Hotel chains change. The one your parents liked is not necessarily the one worth booking today. And the one everyone talks about at points-maximizing conferences might not actually deliver a good stay at the property level. Here’s an honest assessment of what’s moved in both directions over the past few years.
Getting Better
1. Hyatt’s Lifestyle Portfolio
Hyatt has been the most interesting major chain to watch in recent years. While Marriott and Hilton have grown through acquisition and volume, Hyatt has been deliberately curating an independent-feeling portfolio under brands like Andaz, Alila, Thompson Hotels, and the Unbound Collection.
Andaz properties in particular have figured out something most chains haven’t: what travelers actually want in a boutique hotel experience (interesting design, neighborhood connection, food that’s actually good) while keeping the reliability backstop of a major chain. The Andaz Vienna Am Belvedere is an example where the property feels nothing like a typical Hyatt but the reliability is there.
World of Hyatt points redemptions remain among the most valuable in the hotel loyalty space. The sweet spot: category 1 and 2 properties in Asia that price high in cash but redeem for 5,000 to 8,000 points per night.
2. IHG’s Kimpton Acquisition
IHG purchased Kimpton Hotels in 2015 and largely left them alone, which was the right decision. Kimpton’s founding principle was that hotels should feel like homes in the neighborhood rather than brand outposts, and that culture has survived the acquisition relatively intact.
Kimpton properties vary considerably by location but the consistent strengths are: free minibar (soft drinks, snacks, not the 18 EUR water situation), dog-friendly by default, staff who are hired for personality rather than uniform compliance, and social hours (free wine in the evenings at most properties).
The IHG One Rewards integration has made Kimpton accessible through points programs that many travelers already have. Kimpton as a brand on its own is worth seeking out in cities where it operates.
3. Marriott’s Bonvoy App (Specifically the App)
Marriott Bonvoy as a loyalty program has its critics and many of them are right. But the mobile functionality is genuinely excellent: mobile check-in, room selection, digital key, and chat-based service requests have all been meaningfully improved over the past two years.
The practical upside: arriving at a Marriott family property after a long travel day and going directly to your room without touching the front desk is a real quality-of-life improvement. The app handles it reliably. This sounds small. It isn’t when you’ve been traveling for 14 hours.
The rest of Marriott remains inconsistent by property. The top end (The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, W Hotels) is strong. The middle (Courtyard, Four Points) varies enormously by ownership and management. The brand name tells you less than the individual property reviews.
4. Accor’s Independent Hotel Conversions
Accor has been converting independent hotels into its MGallery and Handwritten Collection portfolios, and in many European cities this has added genuinely interesting properties to what was previously a mostly business-hotel lineup.
MGallery specifically operates at a different level than the traditional Accor stack (Novotel, Ibis, Mercure). The properties tend to be older buildings with architectural character, kept as independent-feeling rather than branded into uniformity. Prices run 20 to 40% above comparable Novotel properties but often at or below boutique independent hotels in the same location.
For travelers who want the independent hotel feeling with the loyalty points backstop, Accor’s upscale conversion portfolio is worth checking in European cities.
5. Hilton Digital Key
This is narrower than the others but worth mentioning specifically. Hilton’s digital key implementation works. On iPhones with the Hilton Honors app, the door unlock is via NFC and is genuinely fast and reliable at properties that have implemented it (most new builds and recent renovations in the portfolio).
For frequent travelers staying at multiple Hilton properties: this removes a consistent small friction point. For single stays: less compelling but increasingly expected.
The broader Hilton portfolio improvement story is also real. The Curio Collection (independent spirit boutique hotels) and Tapestry Collection (similar positioning) have added genuinely interesting properties to a brand that was previously known primarily for business travel.
Getting Worse
1. Marriott’s Mid-Tier Quality Consistency
This partly contradicts the positive point above, so let’s be precise. Marriott’s technology is improving. Marriott’s mid-tier property quality is inconsistent in a way that has gotten worse as the portfolio expanded through the Starwood merger.
The Marriott brand itself (not Westin or Sheraton, the plain Marriott hotels) occupies a price point where it’s competing with genuinely good independent hotels in most major cities. In that competition, standard Marriott properties often lose. The rooms are dated, the breakfast is overpriced, and the “Marriott feel” is generic in a way that costs something when you’re paying 150 to 200 EUR per night.
Points maximizers find value in the Marriott system. Pure accommodation value for cash travelers: check the independent alternatives first.
2. Hilton’s Breakfast Situation in Europe
Hilton properties in Europe have been progressively degrading their included breakfast offering over the past few years. Properties that previously included breakfast in the room rate have moved to chargeable breakfast at prices that are genuinely difficult to justify: 25 to 35 EUR per person at mid-tier properties for what is a competent but not exceptional buffet.
This is a known industry trend (post-COVID cost recovery, still ongoing), but Hilton has implemented it more aggressively than some competitors. Before booking any European Hilton property on a rate that looks good, check whether breakfast is included. The all-in comparison sometimes changes the calculation.
3. Wyndham’s European Properties
Wyndham operates a large portfolio in Europe primarily through brands like Radisson (via a licensing agreement), Days Inn, Ramada, and Super 8. The brand promise varies enormously and the bottom of the range has declined in quality over the past few years in a way that’s consistent across multiple countries.
The specific issue: franchise model hotels under the Ramada and Days Inn brands in secondary European cities can vary from acceptable to genuinely bad within the same brand. The central brand exercises limited quality control and the franchise owners have diverging standards.
This isn’t a universal statement about Wyndham (their Wyndham Grand properties are a different category). But if you’re booking a Ramada or Days Inn in a European city based on brand familiarity, check the specific property reviews carefully. The brand name provides less quality assurance than it did five years ago.
The honest conclusion: no chain is universally better or worse. The most important factor remains the individual property, its management quality, and its recent guest reviews. But chains give you useful signals for expected quality floors, and those floors have moved in identifiable directions.
For destinations covered in detail on this site, like Japan, Germany, and France, the chain hotel landscape interacts with local property culture in interesting ways. A Japanese Hyatt tends to operate at a higher service standard than the brand average. A budget brand in Germany tends to be cleaner and better maintained than the same brand in Southern Europe. The signals are real but they’re starting points, not conclusions.
