Longtime reader James K. (who always has thoughtful things to say, whether he agrees or disagrees with me) fairly questions me for how the hotels that I’ve stayed at over the years have evolved. He points out how I’ve increasingly drifted away from points hotels, which were aspirational for many, and toward hotels that are beyond the price range of what most people are willing or able to pay.
This is a valid observation, and I’m not here to gaslight anyone, and to pretend that hasn’t happened. My hotel choices have absolutely evolved over time. So let me talk about that a bit, because I think there’s a bit more to this than some might assume. You might not agree with me, but hopefully you can at least see where I’m coming from, because I think there’s value in these kinds of dialogues.
Acknowledging how my hotel choices have evolved
When I first got started in miles & points, I basically exclusively stayed at points hotels, and I know that’s something that many people enjoyed (while others made fun of me for it). That was for a variety of reasons — I thought hotel loyalty programs were incredibly compelling, most points hotels were pretty high quality, and I also couldn’t really afford nicer hotels (especially when I lived in hotels full time… the cost of that adds up!).
Nowadays, I take more of a mixed approach when it comes to the hotels I book and review:
- On review trips (a majority of my travel), I almost exclusively stay at points properties, ranging from limited service airport hotels to luxury city hotels
- When we travel as a family (with our kids), we also stay at points hotels more often than not, though it depends on the trip
- When Ford and I take time to travel alone with one another (a few times per year, since we’re otherwise always with our kids), we’ll typically try to book whatever the best property is that we can, or the hotel that most interests us, whether it’s a points hotel or not (and often it is a points property, for the record)
I know at times people suggest that I almost only stay at super fancy non-points hotels, but that’s simply not the case. For example, in 2025, I had 15 consecutive hotel reviews that were all points properties. I think the fact that I requalified for Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador status last year also confirms that I stay at a fair number of points hotels. 😉
I think one thing worth mentioning is that I often write more content about experiences at some non-points properties, and that’s simply because there’s often more to talk about. Like, there’s only so much to talk about when staying at a limited service airport hotel, or at a generic, newly opened Marriott.
Now, let me of course acknowledge that Ford has a travel agency, so there’s no denying that this also creates an incentive to stay at more luxury properties. Travel advisors work on commission, and a commission is higher on a $1,000 per night hotel than on a $100 per night hotel. I’m just being honest. However, there’s a lot more to my evolving hotel choices than that…
Points hotels & loyalty programs have become less compelling
Here’s what’s perhaps the single biggest thing that has caused me to shift away from blindly staying at points hotels. On balance, most hotels have just become so much worse over the years, as they’re charging more and offering less.
Admittedly that’s true across the industry, but it feels like properties belonging to major loyalty programs know that they can get away with the most, since people will stay on the “hamster wheel.” Going back 15+ years:
- Hotel promotions were incredible, and hotel award redemption rates were reasonable; just look at Hyatt’s Faster Free Nights promotion back in the day, where you could earn a free night at any hotel in the world after every two stays… how could someone not take advantage of that?!
- Hotels did a much better job of honoring elite perks, so there was actually more value to staying at points properties
- The major hotel groups just had more brand standards, and actually cared a lot more about guest experience than they do now; for example, we know that all Marriott cares about is room count growth, and the guest experience (or at least lack of consistency) reflects that, as owners find every opportunity to cut costs and increase margins
But seriously, what’s the actual selling point of most luxury points hotels nowadays? For example, take a redemption at the aspirational Waldorf Astoria Maldives. Hilton points have been devalued so bad that it’ll now cost you a million points to redeem there for five nights (that includes the fifth night free), and that assumes you can even find availability, which is hard to come by.
How the heck is anyone supposed to rack up one million Hilton points, only to then basically enter a lottery to get a stay at that hotel (I don’t currently see any five night period for the entire year with availability)?
As another example, until 2021, Marriott Bonvoy capped award nights at 100,000 points per night. How I’m seeing top properties going for well over 200,000 points per night. Again, how is the average “points hacker” expected to efficiently rack up enough points to plan a vacation based on that?
And what’s really the selling point of elite status? It’s not like suite upgrades are very common with most major hotel groups, and if it’s breakfast you’re after, nowadays you can book luxury properties through any of a number of programs that offer elite-like perks, including upgrades, room credits, breakfast, etc.
I think there’s another factor that has to be addressed here. While airfare continues to be about as cheap as it has ever been (adjusted for inflation), the same isn’t true of hotels, especially those belonging to major hotel groups.
At least in the United States, I find hotel pricing in many markets to be downright offensive nowadays. So whether it’s a limited service hotel charging $200-300 per night, or a resort charging $1,000 per night, it just sucks when you feel like you pay so much and get so little.
I find that points hotels are largely the worst with this, since it almost feels like brands like Marriott promise owners that they have to deliver very little, with their only concern being getting the best margins.
The “premium leisure” evolution is a real trend
In recent years, we’ve seen a massive shift whereby there are a lot more premium leisure travelers, who are paying for first and business class, staying at luxury hotels, etc. I think some people underestimate that even among value conscious people and the not-super-wealthy, the concept of paying for expensive luxury hotels is increasingly common:fir
- Many people are into miles & points so that they can redeem for first and business class long haul flights, and then have more money to splurge on hotels, so they can have a really great experience
- Americans are notorious for having limited vacation time, so many are willing to splurge on especially nice hotels when they get their two weeks per year off, since it’s basically their “escape” for the year
- Different people spend money in different ways; sure, maybe a family of four is happy spending $2,000 per day to go to Disney (given how expensive tickets, hotels, food, drinks, etc., are), which is a huge amount, while someone who doesn’t have kids may be willing to spend that much to splurge on a special trip elsewhere
- Unfortunately this is my least favorite reason, but the truth is that we have a bit of an affordability crisis, and many younger people feel that it’s just not realistic to save meaningfully, so they’d rather splurge on experiences that they consider to be cool
There are more ways to get deals on independent luxury hotels
I think it’s also important to acknowledge that there are increasingly ways to leverage miles & points to get deals on luxury hotels:
- An increasing number of premium credit cards are offering hotel credits, many of which can most efficiently be used for points hotels
- Programs like Chase Points Boost let members use their points for up to two cents each toward luxury hotels; that means a $900 per night hotel could potentially cost you 45,000 points, the same number of points you’d need if moving points to World of Hyatt for a stay at a top tier property in peak season
- We’ve seen so many new programs offering perks at luxury properties, which can stretch the value of stays further
Yes, I realize the average person isn’t going to be able to constantly stay at luxury properties with their points. However, if someone has an interest in them, there are certainly opportunities to leverage points for stays at some independent hotels.
What’s interesting is how “value” paths have diverged — there are better opportunities than in the past to redeem points for luxury non-points properties, while hotel loyalty program award pricing has largely increased massively over time, and has become less compelling.
I’m passionate about and interested in the hospitality industry
I’m a huge airline and hotel geek. In many cases, I’d like to think that my reviews aren’t just intended to be informational, but also just “hotel porn.” I know that long before I ever stayed at an uber-luxury property, I was mighty curious about what they were like.
It’s the same reason I reviewed TAAG Angola Airlines first class. It’s not because I thought most OMAAT readers would spend money on their insane fares, but instead, it’s because I was curious, and my hope was that others would enjoy reading about it.
Personally, I love reading reviews of unique properties, even if I never intend to stay at them. To me, it’s interesting to see all the things that are being tried in the hotel industry, and the different approaches that different properties take. There’s a much bigger difference in experience between various luxury brands vs. between various Westin properties, for example.
If hotel reviews were just intended to be informational in nature, that would be sort of silly. I mean, there are hundreds of thousands of hotels in the world, and I’m never realistically going to be able to put a dent in reviewing a meaningful percentage of them.
For example, I’m happy reviewing Moxy properties, but usually the bottom line boils down to “well, it was what you’d expect from a Moxy.” Meanwhile for unique luxury properties, they’re often just totally different than I was expecting, and I enjoy that. Just to give a couple of examples:
Maybe I don’t convey it sufficiently sometimes, but I genuinely get giddy when I get to stay at a new (to me) type of luxury property. That’s not because I’m desperate to be doted over (I’m an introvert, I get no satisfaction out of feeling special or whatever). It’s also not because I want to see-and-be-seen (again… I’m an introvert). It’s also not because I want to show off on social media.
Instead, it’s because I genuinely love learning about what different properties offer, and how wildly different experiences can be. Let me honest — I typically stay at properties for one or two nights, and those stays often aren’t actually relaxing. I’m running around trying to take pictures of every possible corner of the property while respecting the privacy of others (so I’m basically photographing most spaces at 4AM), and often that takes lots of repeat visits of the same place.
I also recognize what incredibly complex operations hotels are, and the amount of effort that goes into orchestrating a frictionless and memorable stay. I almost view a good hotel stay as an amazing choreographed performance, and I don’t take for granted the people who make it happen. Meanwhile at other properties, I can’t help but be dismayed by the complete lack of effort, even for easy things.
Bottom line
I want to acknowledge that over the years I’ve certainly started staying at more non-points properties, and I understand that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I don’t take anyone in the OMAAT community for granted, and I don’t want to pretend there hasn’t been any sort of a shift.
However, I did want to explain the factors at play here. The reality is that I continue to stay at many points properties, and a majority of my reviews continue to be of those hotels. That being said, the value just isn’t there like it used to be, between the degradation of elite benefits, award points inflation, fewer promotions for earning points, and a reduction in the quality of service and amenities at many of these properties. If you were playing the points hotel game 15 years ago and now, it really is one mighty sad decline.
At the same time, we are seeing a shift whereby more people are staying at more expensive properties, including many people splurging, who aren’t necessarily uber-wealthy. It’s just a function of how people choose to spend their disposable income.
Even if someone would never consider staying at one of these properties, my hope is that there are enough hotel nerds out there who just enjoy reading about these kinds of experiences. I know that even before I stayed at any uber-luxury property, I was still very interested in what they were like, and the innovation in the hospitality industry.
Anyway, as always, I appreciate those who read, and I also appreciate feedback, even if it’s critical. I’ll continue reviewing points properties, and hopefully find as decent of a mix as possible. As I mentioned, a majority of my travel is review trips, and on those journeys I exclusively stay at points properties.
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