”Marriott doesn’t have enough hotel brands, I wish the company would introduce some more…” said no one ever. That’s not stopping the company, though. In September 2023, Marriott announced the details of its newest hotel brand, Four Points Express by Sheraton.
Continue reading: Four Points Express By Sheraton: Marriott’s Newest Hotel Brand
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I suspect the reason why these are being called Four Points Express by Sheraton is that internationally Sheraton is a known brand that may even have higher consumer ratings than Marriott. But it seems like Marriott International is risking that by allowing these to be conversion properties.
This looks aimed at the international version of Red Roof Inn. So maybe a very low-end Ibis?
I wouldn’t be surprised if there is no staffed front desk in Europe with check-in handled through kiosks.
I can make the press release shorter and easier to understand:
"It's a Hampton Inn with a different paint job."
Actually surprised it has taken this long. American chains tend to be dwarfed in Europe by Accor because the American chains' brand standards are so rigid and more suitable for new builds than repurposing and conversions. This seems like the sort of thing that could compete against Mercure, which is an incredibly versatile brand and extremely popular throughout the EMENA region.
Personally I hope it isn't very successful, as I am quite fond of Accor brands and find the US brands tend to be incredibly expensive compared to Accor properties, but will be interesting to see how it progresses.
Only Marriott could come up with a five word hotel brand name this unnecessarily long (I'm sure there'll be a "Four Points Express by Sheraton London Heathrow Airport East" very soon....)
This is also a clear attempt to leverage the Holiday Inn Express brand in EMEA (which is probably the leading brand alongside Ibis in this segment, albeit with stricter brand standards than it looks like this will have). I can't imagine IHG's lawyers will be too happy with the name...
Isn't Mercure a little higher on the spectrum? In my experience staying at a handful of Mercure properties in the UK, they have fallen somewhere between a Holiday Inn and Sheraton.
It actually sounds more closer to a Best Western, Red Roof Inn, Comfort Inn. No gym requirement. Almost certainly a kiosk for a front desk in Europe.
I thought Four Points was bottom of the ladder? Anybody remember when they sponsored dessert on US Airways? Four Points Pie.
A brand with no standards. Well good. I’m gonna open my locally curated artisan value property “Crap and a Nap”
The name is so stupid too—everyone’s just going to think of it as a Four Points and not realize it’s any different
We list 'WiFi' as a property feature. Why? Because we had to fill a character minimum and there were no other distinguishable options.
Also, anyone else think those lobby renderings look like an office?
It's a City Express renamed for those markets, and we expect to see in the future, "Four Points Express Junior by Sheraton." There is another "City Express Junior" in Mexico that is closer in style to a Formule 1 or Etap hotel but with an in-room bathroom.
I did find it out that it’s for Europe and Asia only. Both Hilton and IHG have announced midscale conversion brands. I interpreted City Express to be more of an upper economy play, not mid scale conversion.
FWIW Four Points is itself a mid scale conversion brand in practice, but I guess adding the Best Brews station is too much investment for some owners.
Mercure can be 3 or 4 stars typically. Some are very minimal. Some are quite nice. It is an extremely flexible brand. Especially if you go to smaller cities in Germany and France, you will see a very wide range of Mercures.
I've always put Four Points above Courtyard and more comparable to a Delta in Marriott's ecosystem and a Holiday Inn in IHG's ecoysystem if only because many, if not most, Four Points have a full-service restaurant.
Introducing: "Four Points Junior Platinum Express Elemental Eco Suites Select Garden Villas ES by Sheraton at Marriott Garden House La Casa de City Comfort Towne Springs"!
Otherwise known as: FPJPEEESSGVESMGHLCCCTS by Bonvoy
Couldn't agree more, Tom ! In other words, a cheap knock-off by Marriott in order to capitalize on the established IHG branding for Holiday Inn Express (where the IHG brand is standardized on new design, hot breakfast included and aimed at a younger demographic). It will be interesting to see if Marriott chooses to cross the line with an included breakfast, first up?
Personally, I refuse to consider any Marriott properties until they have at least 100 brands. They simply do not offer sufficient options with the current array of brands. Wake me when they reach 100.
Finally a Four Points without the extreme luxury standards!
I assumed they were working towards killing Sheraton purposely rather than a spinoff of a spinoff.
"If I was going to open a motel, I'd call it the 'Sleep and F*** Motel.' It'd have one of those flashing, buzzing signs, and maybe be right at the New Jersey entrance to the Holland Tunnel." - George Carlin
I've had the...misfortune...of staying in three Four Points properties. ALL of them, each in different states across the US, gave me "this is basically a 'nice' hostel but you don't have to share your room and you have your own bathroom" vibes. Slightly elevated but not by much. They have internal hallways (well, one of them did) so that's a bonus.
To FNT's point, I've actually stayed at much better Holiday Inns than Four Points. So I'd actually rank Holiday Inns as one rung up. Only reason I'd stay at a Four Points is because I was loyal to Marriott so I could cash in points for something useful, like Aeroplan miles. Either way, taking a garbage brand and making it "express" means nothing; the bar was already so low Marriott would need a boring machine to dig a tunnel to lower the bar any further. But looks like they found one...
Oh thank you little baby Jesus. A seamless hotel experience in a convenient location, with principles of reliability, simplicity and value in both the design and guest experience is exactly what’s been absent in my travel life. This will fill that void. Marriott does it again!
I really think more of us travelers should speak up about this new trend of .5 Elite Night Credits from half a dozen Marriott brands. IF these hotels cost 1/2 the price of a similar property: maybe. But they DON'T. Compare the cost per night and you'll quickly learn this. Even the reduced points earnings at brand like Element, Residence Inn, and TownePlace make ZERO sense to me. Priced the same in my city (DFW) at a regular Sheraton or Courtyard.
Won't be a success! Having 73 hotel brands only serves to confuse the conser and make them take their business ELSEWHERE! Need to do less - maybe 2 or 3 brands!
This is basically an SNL skit at this point. At our new Aloft Express Towne Place Four Residence Points Sheraton Suites Westin by W, you can check in to a room with no bed or bathroom if saving money is truly your thing...
80% sure there is one being built on the edge of Barcelona in Villadecans. The sign has been covered as they were building but it’s highly likely it is this.
I could be on board with the 0.5 elite nights per night stayed at the discount brands if it means you get double or triple nights at more luxury brands like JW Marriott or St Regis.
This elite status qualification story sounds very similar to airlines... remember when elite status was all about distance flown (even in discount economy) and nothing else?
One risk might be that, down the line, Marriott will say you earn one elite night per $x spent, which will completely gut the qualification process and make things even more revenue based. However, given how international hotel chains are, maybe this won't happen. You can't create a situation where it is almost impossible to qualify for elite status through stays at hotels in some countries due to lower prices.
Four points is already a lower end brand. However, so is Fairfield and many other brands. I just do not see how this can differentiate with all of those.
I recently stayed at a Four Points in Europa (Barcelona), and it was a perfectly fine hotel and room. Quite comparable to a Courtyard. And also the price, at 200€ per night, wasn't exactly low end.
This is really getting very confusing.