) to earn points and status, not to mention selecting your far-from-the-elevator room. Do what works for you of course, but these options are available.
Agree. I only have a few that I gravitate to: Hilton (yes, @BrianL!); Marriott; and Best Western.If you travel a lot it would be beneficial to join a loyalty program (preferably Hilton Honors
If you travel a lot it would be beneficial to join a loyalty program (preferably Hilton Honors
I noticed you travel frequently
. Is Philly a place you go to? Our fav was the Penn’s View but there’s been some changes that make it difficult for me to visit. I’m looking for a non or small chain boutique hotel thats wheelchair accessible. If you know of something I’d love a recommendation 
I like that I can pick my room for Hilton brands on their app. Granted, sometimes the selection is rather limited and only “less desirable” rooms by my standards are available.
I agree that Best Western is the best for accumulating points. You can use their points for some nice hotels in vacation destinations. As long as you're choosy about which ones you book, you can get some really good deals. Unfortunately, you can also happen upon some "never agains". That's pretty much true with all brands though.
We travel to some areas that haven't had a hotel built in decades. The whole area may have less than a handful of places to choose from, including AirBnB. Lack of soundproofing isn't uncommon.
We're actually going to Philly for the first time at the end of our current trip. I haven't even looked for a hotel there yet. I'm still trying to find a place to stay for our next two destinations. I really should be doing that now rather than posting on the DIS.I noticed you travel frequently
That said, I'll let you know, if I happen upon something good.
Maybe, we could coordinate our stays, so we could switch rooms.
Not really about points - if you have status they are much more likely to consider your requests and not give you a bad room - for Marriott and Hilton they are supposed to give you the best available room especially if your at the highest level - the points are usual not worth it anymore - but again if you book on the day they don't have to do much for you at all.
It's funny you say that. I'm currently sitting in a Hilton Garden Inn behind the elevator. Maybe, you could hook us up.
Our biggest problem is we rarely book our hotels far in advance. Most are booked same day. My top priorities are location & reviews at that point. We've resigned ourselves to taking the room we get, but you all have convinced me that it wouldn't hurt to call to make a request, even if we're only a few hours away.
Are most rooms really assigned far in advance? Based on what I've read, it appears room assignments, even at Disney, appear to be luck of the draw. It's like winning the lottery to get all of your requests. I realize some chains offer a better chance of receiving the location you want, but do they assign those rooms far in advance.
Well all I can say is for Marriott and Hilton I tend to get my room upgraded a couple of days in advance - they don't want the front desk person ignoring the members status.Are most rooms really assigned far in advance? Based on what I've read, it appears room assignments, even at Disney, appear to be luck of the draw. It's like winning the lottery to get all of your requests. I realize some chains offer a better chance of receiving the location you want, but do they assign those rooms far in advance.
We understand that booking same day limits our options. I was just curious as to why we were always being assigned the same room location, even in a hotel that's far from full. Are the rooms closest to the elevator the least desirable rooms at every hotel? I really don't know. If they are, why are we assigned those rooms at a high percentage? Inquiring minds want to know.
That's been a relatively new add to the Hilton app (maybe last 2 years or so) -- it's really great, but it also depends on your arrival time. If you show up early, it's possible that particular room had a late check out and isn't ready, yet.
Yeah, even if you show up at your indicated arrival time your chosen room might not be ready. That has happened to us once or twice.
I used to work the front desk at a couple of Marriots and we would assign rooms same day. For us, it was usually done once check-outs were done. We'd start with special requests, and then like @NYCgrrl said, we'd go by bed type.
