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During the pandemic, many hotels – usually in the United States or nearby – have taken advantage of the situation to reduce the benefits provided to hotel guests… all in the name of “coronavirus restrictions” (code for cost cutting).
Some of the worst offenders can be found under a Marriott Bonvoy flag (click here for an older article about certain mis-behaving Marriott-branded hotels). And if you dig deeper, you will find that some of these hotels are owned by a single company – DiamondRock Hospitality.
I have no idea whether every single hotel owned by DiamondRock Hospitality treats elite members poorly, but I am happy to share the publicly-available lists of hotels owned by DiamondRock. So, do your research before booking one for your US travels…
Marriott
Hilton
Although free breakfast is no longer guaranteed to Diamond / Gold members, you might still want to research the elite treatment at these hotels…
Bottom line
Caveat emptor… Buyer beware. One of the best reasons for being loyal to Marriott – consistent service and benefits – no longer applies. If you are a busy Platinum or Titanium member, you might not want to spend any time researching hotels. But one way to avoid disappointment is to simply avoid hotels owned by a company whose CEO complains regularly about the cost of elite benefits…
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