Anyone that has been in a grocery store lately has likely noted the vast number of apple varieties from which to choose. On my last visit, I think I counted about 20 different kinds, each with their little label saying “Good for cooking, eating, and about anything else you would want an apple for.” I don’t know about you, but it’s hard to tell most of them apart.

As challenging as selecting an apple is, it doesn’t even come close to the challenge of choosing a hotel brand for your team or your own personal travel. By last count, there are over 130 different brands of hotels operating in North America by national hotel companies. An example of a hotel company would be “InterContinental Hotels and Resorts,” with a few of their brands being “Holiday Inn”, “Crown Plaza,” “Staybridge Suites,” etc. Marriott International, with their recent purchase of the Starwood hotels, boasts 29 different brands alone. Wyndham Worldwide and Hilton Hotels and Resorts are next with 17 and 14 brands respectively. Six other chains have between 8 and 12 brands each. How in the world do you keep up with all of the choices of hotels out there to be able to pick the ones that best meet the needs of your group? Let me try to break this challenge down so it can serve as a guide for your future hotel selections. I will concentrate on the brands that are best suited for a team and their families, at various price points to satisfy different budgets. Also, all of the brands I have listed are in alphabetical order, not rank.

Categories of Brands

There are many systems that classify hotels by quality category. Blending a number of those, here is a breakdown of all of the brands broken into seven distinctive levels:

Full Service Top Luxury – High reputation, superior service, fine dining and spacious and beautifully decorated rooms.

Examples: Conrad, Four Seasons, JW Marriott, Ritz Carlton, St. Regis.

Full-Service Upper-Scale – Attractive architecture and décor, impressive lobby, very professional staff, quality food and beverages, and extra facilities and services.

Examples: Hilton Hotel, Hyatt Regency, Marriott Hotel, Omni, Westin.

Full-Service Mid-Scale – Very nice appearance, convenient roadside or suburban locations, helpful staff and above-average food and beverage facilities

Examples: Courtyard, Hilton Garden Inn, Holiday Inn, Radisson Hotel, Wyndham Hotel.

Limited Service Mid-Scale – Same quality as the Full-Service Mid-Scale, but with limited services, a smaller staff and likely a free breakfast rather than a full-service restaurant.

Examples: Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hyatt Place, La Quinta Inn & Suites, Wingate Inn.

All-Suite/Extended Stay – A “suite” version of the Full-Service Mid-Scale level as well as the

Limited-Service Mid-Scale.  The Suites range from Studio Suites or a Two-room Suite with a full or partial kitchen, to one larger room one with a refrigerator and microwave.

Full-Service Mid-Scale Examples:  Cambria Suites, Embassy Suites, Hawthorn Suites, Homewood Suites, Residence Inn, Limited-Service Mid-Scale Examples: Comfort Suites, Hyatt House, Mainstay Suites, Springhill Suites, TownPlace Suites.

Limited Service Lower Mid-Scale – The hotels in this category can range from nicely appointed to minimally decorated, with a modest complimentary breakfast and a convenient location.

Examples: Baymont Inn, Best Western, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Quality Inn.

Economy – Simple and clean, with a limited staff and hours, very modest room size and decorations, and a low room rate.

Examples: Econolodge, Microtel, Red Roof Inn, Sleep Inn, Super 8, Travelodge.

The Hotel Companies with the Best Brands

All of the brands operated by these hotel/lodging companies can be considered as great choices for a team to stay at. Each company has a stringent quality assurance program that monitors among other things a hotel’s cleanliness, condition and guest satisfaction in all areas.

  • All Marriott brands
  • All Hyatt brands
  • All Hilton Hotels & Resorts brands
  • All Starwood Hotels & Resorts brands (now owned by Marriott), except for Four Points by Sheraton
  • All IHG (InterContinental Hotel Group) brands, except for Candlewood Suites

Picking a Brand for both Comfort and Value

For both comfort and value, look towards the Full-Service Mid-Scale and the Limited Service Mid-Scale brands. My favorites are:

  • Best Western Plus
  • Courtyard by Marriott
  • Drury Inn
  • Hilton Garden Inn
  • Holiday Inn (they are quite improved from a few years back)
  • Holiday Inn Express
  • Hyatt Place
  • La Quinta Inn & Suites (but not the La Quinta Inns)

The Brands with the Best Free Breakfasts

All Complimentary Breakfasts are not created equal. If a hotel you are considering advertises one, don’t hesitate to call and ask what is on theirs. Also, ask how many seats are in their breakfast area. Taking your team down to a breakfast that has only 10 chairs and only a platter of sweet rolls and coffee is not going to go down well with the team. Here is a list of the brands that offer the best free breakfasts:

Hot Breakfast* Continental Breakfast
Comfort Suites Element
Embassy Suites Home2Suites
Hawthorn Suites Hyatt House
Homewood Suites Hyatt Place
Residence Inn Mainstay Suites
Staybridge Suites Springhill Suites
  • There is some overlap with the Hot Breakfasts that have only a limited number of hot items, and the Continental Breakfasts that have one or two hot items.

The Best Brands for an Extended Stay

The term “Extended Stay” hotels was coined by Residence Inn back in the early 1980s, when that chain broke out of its home in Wichita, Kansas to open properties nationwide. Extended Stay simply referred to travelers that were staying at the hotel for more than the normal 1-4 days. Residence Inn was designed initially for stays of 30-days or longer, but due to demand, offered a tiered rate structure so guests could stay as short as one night. The suites were designed to have more room than a standard hotel, with a full kitchen, laundry facilities, BBQ area and other services that meet the needs of guests staying for week or months.

Typically amateur teams travel for an average of two nights (mostly Friday and Saturday), and the facilities of an Extended Stay hotel are not really needed. But if your team is going to be at a hotel for 3 or 4 days or more, and would like the ability to cook meals in the room, then you should certainly consider one of these brands:

  • Element
  • Homewood Suites
  • Hawthorn Suites
  • Sonesta ES
  • Staybridge Suites
  • Residence Inn

The Best Brands for an Upscale Stay

I have only listed full-service hotels on this list, as they are the ones that will in most cases give you the best overall service during your visit. Some of these will be great, but none will offer anything less than a very good experience.

  • Gaylord Hotel (Marriott)
  • Hilton Hotel
  • Hyatt Regency & Grand Hyatt
  • Marriott Hotel & Marriott Suites
  • Omni
  • Radisson Blu
  • Renaissance (Marriott)
  • Westin & W Hotel (Starwood/Marriott)

The Best Brands for a Luxury Stay

A team that wants a Luxury hotel experience may not have to pay luxury rates, as most amateur tournaments happen over weekends when many of these business-oriented hotels have a lower occupancy than mid-week. If you book your team here, make sure everyone follows proper conduct rules, so you will be invited back.

  • JW Marriott
  • Conrad (Hilton)
  • Intercontinental
  • Fairmont
  • Regis
  • Four Seasons
  • Ritz Carlton
  • Waldorf Astoria Hotels (Hilton)
  • Any other luxury AAA 4 & 5-Diamond rated hotel company brands

One note – make sure that when if you are dealing with a 5-Diamond luxury hotel like Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton, when you say “double-double” (meaning two double beds), the hotel is not quoting you their double-double in the form of two twin (or similar-width) beds.

My Favorite Brands, by Category

  • Full Service Top Luxury – Top: Ritz Carlton.  Runner-Up: JW Marriott
  • Full-Service Upper-Scale – Top: Westin.  Runner-Up: Marriott Hotel
  • Full-Service Mid-Scale – Top: Hilton Garden Inn.  Runner-Up: Holiday Inn
  • Limited Service Mid-Scale – Top: Holiday Inn Express.  Runner-Up: La Quinta Inn & Suites
  • All-Suite/Extended Stay – Top: Residence Inn.  Runner-Up: Embassy Suites
  • Limited Service Lower Mid-Scale – Top: Best Western Plus.  Runner-Up: Comfort Inn
  • Economy – Top: Sleep Inn.  Runner-Up: Microtel

When & How to Shop

No matter where you travel to with your team, the hotel experience can make or break the trip. By shopping around, you can get a great hotel choice for your team at a good rate. Remember, a hotel’s rate for any date is based not only on that hotel’s quality and location, but how many rooms they still have available to sell as they are approaching your arrival date. If you are able to wait until inside 30 days before your arrival to book your rooms, many hotels will have groups booked that release rooms back to the hotel at 30 or 21 days. So booking your rooms in that timeframe could get you some rooms at a hotel that previously was full. Also, if selecting a hotel closest to your sports venue is a priority to you, wherever you are travelling, then check out a new sports hotel booking site called Hotels4Teams. It will source your hotel choices close to the venue you are playing. Happy travels!