Hilton HHonors - Scandic Added To — Then Out of — Hilton HHonors: The Definitive Thread

Read in a Norwegian newspaper today: Hilton has made an offer to buy the Scandic hotel chain for approximately $1 billion.

This would give Hilton several (20+) properties in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, as well as elsewhere in Europe. The only Hilton property in Scandinavia is currently in Copenhagen. More "exotic" places to spend your points...

If this goes through I would certainly be happy! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif


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Goldlust

Great news! We even have a Scandic Hotel in my little hometown.

If you would like more info about scandic visit www.scandic.se (http://www.scandic.se) the page is also avaible in english.

[This message has been edited by kempis (edited 04-23-2001).]

Great news!! Hope the deal come through!!
If it does, will all the Scandics change their name to Hiltons then? Great..welcome to helsinki, the city of 7 Hiltons...lol...or is it 6....

cheers jetboy

According to Swedish business paper Dagens Industri, Hilton plans to rebrand only 20 Scandic properties to Hilton in Sweden, while all properties outside the Nordic countries will turn into Hiltons. Nothing said about Finland though..

http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/04/23/europe/hotels/index.htm

Hilton bids for Scandic

UK hotelier offers $881bn for Scandic; Raffles to buy Swissotels for $307mn

April 23, 2001: 7:01 a.m. ET

LONDON (CNN) - Hilton, the UK hotelier, made an agreed bid for Scandic Hotels on Monday as Swissotel agreed to be bought by Singapore-based peer Raffles.

The British company, the operator of Hilton hotels outside the U.S., said it was offering 108 Swedish crowns ($10.70) and 1.1238 new Hilton shares for each Scandic share, valuing the firm at £612 million ($881 million).

The offer values each Scandic share at 144 crowns, a 30.9 percent premium to Friday's close. Scandic's board of directors recommended shareholders accept the offer.



Can anyone shed any light on the relationship between Hilton UK and Hilton US? I understand that during the corporate raider 80's, Hilton UK was somehow spun off from the Hilton firm. That is why for a while, Hilton US could only operate internationally under the Conrad name.

Are Hilton US and Hilton UK now somehow related under common ownership again or do they just have joint marketing/HHonors programs etc.?

Thanks

A press released was issued yesterday in the Nordic Countries that Hilton International Hotels wants to buy Scandic Hotels.
The Scandic Hotels is a very nice chain with pure scandinavian interior. It is 3-4 stars proporties and usually have very good offers.

The deal will include all of Scandic Hotels 174 hotels located around in Europe - (133 of these is in the Nordic Countries). It is suggested that some of the Scandic Hotels will be renamed to Hilton while others will remain Scandic hotels.

This is a great opportunity for persons in Northern Europe (especially within the Nordic Countries). Hilton is just represented with one Hilton in the Nordic countries, located in Copenhagen Airport. This hotel just opened a couple of months ago.

Se also http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/001662.html

Ooops... I did not see that Topic.. Sorry

Ooops... I did not see that Topic.. Sorry

From the Tuesday London Times:

[Of the 133 Nordic hotels, 20 will be quickly converted to the Hilton brand with a further 11 to follow over time. All but four of the other 21 hotels will become Hiltons, including Scandic's Hilioday Inn franchise in London's Docklands.

The rest will stay as Scandics but over the longer term Mr. Michels is planning to "tack on" a mid-market flag from the stable of b rands owned by Hilton Hotel Corportation, its US marketing partner. These include Doubletree, Embassy Suites and Homewood Suites. "We are not selling a single property," he said.]

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Have passport, will travel...
LAX, LHR, CDG, et.al.

FYI. URL to the Scandic site, so you can identify where they have hotels.

I wish they had bought them last year, when I went to Sweden to pick up my car and then traveled thru Norway!


http://www.scandic-hotels.com/br/index2.html

I'll be awaiting the 20 hotels that will be instantly renamed. Amongst the hotels in Norway, IMHO, none will qualify unless they are substantially upgraded. This goes for both room standard and level of service. Some Swedish properties however, should should be able to do it fairly easily.

Onedog: My memory is getting a bit hazy, but I think the chronology is something like this.

Hilton US sold the international hotels to Howard Hughes/TWA. These hotels were eventually bought by Ladbroke, a UK gaming company.

Ladbroke operated its own hotels in the UK. These became Hilton National hotels (a ragbag of mixed standards) while the more upmarket hotels in the UK cities became Hilton International hotels. Hilton US's international hotels were branded Conrads as they weren't allowed to use the Hilton name outside the US.

Hilton hotels in the US and outside the US had different logos and branding as well as different reservations systems.

Some 3 years ago (?), somebody knocked commonsense into the two groups' heads, and they ended up sharing branding and reservations systems. The international properties joined HHonors.

The non-US properties (including those in Canada) are still part of Ladbroke, though that company has been renamed Hilton Group plc. There is speculation that Hilton Group (the UK company, remember) will dispose of its gaming interest and concentrate on hospitality.

There is also longstanding speculation that Hilton Hotels Corp and Hilton Group will one day become one.

Hope this helps.

anyone know wht the Scandic propoerties in Copenhagen are like. Also, when will this close?

dant: Last time I stayed at the Scandic Copenhagen, it was the Copenhagen Sheraton (!)

Great news!
Any property in Stockholm comparable to the Sheraton in downtown??


AndrewM


[This message has been edited by AndrewM (edited 04-24-2001).]

What are peoples' general impressions of the Sandic chain? Are they nice hotels, with nice ammentities? Do they have luxury properties? What Hilton chain are they comparable to? I will be in Stockholm in June, and would love to get my Hilton points, so suggestions would be great!

Originally posted by gwade:
What are peoples' general impressions of the Sandic chain? Are they nice hotels, with nice ammentities? Do they have luxury properties? What Hilton chain are they comparable to? I will be in Stockholm in June, and would love to get my Hilton points, so suggestions would be great!

Scandic chain is positioned in my finnish mind somewhere 'mid-class' to 'lower mid-class'. Scandic properties are quite diversified, some of their hotels are like Hampton Inns and Embassy Suites, some match Hiltons, but the service level is typically lower than in Hiltons. I am interested to see what happens to some wonderful hotels in Helsinki that are now partly 'degraded' with Scandic's lower service concept.

Re Stockholm I would recommend Continental or Sergel Plaza, they are quite near Hilton-level. Quite a many Stockholm's Scandics are outside the city.

JPH


[This message has been edited by JPH (edited 04-27-2001).]

JPH,

Do you know anything about the Helsinki Scandic Simonkentta? I believe it is fairly new. I will be staying there for 7 days in a couple of weeks.

Thanks.

Scandic Simonkentta in Helsinki was built less than a year ago so everything is new and clean. It is a modern hotel, a bit impersonal but really a good upper middle class hotel. I've only stayed there once, in a top floor mini suite with sauna and balcony, nice room, although a bit small for a suite.

IMHO, by far the best hotel in Helsinki is the Kamp, and you can often get really good value rates by phoning them directly. (I think they have a lot of difficulties getting enough customers with 'normal rates'.

Originally posted by whynotniwot:
JPH,

Do you know anything about the Helsinki Scandic Simonkentta? I believe it is fairly new. I will be staying there for 7 days in a couple of weeks.

Thanks.

You are right, the hotel is almost new and the rooms are 'scandinavian' styled (at least the one I have seen). The location is great, everything is within the walking distance, but the view from most rooms is towards the bus station where they are making some construction work at the moment.

I personally would prefer Scandic Marski, which went thru a major renevation last year and has even a better location than Simonkentta or Scandic Grand Marina, if you prefer more a kind of seaside setting a little bit outside the busiest center. If you take Grand Marina, ask for room from the highest floor with a seaside view, you can see the Helsinki harbour and watch the ferries leaving and arriving the harbour, it is always impressive to see how those big ferries manage to turn in such a small space.

BR
JPH

[This message has been edited by JPH (edited 05-03-2001).]

Ive stayed in Scandic simonkenttä, Scandic marski and Hotel Kämp(a luxury collection property), and i would recommend hotel Kämp.

Simonkenttä is very nice and fresh but still a bit impersonal, and the suite i had in marski...well...hardly was close to nice...

cheers jetboy

Originally posted by Jetboy:
Ive stayed in Scandic simonkenttä, Scandic marski and Hotel Kämp(a luxury collection property), and i would recommend hotel Kämp.

Simonkenttä is very nice and fresh but still a bit impersonal, and the suite i had in marski...well...hardly was close to nice...

cheers jetboy

Kämp is Starwood property and as you said it is part of the Luxury Collection. It can be hardly compared with Simonkenttä since the price per night is double. I agree that Kämp is currently the best 'chain' hotel in Helsinki. Also the new Radisson SAS Plaza is OK. Did you stay in Marski during the last year or so, I really thought they renovated the hotel totally?

Unfortunately Helsinki is missing small 'boutique' hotels that large cities normally have. I think the only one that comes even close of not being 'impersonal' is Hotel Lord.

BR
JPH

I stayed in Marski early this year, and was not impressed with the 2 room "suite" with windows facing an inner courtyard..

cheers jetboy

Last week I stayed for a few days at the Scandic Hotel Continental Helsinki in one of their upgraded Ambassador Rooms. The location was a bit out of the way but the trams stopped near the hotel. I had a nice enough room, but no view. No complaints.

Thanks for all of the replies about the Simonketta. I don't have a choice on the hotel, my meetings are all taking place at this site. Is it easy to get to from the airport? One posting said it was across from the bus station. I thought there was a bus from the airport to the city center.

Also, what is the price difference between a regular room and a "suite with sauna"?

Thanks.

Also, what does "scandanavian sytled" mean?

Originally posted by whynotniwot:
Also, what does "scandanavian sytled" mean?

Well, very simplistic and minimalistic style without any 'extras', some refer to 'stylish design'. However it is not luxurious. I think there is one furniture chain that pretty much represents the 'scandinavian' style: IKEA (http://www.ikea.com.).

BR
JPH

[This message has been edited by JPH (edited 05-07-2001).]

What's the present position? Is Scandic part of Hilton?

If so, when we can we reserve rooms? I just checked hilton.com looking for a Swedish hotel, and none is on the system.

Thanks.

Originally posted by Roger:
What's the present position? Is Scandic part of Hilton?

If so, when we can we reserve rooms? I just checked hilton.com looking for a Swedish hotel, and none is on the system.

Thanks.

Hi, the offer to the shareholders was made in late April so it will take several months to close the transaction (provided that sufficient portion of shares accepts the offer, which shouldn't be a problem with 30% premium).

So no Hilton in Sweden or Finland yet.

JPH

Thanks, JPH.

Any opinion on Gothenburgs Scandic Hotels? I planned to stay at the Opalen as it is near the Liseberg Amusement Park.

Muerz

This is a great news. The three main hotel chains that I have access to are Starwood, Hilton and Marriott but all three have very poor coverage in Scandinavian countries. With Hilton's new purchase, it would make my trip there much easier.

Well, very simplistic and minimalistic style without any 'extras', some refer to 'stylish design'. However it is not luxurious. I think there is one furniture chain that pretty much represents the 'scandinavian' style: IKEA.

In other words, it's basically what the 'W Hotels' of Starwood Hotels are like. I tend to describe it as a stylish, modern and elegant design.

http://www.expatica.com/main.asp?pad=42,43,&item_id=9766

-------------- 8< --------------

EU okays Hilton buy of Scandic Hotels

1 June 2001

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission said Friday it has given antitrust clearance to the purchase of Swedish Scandic Hotels AB by British hotel operator Hilton Group PLC.

The deal worth 1.04 billion euros ($883 million) will enlarge Hilton's portfolio by 133 hotels in the Nordic region and 21 hotels in the rest of Europe.

"The Commission has considered that the proposed concentration does not lead to the creation or strengthening of a dominant position," the EU's head office said in a statement.

London-based Hilton, operates Hilton-brand hotels outside the United States and Ladbrokes betting shops in Europe.

[Copyright 2001, The Associated Press]

-------------- 8< --------------


FT references:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/001662.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/001672.html

[This message has been edited by andersja (edited 06-05-2001).]

Well, the deal has gone through. Hilton Group reported today that more than 90% of the Scandic stockholders have approved the offer.

Being a Norwegian in "excile" I will of course encourage all FTers to check out the new Hiltons in Scandinavia.

Another Norwegian in "exile" reporting here http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Official news from the Hilton site:
http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/promotions/scandic/index.jhtml

Andersja thanks for the link!
Its a shame that they are not yet in the link!mr tinky is off to scandanavia and would have loved to stay at hiltons.The starwoods are very expensive over there!

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Hyatt Diamond/Hilton Diamond/Starwood Platinum/UA1K-Ansett-WHITE/Qantas-WHITE

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by tinkybelle:
Andersja thanks for the link!
Its a shame that they are not yet in the link!mr tinky is off to scandanavia and would have loved to stay at hiltons.The starwoods are very expensive over there!

</font>

The Radissons are quite good.

First let me apologise in advance for the double post, but after a little more research I found this belongs in the Hilton forum instead of the Inter-Continental forum.

Multiple questions here. It looks like I will be spending at least a couple of months in Helsinki soon and the preferred project hotel is the Scandic Hotel Continental. Is this the same hotel as the Inter Continental Hotel Helsinki? The address and phone numbers are the same. Is it a case of same building, same management but two hotels, one upper scale - one lower?

I'm SPG platinum and BA Gold. Is there any chance to get comped to an advanced level within the Scandic club? Are they recognising HHonors already? Would the ~40 initial nights be enough to reach a reasonable status?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Jenn




[This message has been edited by michswiss (edited 07-26-2001).]

Hi
It is no longer an Intercontinental Hotel. IT's now a Scandic property with no relations to IC. I've stayed at the IC Helsinki before, but have no idea of the service after Scandic has taken over.

Scandic does not comp levels (as far as I know!) - Scandic Plus level my self.

Just stayed at a Scandic property in Stockholm. No connection between Scandic and Hilton at present.

The URL for Scandic member is:
http://www.scandic-hotels.com/br/10/10club.html

I am about to spend a lot of time in Finland at the Scandic Continental Hotel in Helsinki. I read that Hilton has bought the properties and will slowly incorporate the Scandic program into HHonors. But, not before I'm well into two months (possibly up to half a year) of stays.

Here's the question. Is the better strategy to join the Scandic program and wait patiently for the HHonors conversion or to join HHonors now (I'm SPG Platium and could arrange for a few Hilton stays over the next months. Hoping for a comp here) and convert my Scandic points, miles, or whatever when they merge the programs?

I have to admit, I don't know much about either program so I'm shooting in the dark. I have read a lot about Scandic on FT but no real clues there either. I would stay at the Kamp (Yes, I know I've posted this in Hilton http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ) but the rest of the project team are already in the Scandic Continental. Anyway, thanks for all your help in advance.

A potential HHonors colleague,

Yours truly,

Jenn

Jenn
This is an excellent time to join Hhonors if you haven't already. Many people seem to be still getting the erewards instant gold when enrolling as well as the e-rewards challenge, which gives you 50,000 points with 4 stays, especially if as you say you could switch over some stays from Starwood in the next couple of months, sounds you would have an easy time of getting the 50,000 points. Then if you have signed up with Scandic, and have their points merged eventually, you should have a pretty good base of HHonors points to work with.
Cindi

Yes, but when will Jenn and I be able to earn HHonors points and use HHonors benefits at Scandics ...

The former Helsinki InterContinental has been my preferred hotel in Helsinki (other than the Kalastajatorppa) for many years, and I was disappointed when it left I-C to become Scandic.

I am now booked into the Strand I-C Helsinki later this month. Fine hotel, good location, but I would like to get back to Mannerheimintie. It will be good to know when the HHonors system kicks in at the Scandic.

I just got back from the Scandic Continental on Friday and will be back there tonight. I asked if they are recognising HHonors when I checked in and got a rather vague answer that they may start to recognise HH soon but that I should go ahead and join the Scandic Club. As for the hotel itself, I found it extremely plain although the gym is well equipted. I'm still not sure if it makes sense to join HH given the situation.

Thanks,

Jenn

michswiss - as you noticed the Scandic continental (which used to be the Nr 1 hotel in Helsinki 20 years ago - even President Reagan stayed there) has gone down dramatically over the years, not least because the management hasn't done any refurbishing which is long overdue.

Check out the Kamp and you will notice that the two hotels are in a totally different category, really.

F.Y.I. I just asked Scandic's customer service via e-mail if the hotels in Copenhagen will become Hilton hotels.

The response was that they do not yet know if those hotels will become Hilton.

oh well, it sounds like i better join scandic for this wknds trip!!

I remember reading that Hilton had taken over Scandic Hotels in Scandinavia, this past June or July.

Does one get points for staying at a Scandic hotel? I have looked on the Hhonors website and can find no reference to Scandic at all.

I have a trip to Copenhagen coming up in January, and I believe that I am being put up at a Scandic hotel - and just wondered in I can accumulate points and/or stays...

Not yet ... but the sooner the better!

From a "Scandic Hilton" brochure in as Hilton room today.

"later this year everyone will be able to collect Hilton HHonors Points in both Hilton and Scandic Hotels...."

They are running out of time for later this year.

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Have passport, will travel...
LAX, LHR, CDG, et.al.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by lhiltz:
I have looked on the Hhonors website and can find no reference to Scandic at all.</font>

Go to http://www.hiltonhhonors.com/ , then scroll down the page until you see "Scandic joins the Hilton Family of Brands", or go directly to http://www.hiltonhhonors.com/scandic/ .

No official news from Hilton yet, but a similar issue popped up here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/002343.html

Seems like an idea to join Scandic Club and then have your status & points merged with HHonors when they get everything sorted out...

[This message has been edited by andersja (edited 12-10-2001).]

I stayed at a Scandic in Rovaniemi, Finland (right on the Arctic Circle, brrrrrr http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif ) back in November. At check in I asked if they accepted HHonors cards yet, and the guy said yes. As a Gold I recieved ~$10 off coupons for the restaurant there, but no room upgrade, although I don't know if they had any different levels of rooms at this hotel. So it appears that status is recognized at Scandic, but no stay credit yet.

Anyone knows when you will be able to earn Hhonors points on Scandic? I do know that Scandic in Sweden got the Hilton booking system a few weeks ago.

Can we expect some kind of promo when Scandic joins? That would be great for us people living in Scandinavia already.

Or when we can redeem hotel stays in Sweden?

I received a direct mailer a few weeks back from Scandic (where I was/am a member) saying it was niw all systems go with Hilton, and that my membership would merge.

Getting a free room in Iceland will be nice. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Neither Hilton nor Scandic have any properties in Iceland.

I stayed at a Scandic Hotel in Reyjkavik Iceland several times and got points in the Scandic plan. It was one of the leading Hotels there. Is that not a Scandic now?

Nope, sorry!
Scandic is no longer represented in Iceland.
www.scandic-hotels.com (http://www.scandic-hotels.com)

The first Hilton hotel will open in Sweden within the next month. Hilton will spend 100.000.000SEK to rebuild Scandic Slussen to became a top modern Hilton hotel.

The prices of this hotel will increase with 30%.

Rumours also say if everything goes ok Hilton will have another hotel in Stockholm, and ad a hotel in GOT and MMX as well before this year is over.

www.standbynews.com (http://www.standbynews.com)
and yes I know that page is only in swedish http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

I have a trip to Helsinki this June. I would love to be able to redeem some HHonors points for this trip. Anyone know if this is possible or of a date when we can begin redeeming on Scandic?

Dave - London, UK

Joh, you probably stayed at one of the two (now) Radisson/SAS hotels in Iceland. You earn Scandic points at Radisson/SAS.

Might it have been a Scandic before?

Radisson/SAS used to be just SAS Hotels - Scandinavian Airlines System Hotels.

[This message has been edited by Austman (edited 01-28-2002).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by michswiss:
I just got back from the Scandic Continental on Friday and will be back there tonight. As for the hotel itself, I found it extremely plain although the gym is well equipted. I'm still not sure if it makes sense to join HH given the situation.

Jenn</font>

Ask the girls at reception for an upgrade to the Ambassidor rooms and lounge access (9th floor next to Business Center) .. this is an inner hotel with moderm refurbished rooms. Avoid floor 3. The hotel is due for refurbishment as you have noticed .. with it's position on the lake and some money spent it will become a very pleasant Hilton property, in time.

At the present time I would not join the Scandic Club as it is uncertain what they will offer on the merge. I'm Privledge level (100+ nights in the year) but it is now gone a year and nothing has happened to indicate equivalent status in HHonors. The free nights look only to be with Scandic branded hotels and this really means they are only useful in very limited way.

At the recent AGM in the UK, Hilton reported that revenue had been greater than expected at Scandics and that they would delay rebranding of most Scandics.

I guess they were referring to Scandics in Sweden, so wouldn't like to forecast what may happen in Helsinki. Logic would suggest rebranding to Hilton, but if the Scandic brand is that valuable, who knows?

Oddly, when I was last at the Strand I-C (the 'other' I-C in Helsinki!) last autumn, I learned that that hotel was also owned by Scandic, i.e. Hilton. It's all very curious.

[edited for typo]

[This message has been edited by Roger (edited 03-16-2002).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Roger:
.

Oddly, when I was last at the Strand I-C (the 'other' I-C in Helsinki!) last autumn, I learned that that hotel was also owned by Scandic, i.e. Hilton. It's all very curious.

[edited for typo]

[This message has been edited by Roger (edited 03-16-2002).]</font>

I understand that Scandic Hotels leased the Strand property to Intercontinental during the last downturn. Talking to the staff at the Continental the plans went wrong early in the 1990's which left the luxury Strand property surplus to requirement and the current Continental half extended/refurbished (and a large amount of conference facility which is rarely used now).

I believe the lease is soon to expire.

The food at the Strand is excellent and I enjoyed a few weeks when I first went to HEL .. until corporate policy mandated the more ordinary Scandic hotels.

Do I get normally points from Scandic stays and do they count also for status?

That's the question I put to them a while back, and this was their reply:

On behalf of Jan Peter Bergkvist I'm happy toinform you that you will ba able to earn points at Scandic hotels later this spring. The exact date is not set yet but you'll get information from HHonors when we start.

Best regards

Jan F. Jørgensen
Regional Director HHonors Nordic

So no, not yet I guess...

So do they even reconize my Diamond status or am I just a normal customer if I stay at Scandic? Any experiences?

Sounds like Starwood is gonna get (once again) my business... Why it have to take that long to combine those programs of Scandic and Hilton :-(

From experience in Denmark, it very much depends who you deal with at check in. Many know next to nothing about Hilton and how it will affect them or what Hhonors customers expect. Others have obviously been given more information. And then there's always the option of discussing the matter beforehand with the hotel in question ;-)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by hmattila:
Do I get normally points from Scandic stays and do they count also for status?</font>

From the latest missive from Hilton HHonors

Starting 15th April , HHonors members will earn 1000 HHonors points per night at Scandic Hotels, plus 100 airline miles with selected partners. You will be able to redeem HHonors points for stays at Scandic Hotels.

HHonors nights at Scandic Hotels will count toward the night qualification for HHonors VIP tier status, however the stay itself will not count towards the VIP tier stay qualification.

Hope this helps

Dave

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">So do they even reconize my Diamond status or am I just a normal customer if I stay at Scandic?</font>

Gold HH here. Asked at a Scandic Antwerp recently what was the best price for a Gold HH, arriving at 9pm, at a half full hotel. Guy quoted me the national debt of Bolivia for a room. Asked was that the very BEST. "Yes". Asked if I paid that would my Gold card at least get us breakfast and a upgrade. Answer "No".

I drove 200 yards further for half the price. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Thanks, Dave.

So that makes Scandics the equivalent of Hampton Inns, fom a miles point of view.

Hmmm. While that may be OK for the old EuroCrests, it's not suitable for most of the several Scandics in Finland, such as the Kalastajatorppa. And at the shareholders meeting, Hilton Group said they would not necessarily roll out the Hilton branding across the Scandic chain as Scandics were producing more revenue than anticipated.

This is disappointing news.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Roger:
Thanks, Dave.

Hmmm. While that may be OK for the old EuroCrests, it's not suitable for most of the several Scandics in Finland, such as the Kalastajatorppa.

This is disappointing news. </font>

Agree totally, 100 Miles per stay is pretty insulting when the Scandic club offered:

500 miles a night
Upto 17 Euro meal voucher a night
Free water/fruit in room
Upgrade
25% off dining

and of course breakfast is/was free.

I cannot see the locals being at all happy with the Hilton offering.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Roger:
Thanks, Dave.

So that makes Scandics the equivalent of Hampton Inns, fom a miles point of view.

Hmmm. While that may be OK for the old EuroCrests, it's not suitable for most of the several Scandics in Finland, such as the Kalastajatorppa. And at the shareholders meeting, Hilton Group said they would not necessarily roll out the Hilton branding across the Scandic chain as Scandics were producing more revenue than anticipated.

This is disappointing news. </font>

The 100 miles seems low to me and I would suspect that it might vary depending on the airline scheme that the miles are crediting too. Getting 100 miles rather than the normal 1500 miles that I would get at a Hilton seems rather a major drop, but then again, I get zero miles at Hamptons.

Dave

For people with Scandic Club membership the www.scandic-hotel.com (http://www.scandic-hotel.com) site now lets you transfer stays and free nights over to the Hilton HHonors program.

From a collegue who has just converted SC Privledge to HH Diamond:

"Any Scandic free nights will br transferred into 10000 Hilton points. Diamond also gets 1500 points a night rather than 1000."

So yippee to 100,000 HHonors for me but they seem to have recalculated nights so at 45 in the past 12 months I think that makes me Gold ;-(

I did the transfer online, but the new hhonor account is not valid when I try to review it on www.hilton.com. (http://www.hilton.com.) When I go back to Scandic, my old account is gone! I called the HH Service Center and they could locate my account either! Strange!

Hi,

In my postal statement today it states

Effective April 15
HHonors members will earn 1,0000 HHonors points per night at Scandic Hotels plus 100 airline miles with selected partners.
Can redeem points for stays.
" HHonors nights at Scandic Hotels will count towards the night qualification for HHonors VIP tier status however the stay itself will not count towards the VIP tier status qualification" and to refer to www.hiltonhhonors.com (http://www.hiltonhhonors.com) for more information.

Regards
TBS

Scandic Hotels should be part of the HH family soon...9/11 delayed the plans. Basically they are evaluating every property and the prominent ones will be converted to Hiltons, other brands may follow.
According Finnish and Swedish Scandic websites you can start earning HH-points now, sorry don't speak Danish...
JJeffrey: I can just imagine how cold it must have been up there, I was in HEL same time and I was freezing...
davistev: There is one former SAS/Radisson in HEL and several Scandics that eventually will become Hiltons, call and ask, here is some numbers if you would like to contact directly (all these are great hotels, so most likely future Hiltons)

Scandic Hotel Grand Marina Helsinki
Tel: +358 9 16 661

Scandic Hotel Simonkenttä Helsinki
Tel: +358 (0) 9-68 380

Scandic Hotel Kalastajatorppa Helsinki
Tel: +358 9 458 11

Scandic Hotel Continental Helsinki
Tel: +358 9 405 51

Scandic Hotel Marski Helsinki
Tel: +358 9 680 61

Hope this helps!

Has anyone experienced problems when trying to register their HHonors account number when staying at Scancic in Sweden? My number has been rejected during my 3 different stays the last 2 weeks, and the people at the check-in counter informed me that the HHonors IDs starts with 5 and not 4 (as in my case). I've been in contact with HHonors via email, and they told me to fax in the reciepts. Good enough, but it would be nicer if it worked "out-of-the-box".

Gee, I'm a "4" too! I'd like to use them in a year or two...

JP

?

By "ID" do you mean PIN?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by johanmm:
... the people at the check-in counter informed me that the HHonors IDs starts with 5 and not 4 (as in my case) ... </font>

They're idiots. Mine starts with a "2".

-Plat

How long is it supposed to take for stays at Scandic to post?

Did you sign up for INTU promo Hagbard Viking? If so I would be intrested to know if a Scandic stay is counted as a stay in the INTU promo and you receive 5K bonus points.

It's does http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Regarding time-to-post: Don't know. My 3 stays since I became HHonors member (4 weeks ago) have not made it into my account yet.


[This message has been edited by johanmm (edited 06-24-2002).]

Subject says it all. Do I get any online booking bonus when booking on www.scandic-hotels.com? (http://www.scandic-hotels.com?)

No one?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by kempis:
Do I get any online booking bonus when booking on www.scandic-hotels.com? (http://www.scandic-hotels.com?)</font>

No. "This offer applies to reservations made on the Hilton, Conrad, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton websites."

http://www.hiltonhhonors.com/reservationbonus/

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by johanmm:
Regarding time-to-post: Don't know. My 3 stays since I became HHonors member (4 weeks ago) have not made it into my account yet.
</font>


Now they showed! But no retroactive bonus for the 50k campaign yet. I had 5 stays since mid-May, but none of them seemed to kick in. Lucky me have 4 more until end of July! How has the INTU-campaign worked for the rest of you with regards to Scandic stays?

Having done a Scandic stay six weeks ago, I note that it still hasn't posted. Has anyone had a Scandic stay post yet?

I had to fax Hhonors a few times before my stay posted.

Mine posted a week after the stay - however later found out you cannot double dip with Qantas at Scandics for some reason

Why couldnt you earn QF miles on Scandic? Sounds strange

I had 15 nights at three different properties back in April/May, and all of my stays posted to my account no problem

My points did not post before faxing...

I was told that their systems do not communicate well..

A stay at the Scandic about 6 weeks ago has not yet posted on my account. The on-line missing points tool doesn't have "Scandic" in the list of Hotel brands so I was wondering if anyone has had any luck just picking "Hilton" and then filling in the rest of the details as normal?

(The folio from the stay is AWOL so a fax'ed claim is not an option at the moment http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

-- Dambus

I tried that but it didn't work. In the end, I faxed the bill to Glasgow and got my 1,000 HH points + status bonus and 200 Virgin miles (only 100 for most airlines).

I do recall a post where someone said that Hilton Honors counts all Scandic Hotels as point stretcher awards for the rest of the year, is that correct?

I am now on phone with Hhonors in Sweden and they said they have never heard of such a thing. They did quote 17500 points for two nights at Scandic Copenhagen which is a nice value but I would prefer to just pay 10500.

Now they said they would call Hhonors somewhere else(UK?) and ask them and call me back..

They just called back and said they had received an email from Scandic which said no point stretcher at Scandic hotels at all. I have now booked two weekendnights for a total of 17500..

To bad that Hhonors didnt have a phone number in Sweden when the Automall bonus bonanza did happen. It would have been fun to call them, talk Swedish and try to redeem some of my millions of points http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by kempis:
I do recall a post where someone said that Hilton Honors counts all Scandic Hotels as point stretcher awards for the rest of the year, is that correct?</font>

Unless I'm mistaken, it was ozstamps who posted that. Based on what I've been told by HH, that's not quite correct. Scandic properties are all listed as Opportunity level this year though, which in itself is an incredible value in most, if not all, locations.

Do we get miles from Scandic nights, as Scandic is now part of Hilton group? At least I have not been able to get a single mile and Hilton Hhonors desk does not answer to my emails.

Does anyone know??

Yes, you always get 100 miles and 1000 points.

http://www.scandic-hotels.com/hhonors/no/points/index.htm

------------------

... or 200 Virgin miles + 1,000 HH points!

I had Scandics post fine for me in line with the printed guidelines above.

------------------
~ Glen ~ Calling all United 1K Members - please join .. www.1Kflyers.com (http://www.1Kflyers.com)

I recall reading somewhere that the redemption rate for scandics would change from the current 10000 per night as of Jan 1. I believe I read it on here - but I can't seem to find it again and the people at HH in Australia gave me two different answers from two calls (One said that they would no longer be eligible for redemptions, and the other said that the redemption rates would be the same as the rest of the HH brands but did not know which level they would be deemed as.)

Any ideas?

http://www.hilton.com/en/hhonors/benefits/levels.jhtml

I haven't seen this before. Apparently, now HH members have additional benefits when staying at Scandic properties.

All HH members:

* HHonors Rate at Shops: pay extra low prices at the Scandic hotel Shop.
* Complimentary Sauna: You have access to this wonderful form of relaxation where available and where owned and operated by the hotel. Time restrictions may apply.
* HHonors Meetings: You are invited as guests of honor when Scandic hotels organize various activities.
* Teenager's Room: Teenagers travelling with their parents can have their own room at a discounted rate, if available at arrival.
* Senior Discount: If you are over 65, or have taken early retirement, you can stay with Scandic hotels at a discounted rate throughout the year, whenever rooms are available.
* 20% Weekend Restaurant Discount: Blue members receive a 20% discount of food (not drinks) for up to 6 people in Scandic hotels restaurants between Friday and Sunday, and any day of the week during selected periods.

HH Silver VIP members:

* 25 SEK Food & Beverage Voucher: You receive a restaurant voucher worth 25 SEK** for each night spent at Scandic hotels, although not in connection with a reward night. The voucher can be used for food and beverage at the hotel.

HH Gold VIP members:

* automatically receive the best available room, if available when booking.
* 50 SEK Food & Beverage Voucher: You receive a restaurant voucher worth 50 SEK** for each night spent at Scandic hotels, although not in connection with a reward night. The voucher can be used for food and beverage at the hotel.
* Fruit & Mineral Water: Each night you will get fresh fruit and mineral water delivered to your room, free of charge.


HH Diamond VIP members:

* automatically receive the best available room, if available when booking.
* 100 SEK Food & Beverage Voucher: You receive a restaurant voucher worth 100 SEK** for each night spent at Scandic hotels, although not in connection with a reward night. The voucher can be used for food and beverage at the hotel.
* 25% Discount on Food & Beverages: As a Diamond VIP member you have a 25% discount on food and beverage for up to 2 persons Monday-Thursday and up to 6 persons Friday-Sunday.
* 50% Cinema Discount: Diamond VIP members get a 50% discount on Scandic hotels Cinema.


**Or equivalent with other local currency.

Note that food and beverage credit won't apply when using an award. AFAIK, that's the first case of an elite benefit not being extended to award stays. Hope it will not become a trend!

Dear All,
finaly after two years of absentee I thought that I had again achieved to reach the Diamond threshold - as my account now shows 30 stays. Upon asking the HH service when I could expect to receive my card - as I am planning to leave for holidays in Dec, I was told that in fact Scandic will only count as nites and not stays - despite that they show up as stays in the summary.
Does anyone know the reasoning behind that ? I feel rather disappointed - especially since one can not say that the Scandics in Stockholm / Copenhagen and Oslo can be perceived as low budget when it comes to the prices they are asking for - also when comparing to Hapmton or similar - no wanting to be rude - but as far as I understand it - they count as stays.
Has anyone had experience in "receiving" some understanding or support from HH - or
is this simply tough luck ?
I feel somehow cheated.... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Any advice will be appreciated.

Best regards

Thomas

[This message has been edited by tcswede (edited 11-27-2002).]

Thomas -- I'm afraid you're a bit out of luck. You were given correct information by HH - at Scandic hotels, only qualifying nights count toward VIP status.

For more information, see HHonors Terms and Conditions (http://www.hilton.com/en/hhonors/terms.jhtml).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Eugene:
Thomas -- I'm afraid you're a bit out of luck. You were given correct information by HH - at Scandic hotels, only qualifying nights count toward VIP status.

For more information, see HHonors Terms and Conditions (http://www.hilton.com/en/hhonors/terms.jhtml).</font>

Thank you for the information Eugene - I had not noted the exclusion earlier in terms of Scandic hotels.
I am simply puzzeld as the information provided by HHonors list my Scandic stays as regular stays in the count - both online and on the printed statements - hence I had never a reason to believe anything else - unfortunately I do not generally travel with handbook to be able to point out the fineprint. I simply feel very mislead form the information that HH has provided me with...

Cheers

Thomas

I understand it's very easy to confuse these things, but keep in mind that what you see on your statement is simply the count of current year stays/nights, not the count of your stays/nights towards VIP qualification.

It is also confusing that award stays are also included in the total count shown on your account.

Since you seem to stay at Scandics often, you (and everyone else who stays at Scandics) may want to check the latest version of the HHonors Terms and Conditions (http://www.hilton.com/en/hhonors/terms.jhtml), as there are several Scandic-specific rules:

1. At Scandic hotels, members will earn flat 1,000 HHonors Base points per night (instead of the usual 10 HH points per $ spent).

2. At Scandic hotels, only qualifying nights count toward VIP status.

Also, the Member Benefits (http://www.hilton.com/en/hhonors/benefits/levels.jhtml) section contains important information regarding VIP benefits while staying at Scandic properties:

All HH members are entitled to the following benefits when staying at Scandic hotels:

* HHonors Rate at Shops: As a Blue member you pay extra low prices at the Scandic hotel Shop.
* Complimentary Sauna: You have access to this wonderful form of relaxation where available and where owned and operated by the hotel. Time restrictions may apply.
* HHonors Meetings: You are invited as guests of honor when Scandic hotels organize various activities.
* Teenager's Room: Teenagers travelling with their parents can have their own room at a discounted rate, if available at arrival.
* Senior Discount: If you are over 65, or have taken early retirement, you can stay with Scandic hotels at a discounted rate throughout the year, whenever rooms are available.
* 20% Weekend Restaurant Discount: Blue members receive a 20% discount of food (not drinks) for up to 6 people in Scandic hotels restaurants between Friday and Sunday, and any day of the week during selected periods.


Silver VIP members are entitled to all of the above, plus:

* 25 SEK Food & Beverage Voucher: You receive a restaurant voucher worth 25 SEK** for each night spent at Scandic hotels, although not in connection with a reward night. The voucher can be used for food and beverage at the hotel.


Gold VIP members are also entitled to the following:

* At Scandic hotels, Gold VIP members will automatically receive the best available room, if available when booking.

Additional Benefits when staying at Scandic hotels:

* 50 SEK Food & Beverage Voucher: You receive a restaurant voucher worth 50 SEK** for each night spent at Scandic hotels, although not in connection with a reward night. The voucher can be used for food and beverage at the hotel.
* Fruit & Mineral Water: Each night you will get fresh fruit and mineral water delivered to your room, free of charge.


Diamond VIP members are entitled to the following:

* At Scandic hotels, Diamond VIP members will automatically receive the best available room, if available when booking.

Additional Benefits when staying at Scandic hotels:

* 100 SEK Food & Beverage Voucher: You receive a restaurant voucher worth 100 SEK** for each night spent at Scandic hotels, although not in connection with a reward night. The voucher can be used for food and beverage at the hotel.
* 25% Discount on Food & Beverages: As a Diamond VIP member you have a 25% discount on food and beverage for up to 2 persons Monday-Thursday and up to 6 persons Friday-Sunday.
* 50% Cinema Discount: Diamond VIP members get a 50% discount on Scandic hotels Cinema.

**Or equivalent with other local currency.

This is very bad news for me... Im staying at the Scandic Palace in TLL in early December... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Gaucho100K:
This is very bad news for me... </font>

Aren't you a Diamond already?

Remains the questions: why are the rules different for certain hotels?

Like the original poster noticed, Scandic is not cheaper or lower budget than other hotels (e.g. Doubletree) that offer better HH benefits.
Here in the US I don't understand the exceptions regarding Hampton Inns (eg. only 100 miles for the double dip). I've stayed at Hamptons that were more expensive and more "high class" than a Doubletree that was in the same area (e.g. in and around Boston).
In my opinion as a hotel you either participate in a loyalty program or you don't. Unfortunately this is too simple a thought.

I was able to get the exact dates and hotels I wanted in Scandinavia in May, which I think is pretty incredible. May is a very popular convention month in Scan. and many hotels are either booked up or outrageously expensive. Anyway, I got free nights at these Scandics: Bergen City, Byporten Oslo (tough choice for me betw the Byporten and KNA), and Scandic Copenhagen.

Now, I have to get the Delta miles moved over into HH accounts. I had planned to transfer all of the needed miles from my Delta account, but realized that it would leave me short of a Delta award. So, I then figured out that I could transfer some miiles from my Delta account and some miles from husband's Delta account, still leaving each of us with enough Delta miles for an airline award (should we ever be able to get one).

Anyway, enough Delta talk! Here is my HH related question.
-- Husband and I have separate HH accounts. I will have to combine the accounts into a "mutual account" in order to make this plan work. Should I FIRST do the Delta t/f into the separate HH accounts and THEN combine the HH accounts? It seems to me that this would be easier, especially since our last names are different -- that always seems to create problems. But, I thought it best to ask the question here, since I am certainly no expert at this.

Just thought I would pass on my experiences from a stay at the CPH Webers Scandic last week so that nobody else gets caught out.

I booked a 10K redemption stay following Ozstamps' advice in another thread on this forum. 10 minutes after getting in my room, a staff member knocked on my door and gave me a basket with two apples in it, and a bottle of Carlsberg fizzy mineral water (and I thought they only made beer). In the basket was a little note saying that they appreciated my custom and would like to offer me a complementary softdrink out of the mini bar in addition to the fizzy mineral water water. It said that only Gold and Plat members could enjoy this on a daily basis.

Being but a basic member I thought this was a very nice touch and indeed did take up their offer of a softdrink. Upon checking out I thanked the lady behind the desk for the apples, fizzy water and the softdrink, where I was promptly asked for payment for the softdrink as it was a "mistake and not available on hilton stays".

Naturally I was rather suprised to be asked for payment for the softdrink and stated that the card stated that it was complimentary. Which the lady acknowledged was true and again reiterated it was a mistake and I owed them 23DKK for it (which is a rip off at 6 Australian dollars). Not being in the mood for a confrontation I just forked over the money and left.

Not that $6 is all that bigger deal, I just thought that I would pass on my experiences such that others (perhaps those of you with status) dont get hit for multiple drinks on extended stays or indeed for breakfast as part of the gold and plat perks, which could run into the hundreds of dollars.

Best Regards

Bradley

Amazing that a hotel would not honor the coupon considering the discrepancy was only $6.00 AUD (~$3.50 USD).

I bet had they given you (and charged you for) breakfast for a multi-night stay, you would've been in the mood to argue that one. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I'm actually suprised that you received a note written in English. In my experiences with Scandic, they are not very English-friendly.

I personally will avoid them, as I find their standards are on par with a run-of-the-mill Holiday Inn.

FWIW, at Scandic properties, there is no such thing as free breakfast as a Gold or Diamond benefit when you're using a reward.

Only on revenue stays Golds are eligible for a 50 SEK Food & Beverage Voucher (100 SEK for Diamonds) for every night they stay.

I am pretty sure that breakfast is included at all Scandics as is the norm in Scandinavia. They only take it away when a hotel upgrades to Hilton.

p.s. You must have had bad experiences at Holiday Inns. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by gnaget:
I am pretty sure that breakfast is included at all Scandics as is the norm in Scandinavia.</font>

If only you read carefully... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I said that "there is no such thing as free breakfast as a Gold or Diamond benefit when you're using a reward". If your rate includes breakfast (which is a norm in many parts of the world), you get it, but that has nothing to do with your HH status and has no bearing on reward stays either.

We recently stayed at Scandic Frankfurt Offtenbach in December for 6 nights using points. When I checked in, I asked about free breakfast fo Gold members and the lady told me it's included. Considering it was 25k for the first 3 nights (point stretcher) and 30k for the last 3 nights, we got a great deal. The breakfast was pretty good.

By the way, the hotel staff spoke pretty good English and I had no problem communicating w/ them.

In my opinion, the 55k was well spent. Thanks Scandic!

jsy9999

We recently stayed at Scandic Frankfurt Offtenbach in December for 6 nights using points. When I checked in, I asked about free breakfast fo Gold members and the lady told me it's included. Considering it was 25k for the first 3 nights (point stretcher) and 30k for the last 3 nights, we got a great deal. The breakfast was pretty good.

By the way, the hotel staff spoke pretty good English and I had no problem communicating w/ them.

In my opinion, the 55k was well spent. Thanks Scandic!

jsy9999

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jsy9999:
We recently stayed at Scandic Frankfurt Offtenbach in December for 6 nights using points. When I checked in, I asked about free breakfast fo Gold members and the lady told me it's included. </font>

It's great that this particular property goes above and beyond what they are supposed to do for the elites according to the HH rules (http://www.hilton.com/en/hhonors/benefits/levels.jhtml).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jsy9999:
it was 25k for the first 3 nights (point stretcher) and 30k for the last 3 nights</font>

Could you please explain that? If it was an Opportunity category property (and I've been under the impression that all Scandic properties are in the Opportunity category), then 3 nights on Point Stretcher should have been 15K, and regular (non-PS award) should have been 25K points for 3 nights.

As has been stated previously, breakfast is usually included at Scandinavian hotels.

gnaget, I was speaking of rural/interstate Holiday Inns. And I still will avoid Scandic Hotels.

I today (25/2) received a personalised (although I suspect database generated) letter and questionaire sheet regarding my stay in question at the CPH Webers.

I didn't write to inform them of the previously mentioned incident, but since they seem to want to know, I might just tell them.

I'll report back if I ever hear any more.

I just got my last e-account and I found this.

Double points on Hilton Stockholm Slussen, Scandic Malmen, Scandic Sjöfartshotellet och Scandic Kungens Kurva between 1st of May until 30th of June.

I know that KL gives only out 100 miles on Scandic and so does most of the airlines but what about airlines who gives out more?

It looks like Virgin gives you 200 and does Qantas really give you 1000? They give you 1000 for Hilton and doesnt list the other Hilton brands so does that mean they give 1000 for Scandic as well?

I may stand corrected on this, but I remember a bit of a flurry when bmi changed over to miles - all Hilton brand hotels got 1000 miles per night, including Scandic.

I recollect something about a change a few weeks later, down to 500 miles per stay , but can't find any evidence to support this now.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by kempis:
It looks like Virgin gives you 200 and does Qantas really give you 1000? They give you 1000 for Hilton and doesnt list the other Hilton brands so does that mean they give 1000 for Scandic as well?</font>

First off, for those who need the reference, kempis is referring to the numbers on this table:
http://www.hilton.com/en/hhonors/points/miles.jhtml

As to Quantas giving 1,000, I don't think that is the case. I use Aero California (JR) for my non-Hampton/Scandic stays because they offer the best deal IMHO. JR has "N/A" in the Hampton/Scandic column, like Quantas. At a Hampton stay, I got no miles from JR, called HH cust svce, and they said N/A means no miles. They were kind enough to shuffle me some AA miles instead.

Yes, bmi will give you a thousand miles, as in the above link, but also at:

http://www.flybmi.com/miles/dcsectiondetails.aspx?p=1028

Wherever in the world you travel with bmi, you can earn an additional 1,000 miles a night if you stay in a diamond club partner hotel. This includes all of the following hotels:

* Hilton Hotels (at all participating Hilton Honors Hotels)
* Radisson SAS hotels in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia
* Radisson Edwardian Hotels
* JurysDoyle Hotel Group

I note Scandic/Hampton is not excluded http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Good news about BMI, to bad that I live in Sweden and due to that I am not able to sign up for Diamond Club.

I think you'll find that they won't turn you down if you apply. Just fill in the application form, put on a covering letter saying that you're just about to start flying and could you have a card in advance.? They're very obliging.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards gives one half credit.

Last week i had a 2 nights stay at Scandic Plaza Umeå Sweden.
The rules for Scandic´s has always been 'only nights counts towards status level'. My online statement now shows that 'my current year stays' has gone up. Is this just a technical problem or is it a change from HHonors?

I have 2 preferred partners for my double dip -AC and AA. AC as my preferred partner. Mt statement shows "Scandic Hotel Plaza Umea - DOUBLE DIP AA", they seem to have mixed up AC and AA. Will HHonors correct this and credit AC instead if I contact them?

I've wondered the same thing about a my Scandic stays from this year. They all showed up in my stays counter, too. Mine were all award stays, BTW.

I have no idea if they will correct the air miles problem, but it's certainly worth a try as they won't do so if you don't contact them.

By the way, how was the hotel? I might be staying there soon...

I also wonder the same question. My account shows 10 stays and 11 nights so far(and I have two stays at Scandic and those counts as stays according to my account).

xyzzy
If you are going to Umeå I would recommend that you book your Scandic stay via lastminute.se(Gustaf did that and received points). The price on lastminute.se was several hundred SEK cheaper then booking on scandic-hotels.com

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by kempis:
If you are going to Umeå I would recommend that you book your Scandic stay via lastminute.se(Gustaf did that and received points). The price on lastminute.se was several hundred SEK cheaper then booking on scandic-hotels.com</font>

That is correct, the rack rate for a single room when we stayed there was SEK 1425. The lastminute.com single room rate was SEK 860 and since HHonors members can take their spouse for free we got a double room without extra charge.
My points posted 2 days after we left and I got 1000 points per night plus 25% Gold bonus, a nice total of 2500 points for SEK 1720 spent.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by xyzzy:
By the way, how was the hotel? I might be staying there soon...</font>

The property was actually very nice and modern. 14 floors building with one restaurant (1st floor), lobby bar (1st floor) and a relax and sauna at the top floor (magnificent night view).
Floor 2-9 has regular rooms and 10-13 is the executive floors and floor 14 has 2 suites. We had a nice fairly large room at the 11th floor, nothing special to say about it, it had all the usual things that should be in a executive room. We got two SEK 50 restaurant vouchers (Gold benefit) even though we had a disconuted rate, mineral water and fresh fruit came to the room each afternoon. Breakfast buffet was over Scandic standars IMO, it even had a limited selection of asian cuisine and was served in the restaurant between 6:30 and 9:30 on weekdays (alittle longer on weekends I think).
The hotel is also equipped with wireless 10mbit internet from Telia Homerun. The cost is SEK 120 for a 24h flatrate use. The WLAN is limited to the following areas: Reception, Lobby, Restaruant, All conference rooms. Rooms: 101, 102, 103, 203, 205, 207, 217, 218, 219, 220, 222, 232, 233, 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412, 414, 502, 504, 506, 508, 510, 512, 514, 604, 606, 608, 704, 706, 708, 806, 808, 1306, 1311, the Ryttmästar suite, 1422.
Make sure to call the hotel in advance if you wanna have a WLAN room, they are very popular.

Please post if you wan´t more specific details.

[This message has been edited by Gustaf (edited 10-12-2003).]

Just got off the phone with HHonors about my double dip problem, they corrected it and my online account now shows "Scandic Hotel Plaza Umea - AIR CANADA PARTNER BONUS" http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by kempis:
xyzzy
If you are going to Umeå I would recommend that you book your Scandic stay via lastminute.se(Gustaf did that and received points). The price on lastminute.se was several hundred SEK cheaper then booking on scandic-hotels.com</font>Thanks for the tip! When we go to Umeå we'll either stay with friends or do an HH point stay at this Scandic. For 10k points/night you really can't go wrong. (Scandics are all Category 1 again - last trip we even picked up a few hotels at 6k point/night point stretchers!) BTW, HH tells me there are two Scandics in Umeå.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by xyzzy:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by kempis:
[b]BTW, HH tells me there are two Scandics in Umeå.

</font>

That is correct. Scandic Plaza is the central 'big' one. The other one is far out from the city center and on the 'wrong' side of the river. I think the small one is more like a road hotel for those just passing by Umeå.

Last year there was a press release stating that the Strand Intercontinental and Scandic Kalastajatorppa in Helsinki would be rebranded as Hilton hotels in 2003. The Strand switched over in January and the Kalastajatorppa was scheduled to change over in September, but, as far as I can tell, hasn't yet. I have a stay coming up in December and am curious about what to expect (mainly with regard to points, but also those nifty Scandic meal vouchers).

I received an email from the Kalastajatorppa stating that renovations are ongoing in the main hotel and will not be complete until early January. The rebranding will occur sometime shortly thereafter.

Just in case anyone else is going to HEL in December... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cool.gif

Very sad that Strand wen´t from IC to Hilton. IC Strand was the last IC property in the nordic countires http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Is there a definitive answer with regards to getting stay credits in Scandic hotels ?

I'm especially interested in learning whether anyone has received ACAQ bonus points on a Scandic stay.

Regards.

I received stay credits on my account for all my Scandic stays this year. I have no idea whether those will count towards status for next year. The rules seem to indicate that they will not but they're in the stay count so who knows. I have no idea about how these stays work with ACAQ but my guess is that if they post as stays then they will count.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by yann:
Is there a definitive answer with regards to getting stay credits in Scandic hotels ?

I'm especially interested in learning whether anyone has received ACAQ bonus points on a Scandic stay.

Regards.</font>

I did my second stay for ACAQ 4 days ago in Stockholm at a Scandic. Not posted yet but i´ll report as soon as it does http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Has anybody tried the special SH40 offer (Dkr 250,- until jan. 4) yet ? Have you gotten the hotel to enter your HHonors number ?

I'm interested in finding out if you get HHonors stay credits, in which case it would be a perfect opportunity for a 'maddras run' before the end of the year.

The website says:

If you are a member of HHonors or one of Scandic’s partners’ loyalty programmes, you will not receive HHonors points or restaurant vouchers when you stay at this low price.

It doesn't specifically rule out stay credits, though I wouldn't count on it ...

No problem to add your Hhonors number in the booking(I have four bookings myself but havent decided if I should use them or not).

When I made the booking there was NO information about No points on this offer and the email confirmation doesnt mention this either.

I am counting on getting points for this. I will probably charge a small thing from the minibar as well and if points doesnt credit normally I will send it in to Hhonors in the US.

The offical word within Scandic is to give no points or Gold benefits on this offer.

Earlier I have got points for travel industry rates on Scandics even though the phone rep did say I wouldnt earn any points.

and finally HOW will they check that a person has only booked four rooms?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Roger:
It doesn't specifically rule out stay credits, though I wouldn't count on it ...</font>I thought we aren't supposed to receive stay credits at Scandics? (I've received them for every Scandic stay I've made, all award stays).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by xyzzy:
[QUOTE]I thought we aren't supposed to receive stay credits at Scandics? (I've received them for every Scandic stay I've made, all award stays).

</font>

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif Curious, isn't it! That's why I suggested we couldn't count on it, but perhaps ...

Are you sure Scandic earn 1000 miles with bmi? I've just emailed diamond club and their response was that Scandic hotels do not qualify for miles.

SAS EUROBONUS ... 300 Extra Miles per Stay + if you're GOLD in SAS:
• Double occupancy in a double room at the
normal singleroom rate
• Guaranteed room (but not rate) for bookings made at least three days in advance (except during major events)
• Upgrade to best available room in same category,
when available
• Early check-in (08.00) and late check-out (18.00)
when available - advance notice required
• Priority on waiting-list

Haven't personally tried, but Finnair will give you 500 kms/night (AY uses kms, not miles) in all Hilton brands.

This is what is said in Finnair Website:

"Hilton Hotels, Embassy Suites, Conrad Hotels, Doubletree Hotels, Hampton Inn Suites, Homewood Suites and Scandic Hotels.

Finnair Plus members get 500 points/night (maximum 5000 points for 10 consecutive nights) at qualifying rates when staying at the Hilton Group hotels and presenting their Finnair Plus card at hotel check-in.
If you are a member of Hilton HHonors loyalty program you can collect points in both your HHonors account and Finnair Plus account."

Greetings,
Blueskies

Kempis:

confirm 200 VS miles per stay - I have got these several times.

From the VS website:
Hilton HHonors® (miles earned per stay)
Doubletree®, Embassy Suites®, Homewood Suites by Hilton Hotels and Hilton Garden Inn: 1000 miles
Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Scandic Hotels: 200 miles

Note that the bmi award is 1,000 BD miles per night, limited to 3,000 miles for HHonors hotels.

So do bmi definitely give 1000 miles per night at Scandic?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by barella:
So do bmi definitely give 1000 miles per night at Scandic?</font>

Just rang the helpdesk - they say "Scandic is not listed".

I quoted: Wherever in the world you travel with bmi, you can earn an additional 1,000 miles a night if you stay in a diamond club partner hotel. This includes all of the following hotels: * Hilton Hotels (at all participating Hilton Honors Hotels).

They said, "Aaaah!"

I said "So?"

They said, "Send in your Folio and we'll look at it..."

So even bmi don't know whether they give miles for stays at Scandic...

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by barella:
So even bmi don't know whether they give miles for stays at Scandic...</font>

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

I found this link on the HHonors website:
http://www.hamptoninn.com/en/hhonors/points/miles.jhtml

It shows inter alia:

All Other Brands*
Credit Per Stay (* = Hilton, Conrad, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites by Hilton hotels only):
bmi british midland: 1,000 miles per night** (** = Maximum of three nights (maximum earning of 3,000 miles per staty, not including any bonus mile offers))

Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites® and Scandic Hotels Credit Per Stay
bmi british midland: 1,000 miles per night** (** = Maximum of three nights (maximum earning of 3,000 miles per staty, not including any bonus mile offers))

So there you have it, 1,000 BD miles per night up to 3 nights with Scandic as well as other HHonors hotels http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.

Oh, the typo staty is not mine, it's Hilton's http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.

This is what I thought, as Hilton states 1,000 miles per night at Scandic Hotels, and bmi states all participating Hilton Honors Hotels earn 1,000 miles per night... but when I asked diamond club "Are miles earned through stays at Scandic Hotels (part of Hilton HHonors)?", their response was "Scandic hotels do not qualify for miles".

So?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by barella:
... but when I asked diamond club "Are miles earned through stays at Scandic Hotels (part of Hilton HHonors)?", their response was "Scandic hotels do not qualify for miles".

So?</font>

I'd use my DC number in the reservation - if you do it online, the option is in the dropdown box on the Enter Personal Details page - note that the airlines are listed alphabetically, except that bmi follows United, VARIG and Virgin Atlantic
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif.

All should be OK. If not, take it up with BD later, sending them a print of the page from the link in my previous post.

My second stay for ACAQ has now posted, the one from Scandic. It looks like this:

DOUBLE DIP AC: 100
Base Points: 1,000
GOLD VIP 2003: 250
TOTAL POINTS FOR THIS STAY: 1,250

My first stay for ACAQ also had a post saying "2003 AC ACUIST 5000 points". But this Scandic stay does not say anything about ACAQ bonuses. BUT, my account has actually been toped with a extra 10k http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

To answer xyxxy´s question -yes, Scandic will qualify for ACAQ http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Just come off the phone to bmi & Hilton...

bmi said the same as they said to GoldCircle, that it wasn't on their list so probably not, but when I stated the earning guide said "all participating Hilton HHonors Hotels" she told me to call Hilton to check!

Hilton told me that "Yes" bmi does earn 1,000 miles at Scandic Hotels... so looks like I'll do as Roger suggested and just go for it, and if its unsuccessful either take it up with BD, or maybe try and credit it them to a different account.

My experience from last year was that whilst the nights/stays at a Scandic hotel will show as stays on your statement or online - this number of stay will not reflect the number of stays that you have in qualification terms for status.
I learnt it the hard way - when calling with 38 stays to ask where my new diamond card was - only to be told that I needed another four "real" Hilton stays to have the needed 28 stays. As to why my statement showed 38 - which included 14 Scandic stays - HH would not comment.

Cheers

Thomas

Still no experiences with Scandic SH40 discount bookings and stay credits ?

Good news fellows! My first 5000 points posted today from ADAQ promotions. I stayd at the Scandic Continental Helsinki last week with SH40 rate (30€). No problem getting the points.
Hurry up! Promotion good for only five more nights!!!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by suomi:
Good news fellows! My first 5000 points posted today from ADAQ promotions. I stayd at the Scandic Continental Helsinki last week with SH40 rate (30€).
</font>

This is really great news! I already have 4 stays during the promotion period, but no points yet. Did you also get miles?

And now to the more difficult question:

What about getting stay credits when on award stays at Scandic hotels (again, more specifically interested in ACAQ bonus points posting) ? Does anyone have experience with this ?

Thanks a lot for your help.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by yann:
What about getting stay credits when on award stays at Scandic hotels (again, more specifically interested in ACAQ bonus points posting) ? </font>

In the end, I did receive stay credit as well as ACAQ bonus points on Scandic awards, with and without incidentals.

Simply request a folio in order to make sure that the stay posts.

Funny that this thread was brought up again... I talked to HHonors Sweden and they said that Scandic stays will not count towards 2005 status http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif Only nights will do.
3 of my stays so far this year is on Scandic's so I guess that I will have to make sure to so some extra non Scandic stays later this year http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif

ACAQ and Scandic did work though.

All along, I've been under the (apparent) misapprehension that "all Scandic Hotels are 10,000 points per night". So I got on their website (you don't seem to be able to get there from Hilton's site) and, sure enough, most of them seem to be 10K properties.

However, I did run into a couple who listed themselves as "Hilton Classic" hotels. I assume that means more points per night, but IIRC the "classic" moniker is from the old program.

At any rate, can someone explain what the "classic" means in terms of point redemption, and are there more than just these two levels?

I think it was the same as the 10k category. That was the old name ranking, so I think you've seen some remnants of that system on a couple of unupdated sites.

I've got several Skandics booked for this fall (see below), and all came in at the 10k level.

JP

I think it was the same as the 10k category. That was the old name ranking, so I think you've seen some remnants of that system on a couple of unupdated sites.

I've got several Skandics booked for this fall (see below), and all came in at the 10k level.

JP

previous classic , is now category 4

Hi guys,
as I live in Sweden I thought I´ll check this up for you.
In Sweden there is onlu 2 hotels that costs more than 10.000 points
That is Hilton Malmö city, 25.000p and Hilton Slussen in Stockholm,30.000p

If you want to go to Malmoe, I can recomend Scandic Kramer.
It´s a beautiful old building right in the middle of Malmoe.
In Stockholm you have for example Scandic Continental and Anglaise
in the middle of everything.
In Gothenburg my favorite is Scandic Rubinen.

Welcome to sweden
Regards
Maxine

In fact all scandics are 10,000 points except for those that were converted into hiltons, there are very few. Anything that comes up as being called a Scandic is 10,000 pointer per night.

Happy to help

Timo

I will be staying at the Sergal Plaza in Stockholm, and Scandic KNA in Oslo both at 10,000 points a night :).

It seems to me that Scandics are a "hidden gem" in the Hilton program. Imagine - 10,000 points a night for a decent hotel in Europe.

The locations aren't everywhere, but what they do have seems pretty decent. I'm thinking Bruges, Copenhagen, Frankfort, etc.

Has there been a review thread on these anywhere? I couldn't find one.

I find myself with some time to spare now and then - I'm thinking of putting together a spreadsheet on Scandics, similar to what we have on Hamptons (unless someone's already done it :) ). Maybe I'll check for some reviews to get me started.

It was even better last year when I got a few Scandic nights at point stretcher rates! I think on one trip we ended up with a total of 13 room nights for 72000 points (including a few multi-night stays on PS awards).

It was even better last year when I got a few Scandic nights at point stretcher rates! I think on one trip we ended up with a total of 13 room nights for 72000 points (including a few multi-night stays on PS awards).

Too bad that there will be NO Scandic point stretcher awards for this year :(

It seems to me that Scandics are a "hidden gem" in the Hilton program. Imagine - 10,000 points a night for a decent hotel in Europe.


But it is still a great deal nevertheless. I have plans for 10k stays at the Scandic in HEL.

I just want to chime in and say that the beds and duvets and the Scandic in Bergen are incredibly comfortable. You will be guaranteed an excellent night sleep. I'd take the bed and duvet of the Scandic Bergen anyday over the Westin Heavenly Bed or the Four Seasons bed.

Request a room in the renovated building.

I just want to chime in and say that the beds and duvets and the Scandic in Bergen are incredibly comfortable. You will be guaranteed an excellent night sleep. I'd take the bed and duvet of the Scandic Bergen anyday over the Westin Heavenly Bed or the Four Seasons bed.

Request a room in the renovated building.
There are two Scandics shown at www.scandic-hotels.com for Bergen: City and Airport. I presume you're talking about the City Bergen?

Can you please explain more about the renovated building and how one requests are room there (especially on an award stay)? Thanks. (In the online listing, I think I only see a picture of one building.)

On the several-day stay I'm planning this summer, it appears that the City Bergen has no rooms left on the last day I'm thinking of being there. Do you have any second-place suggestions (for someone who only speaks English) nearby that I should check? Or should I try for the Airport Bergen and for an 6 am flight out? (Otherwise my flight would be at 11 am and I don't think there's much to do around the Airport Bergen, is there?)

great hotel for convenience and great service.

couldnt do better if on a one night stopoverand want to see the city and crash. :)

Can anyone comment on the Scandic Brussels?

Can anyone comment on the Scandic Brussels?

Centrally located. Close to the Central train station and major tourist attractions. Rooms are small but clean. Ask for rooms on higher floors or the opposite side of the street to avoid hearing police and ambulance sirens.

This hotel remind me The Sheraton Ottawa ;)

I've made 2 award bookings at Scandics. I am also signed-up for the NAVG. My question: will the 2 award stays at Scandic count towards the 4 stays I need to complete within 90 days ? On the HH Website, it says that only Scandic nights qualify for VIP status.....

You are right, the T&Cs says that only nights qualifies towards elite status in Hhonors. Though this rule does not seem to apply to promotions. I had 1 of my 4 stays for a promo a few years back at a Scandic hotel and I got all the promo miles :)
No guarantees from my side that this hasn’t changed since back then!

2 of my ACAQ stays actually were awards at Scandic hotels.

You should be fine.

Also see...
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=132090

Thanks for your input. Since the NAVG is not a bonus points, but a status promotion (4 stays to get Gold), I am still in doubt whether Scandic stays will count.

End of September, I should drop to Silver. After having fulfilled the requirements of the status promotion, how fast will I be lifted to Gold again ? If that happens immediately, it should be easy to tell then whether the stays counted or not.

If you are already gold it is a wonder that they registered you for the get to gold promo. my friend was going to wait until he dropped to silver before doing the navg promo.

Well, I figured if I'm doing the mattress runs, I might as well enjoy the Gold benefits while doing it.

I was signed up without a problem, after I requested an award certificate from a very friendly and helpful lady.

This week I went online to book a reward night in a European city. There were several HH properties in the city, but the website showed that none of the city's hotels had HH reward availability. Hotels in this city range from Cat 2 to Cat 4.

I called HH to book Scandic in the same city, figuring my chances for a reward night would be better - not to mention, fewer points. Immediately, the rep on the phone asked if I might be interested in staying at the Cat 4 HH property on a PointStretcher award for 18K points instead. I declined, as it's just me and it's just one night.

Seems to me that HH might be willing to play "let's make a deal" to encourage utilization of HH points with HH properties instead of Scandic properties in Europe...?

Interesting information - which property was it? I wonder if the HH property is even officially listed as having point stretcher availability?

Interesting information - which property was it? I wonder if the HH property is even officially listed as having point stretcher availability?

BRU

I've been cruising around the Scandic web site here (http://www.scandic-hotels.com/SiteHomePage) and as you look at the hotels, you either get a box stating that it's 10,000 points/night, or else the box just says something about Hilton Honors but doesn't give a point rate.

What can I infer from all this?

AFAIK, and I have stayed at several, all Scandics are, at this time, 10k points - I think I recollect someone some months ago here saying it was due to the inability to totally integrate Scandic and Hilton at this time. Good for us, since that represents a really good rate, and it includes the Scandic breakfast for all guests. ^

I'll be staying at Scandic Copenhagen for 2 weeks in April. This will be my first time staying at a Scandic. I read that I'll get a flat 1000 points per night, but will I receive my usual 25% gold bonus points as well?

Thanks.

I dont think I did when I stayed at Scandic last year. Do get drink/food chits though as Gold or Diamond.

Yes,

When I (HHonors Gold) spend one night at a Scandic my statement looks like this:

Base Points 1,000
50% BONUS ON BASE PT 500
GOLD VIP 2005 250
TOTAL POINTS FOR THIS STAY 1,750

(I'm taking the extra 50% bonus on base points, instead of the 100 airmiles)

Yes,

When I (HHonors Gold) spend one night at a Scandic my statement looks like this:

Base Points 1,000
50% BONUS ON BASE PT 500
GOLD VIP 2005 250
TOTAL POINTS FOR THIS STAY 1,750

(I'm taking the extra 50% bonus on base points, instead of the 100 airmiles)

Thank you Raunow.

Wonderful Copenhagen... here I come! :p :cool:

"Effective March 1, 2006, members can earn 10 HHonors Base points for every eligible U.S. dollar spent at Scandic hotels and earn HHonors points for incidental charges made during stays at Scandic hotels"

http://hhonors.hilton.com/en/hhonors/benefits/levels.jhtml

Is this new after the monthly maintenance that occurred yesterday? :D Or is this talking about just extra charges like Food and Drinks and not the actual cost of the room? :confused: The points for hotel reward page still shows Scandics at 1000 base point/night :confused:

I don't know if you get point credit for an award stay but assuming you did,...
I booked 5 nights at a Scandic hotel on an award stay. The reservation email that confirmed my stay, states that the room is 1895 NOK/night or ~$285/night. Though I could book the room myself for around $110-150.
So, do i get the 10 HHonors Base Points/$? If so, am I getting it at the $285/night that states on my email?(this is an award stay so its $0 actually spent :p)

Or is this talking about just extra charges like Food and Drinks and not the actual cost of the room? :confused: The points for hotel reward page still shows Scandics at 1000 base point/night :confused:



Check out http://www.scandic-hotels.com/AboutHHonors/727_LandingPage.jsp
----
You used to get points only for nights, but now you’ll get it for almost everything on your bill, whether it’s a juicy steak, parking your car in the garage, using the minibar or buying a postcard in the lobby shop.
----
Other improvement

Only nights and HHonors Base points used to be taken into account for reaching the next VIP tier level. Now nights, HHonors Base points and stays you complete in a 12-months consecutive period will be taken into account.

----

And bad news :td:

At Scandic, you used to earn and redeem the same amount of points at whichever hotel you chose. Starting 1 October 2006, all of our hotels will be divided into different hotel reward categories, and the amount of points you redeem depend on which hotel you stay at. This gives you the freedom to choose the hotel category you prefer. The categories will vary between 10 000 and 30 000 points in a vast number of destinations.


Regards

TV

Check out http://www.scandic-hotels.com/AboutHHonors/727_LandingPage.jsp
----
You used to get points only for nights, but now you’ll get it for almost everything on your bill, whether it’s a juicy steak, parking your car in the garage, using the minibar or buying a postcard in the lobby shop.
----
Other improvement

Only nights and HHonors Base points used to be taken into account for reaching the next VIP tier level. Now nights, HHonors Base points and stays you complete in a 12-months consecutive period will be taken into account.

----

And bad news :td:

At Scandic, you used to earn and redeem the same amount of points at whichever hotel you chose. Starting 1 October 2006, all of our hotels will be divided into different hotel reward categories, and the amount of points you redeem depend on which hotel you stay at. This gives you the freedom to choose the hotel category you prefer. The categories will vary between 10 000 and 30 000 points in a vast number of destinations.


Regards

TV


I checked out that website and I used the Scandic Calculator thing to calculate how many points I should have. The folio value includes the room rate as well right? Because if I put in $1500 (theoretical room value), it spits out ~25,000 points total :eek: (they multiplied base value by 10 + VIP bonuses and such)

Great! Stays count now! :D But, great... I already booked a whole week/consecutive nights at a Scandic :(
Anyone know if you book at say Scandic A (6/1/06-6/2/06), can you book at say Scandic B (6/2/06-6/3/06)? Or does that count as same stay? :confused:

Oh crap :td: Hope none of my Scandics are affected :(

Here is the list of Scandic hotels by countries and by hotels with new categories/level


http://www.scandic-hotels.com/AboutHHonors/726_HHonorsRewardsCategory.jsp

A stay at Scandic A and another at Scandic B should count as two stays, same as for any other Hilton property, and not count for more than one stay if you stay at Scandic A, check out and check back in the same day.

Well, we could see all this coming - greater integration of Scandic into the Hilton family, including greater points earning opportunity, and grater number of points for stays. I LOVED the 10k stays at every Scandic, but you have to admit, 20k at the most expensive ones is still not onerous - Scandinavia can be very expensive for hotels, and Scandic is expanding, even in Italy.

palex and tristan vox, thanks for the links. A new era has begun :sob: or at least will begin soon. ;)

.... under the new rules.

I did not care too much about the points earned in Scandinavia as I only go there on vataction.

I booked eight nights for March for 80.000 points, a fantastic deal, considering that under the current promotions 80.000 points require nothing but a 2000 Dollar folio in a downtown Hilton.

Accounting in German and mainly accounting in Frankfurt hotel rates, this currently is nothing but eight nights in the Frankfurt Hilton to get eight nights free in Scandinavia. This will be history now :( Sad, but not unexpected.

Cheers
T.

I don't know if you get point credit for an award stay ... I booked 5 nights at a Scandic hotel on an award stay. The reservation email that confirmed my stay, states that the room is 1895 NOK/night or ~$285/night. Though I could book the room myself for around $110-150.

So, do i get the 10 HHonors Base Points/$? If so, am I getting it at the $285/night that states on my email?(this is an award stay so its $0 actually spent :p)

You will not usually get any points credit for the room charges on an award stay .. but you will get credit for incidentals charged to your room.

Prior to the change in categories, you would receive 1000 points for each night of a PAID stay

A stay at Scandic A and another at Scandic B should count as two stays, same as for any other Hilton property, and not count for more than one stay if you stay at Scandic A, check out and check back in the same day.

Well, we could see all this coming - greater integration of Scandic into the Hilton family, including greater points earning opportunity, and grater number of points for stays. I LOVED the 10k stays at every Scandic, but you have to admit, 20k at the most expensive ones is still not onerous - Scandinavia can be very expensive for hotels, and Scandic is expanding, even in Italy.

palex and tristan vox, thanks for the links. A new era has begun :sob: or at least will begin soon. ;)
ahh thanks :D Does that go for a check-in into Scandic A and Scandic B on the same day as well?(I know it'd be a waste of money but if strapped for time to complete run, is that possible?) :D

yea, 10K was great ^ Now, its gonna be a little bit harder to get those free nights :(

You will not usually get any points credit for the room charges on an award stay .. but you will get credit for incidentals charged to your room.

Prior to the change in categories, you would receive 1000 points for each night of a PAID stay

Ahh thanks.. i figured it was too good of a deal :p

Well, we could see all this coming - greater integration of Scandic into the Hilton family, including greater points earning opportunity, and grater number of points for stays. I LOVED the 10k stays at every Scandic, but you have to admit, 20k at the most expensive ones is still not onerous - Scandinavia can be very expensive for hotels, and Scandic is expanding, even in Italy.
Yes, no surprise here. Already booked my Scandic stays for this year. What these program changes will mean IMHO:
- for us who paid for Hilton stays and took awards at Scandic we'll get just one award night instead of three in the Nordic capitals
- for us who pay for Scandic stays we'll get about one award night instead of two (or up to three for very cheap rates)
- on the bright side, achieving status, especially diamond status, will become much easier for Scandic users
- it will be more common for Scandic users to book award stays outside of Scandinavia
- Hilton will loose some only-Scandic customers to other Nordic hotel chains where you still get about one award stay per 10 paid stays also in the capitals
(These points mostly from a Nordic perspective)
Overall a very bad thing, but as said, expected. :(

PS. I talked with a Scandic employee and he was surprisingly sceptical about further Scandic expansion beyond Scandinavia - maybe the Scandics outside of the Nordic countries will be rebranded after all.

sez starting oct 2006. guess I'll try getting there before then :(

Oh, no ...my beloved Copenhagen Scandic has gone to a level 4!! For our honeymoon we stayed there for 5 nights for an amazing 50,000 points (10K per night).

One of the best deals I have ever scored with the HHONORS program. At the time, rooms were roughly $220 apiece, meaning I recieved 2.25cents back per hhonors point.

This is a sad day. :(

For someone like me who stays mainly at Scandics, and like to spend my points at Hiltons, this is good news.

I'l earn 50% more points per stay and it will be a lot easier to requalify for Diamond when stays counts at Scandics. Nice.

I'm a little surprised however that they've put some of the Scandics in category 4 ? This means that Scandic Weber and Scandic Copenhagen is considered in the same league as Hilton Copenhagen Airport ? I don't think so.

Here is the list of Scandic hotels by countries and by hotels with new categories/level


http://www.scandic-hotels.com/AboutHHonors/726_HHonorsRewardsCategory.jsp

Predictable but disappointing. The moment I heard that they were getting rid of the 1000 HHonors points per night was the moment I knew that the award category was going to be a major disadvantage for me.

For someone like me who stays mainly at Scandics, and like to spend my points at Hiltons, this is good news.

I'l earn 50% more points per stay and it will be a lot easier to requalify for Diamond when stays counts at Scandics. Nice.

I'm a little surprised however that they've put some of the Scandics in category 4 ? This means that Scandic Weber and Scandic Copenhagen is considered in the same league as Hilton Copenhagen Airport ? I don't think so.

I agree that for those who have paid work-week night stays at Scandics, this is a big improvement and I agree that putting the Scandic Webers and Scandic Copenhagen in the same category as Hilton CPH is bizarre. (Maybe Hilton CPH will go up to Cat 5? :( )

So will 2006 Scandic stays -- not just nights -- count for Diamond qualification effective now or later?

Yes, no surprise here. Already booked my Scandic stays for this year. What these program changes will mean IMHO:
- for us who paid for Hilton stays and took awards at Scandic we'll get just one award night instead of three in the Nordic capitals
- for us who pay for Scandic stays we'll get about one award night instead of two (or up to three for very cheap rates)
- on the bright side, achieving status, especially diamond status, will become much easier for Scandic users
- it will be more common for Scandic users to book award stays outside of Scandinavia
- Hilton will loose some only-Scandic customers to other Nordic hotel chains where you still get about one award stay per 10 paid stays also in the capitals
(These points mostly from a Nordic perspective)
Overall a very bad thing, but as said, expected. :(

PS. I talked with a Scandic employee and he was surprisingly sceptical about further Scandic expansion beyond Scandinavia - maybe the Scandics outside of the Nordic countries will be rebranded after all.

Very well put, tsator. Thank you for that helpful and accurate summary.

I too think the Scandics outside of the Nordic countries are likely to be rebranded. But as a Hilton does not make much sense as that would lower the business-oriented image of "Hilton" hotels.

I agree that for those who have paid work-week night stays at Scandics, this is a big improvement and I agree that putting the Scandic Webers and Scandic Copenhagen in the same category as Hilton CPH is bizarre. (Maybe Hilton CPH will go up to Cat 5? :( )

So will 2006 Scandic stays -- not just nights -- count for Diamond qualification effective now or later?

According to HHonors helpdesk in Glasgow yesterday, only Scandic stays made after the new earning rules are applied count as quilifying stays with regards to status.

I too think the Scandics outside of the Nordic countries are likely to be rebranded. But as a Hilton does not make much sense as that would lower the business-oriented image of "Hilton" hotels.
Ok, but rebranded to what?

IMHO Hilton has too few brands outside the Americas already. (Since I travel on my own dime, I tend to stay in midlines. Outside of Scandic territory, thus, I find few opportunities in Europe to stay with HHonors.) Scandic, as few countries as it is in, is the only brand they seem to have outside the Western Hemisphere which fits in the HGI/Hampton-ish mold (which are the HHonors brands I stay at 95% or more of the time in the US.)

It's like Hampton in that there's a free breakfast for everyone (tho the breakfast is TONS better than at any Hampton I've ever seen in my life :) ). But in that it has a restaurant too, it's perhaps more like Hilton Garden Inn.

Ok, but rebranded to what?

It's like Hampton in that there's a free breakfast for everyone (tho the breakfast is TONS better than at any Hampton I've ever seen in my life :) ). But in that it has a restaurant too, it's perhaps more like Hilton Garden Inn.
Hilton Garden Inn might be good - most people over here have probably never heard about "Hamptons", but the Hilton name is certainly known (guess because of whom...) ;)

I must say that rebranding would make Scandics loose some more of their traditionally nice family orientation, however! But maybe it would be just honest to admit the Scandics will not be Scandics anymore...

Predictably, every Scandic I've stayed at or wanted to stay at is either category 3 or 4. I guess I'll have to use my points on stays at fancy hotels to make it worthwhile collecting them now. I certainly don't want to use 25,000 points for a one-night stay at the Edderkoppen or 30,000 (!) at the Byporten.

Maybe it's time to commit to Starwood.

Hilton Garden Inn might be good - most people over here have probably never heard about "Hamptons", but the Hilton name is certainly known (guess because of whom...) ;)

I must say that rebranding would make Scandics loose some more of their traditionally nice family orientation, however! But maybe it would be just honest to admit the Scandics will not be Scandics anymore...

I could never appreciate the Scandinavian obsession with cheap celebrities -- including Paris Hilton.

The Scandinavian/Nordic-based brands that I find most recognized as good regional hotel brands by Scandinavians -- and the Scandics are too inconsistent to be considered a consistent brand, good or otherwise -- are Elite, First and the Radisson SAS hotels. But if the Scandic brand goes, up go the Hilton marketing expenses yet again.

Hmm, I'm not sure what I'll use points on after this year!

I don't find it worthwhile to stay in high-priced hotels, even for free (at high points values), unless there's no other options available.

Until I started having the opportunity to stay in Scandic territories a couple years ago, I didn't think I'd find any worthwhile use of my points until I had a chance to take the Salt Lick Safari award. Now that's gone. And now Scandic is no longer generally a good redemption value either (after this year, when I'll try to pack some Scandinavian trips I'd originally planned to do in other years :) ).

So what will my points be good for now?

(I never stay 6 or 7 days in one place, so all those special HHonors awards that are only a good value on such long stays are useless to me.)

And if I'm not redeeming for nights much, how much value will Diamond status be to me (compared to Gold), given that where I stay most often midline HHonors hotels have crept out of my price range much more than the competition, and given that the main benefit I perceived of Diamond was in making award reservations.

So I wouldn't be surprised if the Hilton group ends up losing some of my business because of this rise in cost of redeeming at Scandics, because I'll see less value in staying at HHonors properties in the US because of this change in Europe!

I found this interesting difference between the official (and long) t&c at hhonors.hilton.com and about every other place I have checked. On the official t&c it is stated:

Gold:
At Scandic hotels, Gold VIP members will receive the best available room, if available upon arrival (excluding suites).

Diamond:
At Scandic hotels, Diamond VIP members will automatically receive the best available room, if available when booking.


Everywhere else, including the HHonors Member Benefits page and the Scandic HHonors t&c, the wording for Diamond is same as for Gold above. Does this mean, that as this is the "final truth", I can push Scandic sales rep to book me a suite with an early value single room price?

I believe somewhere in the huge HH T&C, the suites are not normally included in the comp room upgrade matrix.

MisterNice

I believe somewhere in the huge HH T&C, the suites are not normally included in the comp room upgrade matrix.

MisterNice
This I can believe, but the other key difference is "available upon arrival" and "available when booking". At least I could avoid paying the difference to superior room when I want a guarantee that there is a decent room available when I check in.

I could never appreciate the Scandinavian obsession with cheap celebrities -- including Paris Hilton.
Same here, but I guess it has something to do with that it is a relatively new phenomenon. American commercialism really started to take over when it became evident that no-one could control the media any longer. Remember there used to be no commercial TV or radio here.

The Scandinavian/Nordic-based brands that I find most recognized as good regional hotel brands by Scandinavians -- and the Scandics are too inconsistent to be considered a consistent brand, good or otherwise -- are Elite, First and the Radisson SAS hotels. But if the Scandic brand goes, up go the Hilton marketing expenses yet again.I personally like consistent rules but appreciate differences and character among the hotels, some with long histories behind them (and hopefully ahead of them). The Scandics have been my personal favorites, but we'll see what the new ownership will do to them.

What a bummer, but the 10k awards were too good to last. What category is the Scandic Continental in Stockholm? I couldn't find it listed in the new charts.

What a bummer, but the 10k awards were too good to last. What category is the Scandic Continental in Stockholm? I couldn't find it listed in the new charts.
Scandic Continental is category 4.

I'll be doing a grand tour of Scandics this year. A little sooner than I had planned, but still no time like the present. :D

What a bummer, but the 10k awards were too good to last. What category is the Scandic Continental in Stockholm? I couldn't find it listed in the new charts.
Each listing came out at 4 pages for me, but the by-category listing would need to be 5 pages to list the Category 4 hotels in Sweden (page 4 ends with Norway).

Thus you need to look on the by-country listing (which for this reason appears to be more complete) to find the Scandic Continental, near the end of the Sweden list because it's Category 4.

As many others have said (specifically scandinavians) the loss of rewardability at the scandics for the 10k point seems to take away most motive to be part of HHonors.
What other chain do you all recommend (I am member of priority IC and sofitel so far - is best western any good)

best
objetti

I was wondering how they are going to spin this:

You used to spend 10.000 points for a reward night at all Scandic hotels. Starting October 1 2006, Scandic hotels will be divided into different reward redemption categories which are diplayed on our website. The categories vary between 10.000 – 30.000 points per night in many exciting destinations. For more details, please visit

How you can spin this in to more freedom? Can anybody explain? More freedom for Hilton to devalue the points perhaps?

I was wondering how they are going to spin this:

You used to spend 10.000 points for a reward night at all Scandic hotels. Starting October 1 2006, Scandic hotels will be divided into different reward redemption categories which are diplayed on our website. The categories vary between 10.000 – 30.000 points per night in many exciting destinations. For more details, please visit

How you can spin this in to more freedom? Can anybody explain? More freedom for Hilton to devalue the points perhaps?

very true
Yes this is where it gets really offending. I could perhaps accept as a customer some truthful explanation like "we cannot any longer afford to give away nights at 10.000 points at the nicest scandics" but I feel insulted and put off by the stupidity of the bizarre statement (translated from the swedish promo (!?!) mail I got) "Even more freedom when you use your points!...."

best
objetti

Scandic at 10K per night was good. It's going to change but at least only in October, so a good 'free' 2006 summer vacation in Scandinavia is still an option. Think about personal satisfaction as being able to use only 50K points for something it will be later on requiring 120-150K.

I won't be recommending Scandics for paid stays any longer. The value proposition has gone on that side too. There would have to be some great Scandic promotions for me to recommend that Scandics be used for frequent travellers wishing to get a good rebate of sorts (which is what loyalty point programs basically are).

I won't be recommending Scandics for paid stays any longer. The value proposition has gone on that side too. There would have to be some great Scandic promotions for me to recommend that Scandics be used for frequent travellers wishing to get a good rebate of sorts (which is what loyalty point programs basically are).

I cannot recommend them for award stays either because Scandic’s aren't as expensive as the most luxurious Hilton properties that are way more expensive.

Sometimes when Scandic’s runs those promotions for Christmas/Easter etc when business travelers are not round they might have some real low prices, however.

I cannot recommend them for award stays either because Scandic’s aren't as expensive as the most luxurious Hilton properties that are way more expensive.

Sometimes when Scandic’s runs those promotions for Christmas/Easter etc when business travelers are not round they might have some real low prices, however.

Exactly. (Besides paid stays during holiday periods mentioned, summer weekends too often involve good promotional prices.)

Exactly. (Besides paid stays during holiday periods mentioned, summer weekends too often involve good promotional prices.)

The other Christmas I think that I paid less than $50 per night for various Scandics properties in Helsinki when I was visiting my old hometown.

I believe that you must visit the Scandic's own website to find these specials that is a bit counterproductive.

I think in a way, we all knew this was going to happen. I mean the Scandic in Downtown Oslo or Copenhagen for 10,000 points. That just doesn't seem realistic. I think that this will encourage a lot of scandinavians that work in Scandinavia and want to travel to the United States on vacations to use hhonors.

I have a reservation at the Copenhagen Scandic and just stayed at the Brussels Scandic (horrible award value given the new catagories, you are better at the Hilton).

After stays at Oslo Byporten, Scandic Continental, Scandic Brussels, and my future stay at the Copenhagen Scandic is that it was good while it lasted, I think a bunch of us were able to really take advantage of the 10k points a night the past few years.

Just my two cents

Timo

Currently, the number of nights spent at Scandic Hotels do count for elite status qualification; however, the number of stays at Scandic hotel do not count for elite status qualification.

With the new Hilton HHonors changes that radically adjust the point earning and spending when using Scandic hotels, will Scandic hotel stays finally start to count for those pursuing HHonors elite status on the basis of number of stays (and not on the basis of hotel nights)?

You can buy bonus cheques book (http://www.scandic-hotels.com/dispatch?ShowOfferDetailsEvent=&oid=11176276&formName=ShowOfferDetailsForm) at Scandic:

You just buy one book, which contains 12 cheques – and for this you pay a very reasonable price. Each Bonus Cheque is valid for one overnight stay in a single room including breakfast. Cheques are valid any day of the week for at least one year.

They can be used by one person or shared among colleagues, as they are not tied to one person.

A book of twelve Bonus Cheques costs SEK 10,943(1,162€) excluding VAT, so you will pay SEK 912(97€) for a one-night stay in a single room including a large breakfast buffet. At some hotels a supplement is payable when you use a cheque.Does anyone have any experience with if these count normal as stays and do give points?

Has anyone stayed in either of these properties? I read through a lot of old threads, but couldn't find any reports on these. Thanks.

Title says it all. I never got a Scandic stay in before the change . Are there still some bargains left?

many scandics are still category 1, ie 10000 a night - obviously not the best ones but a few are still worth looking at. however hilton is looking for buyers for scandic so perhaps not for much longer.

however hilton is looking for buyers for scandic so perhaps not for much longer.
or an optimist would say: maybe again soon :)

According to the Norway Post www.norwaypost.no
The U.S. Hilton Group has decided to sell off all of its 140 Scandic hotels.....:eek:

It would be unfortunate but could also easily see it happening. Its really too bad since Hilton doesn't have many hotels in Scandanavia and even some of the other European sites of Scandic are nice like Brugge.

Now maybe they'll replace them all with Hampton Inns or Hilton Garden Inns.

One quote from a hotel employee does not a fact make ..however Hilton seem to be reviewing their European operations again ...

sigh :(