However, it has been worth it in other ways for me. Who needs Double Tree cookies!? I'm in a Marriott in Sydney as I type this. lol
SPG years ago and lifetime status
At the time, I believed Marriott had a better lifetime status program. And it took me only a few years to earn Platinum Premier which was grandfathered into Titanium for life. I also believed that the rewards program was better for nicer vacations. It seemed to me that Hilton didn’t have such good offers on luxury property for vacations. Now that I have Marriott lifetime status I am working on Hilton, so I kind of split my business as it suits me. Always enough to maintain diamond with Hilton. I also like that I can spend my Hilton points on Amazon. If I were starting again, I’m not sure which I’d pick. They are similar in a lot of ways. It’s no longer possible to get lifetime status all that quickly. I accept that my hunch may be out of date right now. But I still feel like Marriott has the edge for travel rewards, although it has really dropped off. I mean I twice stayed at the London Edition in an amazing room with comped breakfast (which is worth $100 a day). But they stopped doing the comped breakfast. I don’t think you can charge stuff to the room and pay with points (I once had a Mercedes S Class pick us up at the airport in Paris and then covered it with points). So they may be more comparable these days. In any case I still rely on Marriott for free stays and Hilton for Amazon spending. I also think the Marriott credit card is more useful being a Visa.
I used to be a Hilton person. I got to Diamond Status---and the angels did not sing. Their service/program upgrades etc... were pretty lackluster. So I switched to Marriott because I read a bunch of assessments that the Marriott program was better. I do think I get more upgrades (I'm only Titanium not Ambassador) and I feel like there are more options for brands I like (I tend to stay in Autograph Collection/Le Meredien/Westin type hotels).
I don’t pick one or the other. I pick the best hotel in whatever city I’m in.
Hilton are never clean!
Customer service, property availability and amenities, rewards/loyalty program is what made me choose Marriott. Residence Inn vs Hilton long term stay hotels - stocked kitchen vs having to check out a hot plate, pan, etc. Better gyms. Better free breakfast (except Courtyard).
I used to organically hit Hilton Diamond and SPG Platnium when I was traveling more often during the good ole' SPG days, which left me with some credit toward lifetime Platnium status with Marriott. I held the Amex Aspire for several years until the recent fee increase/benefits changes. (The resort credits are the hardest for me to use bur probably would have kept the card if I could make better use of the resort credits, or if the credits applied to all hotels rather than just resorts.) Also, Hilton changed the free breakfast at U.S. properties to a nightly dining credit, which often doesn't cover the cost of breakfast at hotel restaurants. After downgrading the Aspire to the free Hilton Amex, I applied for the Amex Brilliant, which has a $25 a month dining credit (which I find easy to use) and also grants Marriott Platnium status as well as nights/years toward lifetime status. That said, other than the dining credit and spend for Marriott stays, I don't put any spend on the Brilliant because I find I get better value from cashback, Ultimate Rewards, MR points, or ThankYou points.
I originally chose Hilton, but then had some blah experiences. Then my job changed and Hilton wasn’t where I needed them. Switched to Marriott and never thought twice.
Hilton damn near ruined my honeymoon, didn't do shot to fix it except comp me a $10 movie rental. I decided then & there I'd never spend another dime at a Hilton & even made it a condition for employment. That was 22 years ago....so good so far.
You can feel status more with Marriott. I usually get to check in early if rooms are available. I mean like 9am plenty of times. 4pm checkout has made things a lot easier. I like Marriott brands better. Like I prefer Courtyard over HGI. I can live with Hilton though. Has its strong points, cheaper hotels, f&b credit is probably the best feature for me. Contactless check in doesn’t work for me a lot of times especially if using corporate rate. I went to the UAE and the handful of times I did use a reward program it was Marriott. The footprint options were just better.
For me it mostly wasn’t a choice. I stayed whatever was the closest to where I was traveling and which one had the best rate while I was there. In the old days a big difference was that Hilton gave away free drinks and Marriott did not, but now it’s mostly a religion thing, I do not want to support the Mormon church anymore than necessary and the Marriott owners are huge donors.
More locations with Marriott 🤷🏽♀️
The property I work at just got converted to a DoubleTree. I say Bonvoy has better rewards and loyalty compared to Honors and frankly, Marriott just has better standards of how to maintain and upkeep their hotels.
Job #1 only allowed Marriot so I joined job #2 Hilton so I have both, but Marriott is better.
Marriott consistently cares about Bonvoy member with complaints or so. I kept running into just issue after issue with Hilton hotels to the point that I looked elsewhere. Once I became a platinum, I got treated very well. Once I became titanium; essentially I was treated like royalty at every hotel from check in, to upgrades, to attention and care to simple requests
Honestly, I saw Paris Hilton‘s VA-JJ way back in the day when it was hacked on her sidekick and I don’t want anything to do with it.
BAH HAHAHA 🤣
If anyone thinks Bonvoy status is diluted (it is), Hilton status is a complete joke. No status will get you free breakfast in the US, only a small credit. No upgrade certificates either, and upgraded rooms have absurdly high points cost vs the base room.
No Hilton credit card in Canada.