MSI sells a lot to box stores. That should tell you about their quality right there. Low quality and a poor quality fill. Emser imports directly, but they have their own contacts in country from their owners. Decent, but not the highest quality, and with a decent fill. Daltile also imports directly and through brokers. At a higher price. I wouldn't pay the premium for them myself, as you're not getting substantially better quality over Emser.

All in all, it's still travertine. Which still has it's drawbacks that you have to be prepared to accept. I couldn't deal with the porosity,staining, and etching issues, nor the potential for the fill to come out down the road, no matter what the initial quality might be. If I wanted the look of travertine, I'd for sure be looking at a porcelain look alike. Especially in any bath areas. I've seen too many horror pics of mold growing in the tiles on poorly constructed showers. Which is pretty much the only kind most builders know how to do. None of them has ever heard of Kerdi or a proper pre slope.

But, another other issue is, to put it delicately, someone in 2013 is still putting travertine in a new house build??? If you absolutely completely head over heels love it over all other materials, I guess I can understand. But, it will make the build look very 1995, if that would be important to you now or at resale.

Out of curiosity, what kind of flooring do you suggest that will look good now, and 10 years from now won't be "very 2013"?

In general in my house, I am not building with any fad material, like not so long ago you would see lime green counter tops and and orange bathrooms and say, yep, that house was built in the '80s.

The plan is to retire in the house and use materials that have been used throughout many decades, rather than just a passing fad.

White bathrooms are never out of style. Not marble. Porcelain or ceramic. Use different sizes and layouts to create interest. I've got 40 year old white tile in my bath right now that is a mix of matte and semi gloss and has never looked bad. It's not been "in" style, but it's never been out of style either.

For the rest of the house, a plain not too wide oak has been popular for hundreds of years, and is still a significant portion of the market. It's classic and will remain that way. It too may not be "in", but it's never out either.