Hilton HHonors - How much success have you had using Hilton points?

Hilton makes it incredibly easy to build up points, but I find myself having very little luck in being able to use them for award stays.

This week I called eight months out to try to get three nights in Rome and was told no award availability. I've heard that for just about every Hilton I've ever inquired about in Europe. The hotels in Hawaii are the only ones I've had much success at, but I'm not a fan of them.

I'm wondering about other people's experiences. Have you had success in using your points? Where? When?

In Europe, I have had success in Antwerp, London Kensington, London Sherlock Holmes, Langham, London Mews. I booked these about 4-5 months in advance and had no issues all for summertime stays. At the time, I was a Gold and used both the VIP 6 night awards as well as 3 and 5 day awards.
As a Diamond, I have had no issues booking the Hong Kong Conrad for the VIP 6 night award the last 2 years (in the May-June timeframe). Each time I booked the award about 6 months in advance.

[This message has been edited by gabbysz (edited 12-06-2000).]

I like wise had an imposible time using my award points. Although I used points at the St. Lucia resort in March 98, I have been unable to book a return trip. You can't even book a week in 2001 (or beyond because the property is not "loaded" yet). Anyway, I too ended up in Hawaii for 3/01. I also sent an email with my complaints and never received a response. Needless to say, I swithed my preferred hotel to Starwood and Hyatt and have stayed at Hilton just once in 2000. (HH300186901)

I tried to book the London Kensington and was told that the only hotel available in London was the Conrad. I continued to call every week for about 5 weeks. All of a sudden, they had rooms available at 2 other London Hotels for my dates just 3 weeks before I left.
Keep trying.

[This message has been edited by Tomphot (edited 12-06-2000).]

Last two years I have had success booking as Gold with points in Geneva, Zurich and Cannes (a great property).

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

I'm just about ready to call and try to get two rooms for six days on GLON awards at the Tokyo Hilton - for March 2002. Any experiences or advice on Japanese properties, either NRT or KIX?

When you deal with the VIP awards, does it work like regular awards in that you can make reservations without the full number of points in the kitty, then get the certificates a little later?

Thanks!

No luck in London for me six months in advance for November (unless I wanted to be distant from the city center). I have had no trouble at Paris and Cannes but I did it at least 8 or 9 months ahead of time. VERY LONG term planning is the key, I think.

I have had no luck in getting the award stays I've wanted in the U.S. Haven't tried Hawaii yet, but have tried MANY times to use points for free stays or discounts off stays at hotels all over the place -- from Florida to New York to California. They always tell me that the hotel isn't honoring discounts at that time.

I must admit I've made the mistake of trying to book award travel through the Hilton 800 number, though. I've read here that some people recommend trying to book directly with the hotel. Next time I'll try that.

I did successfully convert HH points over to airline miles once when I desperately needed to top off an account for an award flight. But it's a lousy conversion rate. Like others, I'm beginning to wonder if I should let my HH Gold status go and give other chains more business.

I was able to get the London Hilton Metropole this past October, but had to break up the days so that they could accomodate me.

I had no trouble getting any property in Edinburgh, Scotland, and I LOVE Scotland!

Have also recently gotten Doubletree Denver (at the opportunity rate to boot!) and
the Embassy Suites Indianapolis.

I have never tried this, but some people on this board have suggested that by calling the property DIRECTLY, you can sometimes get nights that you can't get on the reservation line.

This is a somewhat risky strategy, but you could do it if all else fails and you HAVE to get your room in Rome: See if you can get at least one night as an award night. Then reserve the other nights as paid stays. When it comes time to settle your bill, just whip out the 3, 4, or 5 day award certificate and pay that way. The Hotel desk clerk usually couldn't care less!

Warning: This is just a strategy that CAN work, but is NOT guaranteed!

I do wish Hilton would move to an "any room that's available" system like the Starwood Hotels.


Mac



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Via con Dios!

Originally posted by macbravery:
I was able to get the London Hilton Metropole this past October, but had to break up the days so that they could accomodate me.

This is a somewhat risky strategy, but you could do it if all else fails and you HAVE to get your room in Rome: See if you can get at least one night as an award night. Then reserve the other nights as paid stays. When it comes time to settle your bill, just whip out the 3, 4, or 5 day award certificate and pay that way. The Hotel desk clerk usually couldn't care less!



I did this last year.
I tried to get a 5 night stay in London at the Langham. They were only available for 1 night. The Kensington was available for the other 4. I booked it that way.
When I showed up at the Langham, I asked if I could stay all 5 nights with the cert. they said OK and I had them cancel the other reservation.

I think I have had good luck with award reservations. Walt Disney World Last Memorial weekend. Amsterdam in April. London Conrad last April. Caracas, Duesseldorf, Rotterdam, Weimar. I have had more trouble lately with major cities. I rarely book more than two months in advance.

tartetatin -

Please note that the Tokyo Hilton is a good two hours away from NRT. In 2000 I stayed there a total of 15 nights (23 nights total in Tokyo; 70 nights total in Japan).

Nice hotel, and probably a good value for your points, because otherwise Tokyo (and Japan) can be very expensive for hotels, especially western/business style.

Email me if you are interested - I still have a free pass to the gym (any Japan Hilton) although I was given the pass by the Hilton, so you may get one also, but it wouldn't hurt, just in case.

johndor,

Thanks for the info. Didn't mean to imply Narita town, just using shorthand for Tokyo city. I too have taken that two hour ride, but not as many times as you!

In terms of actual Hilton properties, my success has been very good. However, Doubletree and Embassy Suites so far have proven more difficult.

I recently spent a week in Florida and had no trouble getting a 3 night stay at the Longboat Key Hilton. But trying to find an upscale property in the Orlando area was tough. I finally got into an ES property by talking to the hotel manager directly and pleading my case after the hotel's reservations department refused to budge.

Capacity controls remain my number one gripe with HHonors. As I said in a previous thread, I would gladly trade the double dip feature of the program in exchange for no capacity/blackout dates.

I wish HHonors would change their system and go electronic with awards.... the voucher issue is a real pain in the neck.


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Gaucho100K

Although, in general, I like the HHonors program, I would agree that award stay availability ranks significantly below Starwood and Marriott. I have long cited the extensive list of blackout dates Hilton has in comparison to Starwood (none) and Marriott (very few). Even second or third tier properties in some cases have a large number of blackout dates. The list is actually shorter now than in past years, but my belief (I have no evidence to prove/disprove this) is that hotels are simply not making any rooms available on certain dates rather than list those dates as blacked-out. The end result is the same. This is unacceptable in my view.

As a Diamond level member, Hilton has gone the extra mile for me more than once to get me an award room when none were available. Of course at Starwood I would never encounter problems in the first place. Planning ahead doesn't always help either. From my experience, some Hilton properties don't open up inventory for awards until 6-8 months in advance.

Whenever I call the HHonors/HHassles Service
Center, I am told that my preferred date[s]
are not available.

Whenever I call the desired property; the
resv is made without any fuss.

ALWAYS CALL THE PROPERTY AND SPEAK TO THE
RESV MANAGER.

-doug

So you need to call the Property you are going to get the award stays?? And I read from their website that they'll give you some kind of certificates to use, now my question is do you need to book the hotel first and tell them that you are using these certificates?

Confused... Al

Thanks for all the comments and advice. Hearing about your successes at least lets me know there's hope. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

afang, book the hotel first. Tell them you what award code you are using. THEN, call HHonors for the certificate.

I've booked the Kensington Hilton in July 98 on award. At the time, it was the only UK property available for reduced points. The St. Lucia Hilton Thanksgiving 1999 and the Hilton Hawaiian Village Christmas 1998 I've also booked on points but I regretted the Hawaiian Village stay due to terrible service and high prices for everything on the property. The Tapatio Cliffs in Phoenix I was able to get off-season for reduced points during July 1999. I did have award reservations for the Caracas and Margarita Island Hiltons in Dec. 1999 which I had to cancel because of the mudslides. I did not have any luck booking the Cavalieri Hilton in Rome this summer even though I pleaded with the Diamond Desk, or for that matter any luck booking any other Hilton award in 2000. I do think it is getting impossible to book any reduced award stays and difficult to book award stays altogether.

I had no problem booking the Hilton Maldives through the HHonors desk for my August 2001 anniversary, but that is probably due to the remote nature of the property. Still, I'm looking forward to my beach villa!

Askia: I would love to read a trip report after you come back from the Maldives. I've been considering a trip there.

Askia, likewise. I'd be very grateful if you posted about your experience there. I'm especially interested in finding out about the current status of the coral reef (evidently, the last round of El Nino caused water temperatures to be so high that 80-90% of the reef was killed). Thanks and have a wonderful trip!

I'm with Gaucho - the inability to book award travel online (like Starwood allows) is not acceptable at all. I'm a Diamond and I've had challenges booking reservations with points, so it must be a nightmare if you're a silver or gold. They don't even have a seperate phone number for rewards if you a VIP - just the ability to e-mail a request and get your voucher in the mail in about 4 weeks (unless you pay extra). If it were not for the fact that one of our regional offices was right next to a Hilton, I'd stay at a Starwood property every time. They know how to treat their loyal customers right.


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Ken in Sacramento

I'm with Gaucho - the inability to book award travel online (like Starwood allows) is not acceptable at all. I'm a Diamond and I've had challenges booking reservations with points, so it must be a nightmare if you're a silver or gold. They don't even have a differnt phone number for VIPs, just the ability to e-mail a request and get your voucher in the mail in about 4 weeks (unless you pay extra). If it were not for the fact that one of our regional offices was right next to a Hilton, I'd stay at a Starwood property every time. They know how to treat their loyal customers right.


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Ken in Sacramento

I just booked the BKK Hilton for 6 nights. It took all about about 5-minutes. I'm Gold VIP and could not have made it any easier.
Now, they woundln't let me book a suite, but I did get an upgraded room with a king bed.


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1K Oregon

as a diamond member, i have never had a problem booking award travel. even if it's "sold out" on points or booked solid with paying customers... they alwaysbook it for me.

likewise, i've used the diamond hhonors reservation guarantee to book a paid room, when a particular property was overbooked... works every time.

no muss, no fuss, no bother.

Recently, I stayed at Hilton Munich Park using award points. I also have good success at Zurich's Kolten Airport Hilton.

I tried to book a few nights at the local Hilton reservations line in Sweden for LAS Hilton and was told everything was booked. Then I called IAPA booking line - told be the same thing. Finally called the hotel itself, of course: no problem whatsoever, we have a room, sir!

Isn't really good service... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

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Goldlust

Gee,
After reading all these posts, I'm not so excited about the 66,000 points I have in the bank. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Time to re-build my Starwood account.

Tata Hilton.

Dan

Just "lurking" around this board, and would like to add a little information.
Diamond members, did you know that the Hilton Diamond Desk is willing to help with any reservation, that you have come up unsuccessful on? Two wonderful ladies, Lee and Evonne, work miracles to get you into the property you are requesting.
Also, if you need to book a last minute award room, the service center will always expedite the award at no charge to Diamond members.
If at the end of all this, you are still wanting assistance, Hilton has a service called Hilton RewardPlanner. For a "fee", the planners will make all of your award travel arrangements, including air, hotel, car, etc. using any frequent flyer miles you may have.

[This message has been edited by den1k (edited 01-04-2001).]

I just redeemed points for 2 rooms for 1 week at the Hilton in Buenos Aires in March. No problems at all. Quick and simple.

This was my first time redeeming Honors points, and so far it has been very easy.

This week, I was able to book one free night (Friday, April 6). The rest of the weekend was "unavailable" for rewards. I didn't think this was too bad for only three months in advance in Paris. I booked Saturday and Sunday on the web at the cheapest rate.

I am using a w/e reward for Paris in Jan that I booked Jan 1. They might have just opened more dates up before I called though as it wasn't available in Dec.

Booked yesterday, Jan. 20th at Hilton San Diego AP and 21st at Carlsbad, CA.

On the other hand, just asked the status of Oct/Nov 2001 at the Waikoloa on the big island for the 6 day ALON award and found only one 6 day period in those two months available (usually a slower time in HA). This at a property of 3-4 buildings!!! Now trying to put the rest of the trip around it.

I am more frustrated at the absence of properties where I want to stay! As my second "frequent hotel" on trial this and last year, it has been difficult. No property in Banff, Lake Louise, Escondido, Winchester or Louiston (Idaho), Pasa Robles... I really want to give Hilton another chance, but it is tough.

hi, old thread, but relevant...
Called for two nights at Dublin Hilton next month and sold out. I realize it's basically last minute but thought I'd give it a go. Still good advice to call the hotel directly? They appear to have rooms available with the cheapest being IR£160.

A few weeks ago, book the SAN Harbor Island Hilton for three nights during 4th of July week. No problem.

No problems here...booked in april for may stays at the Conrad International Hong Kong and Hilton Taipei. Even got upgraded at the Conrad! I'm a Hilton believer....

Biff - FYI My award stay was a full points stay, not a pointstretcher

[This message has been edited by thezipper (edited 06-18-2001).]

I would add to the discussion that Point Stretcher awards are a pipe dream, at least for the Conrad Hong Kong:

That hotel allowed point stretchers for exactly two weeks during the entire year: 1/21-28 and 4/11-17.

When I called for year 2002 dates, customer service said they would not be available until shortly before the beginning of the year.

In other words, planning for a possible award next January can not be done until December. Waiting till then to make a plane reservation would pretty well eliminate the opportunity to use airline reward miles.

A significant number of us booked Point Stretcher awards for the PIP at Hawaiian Village in Waikiki with no difficulty and then vied for upgrades. My husband and I flew on a Hilton air award - SFO to Hono. Also, no problem and, in fact, the UA flight had seats avail on the Hilton award whereas there were NO seats avail for a UA award! And, being Gold, and old Gold at that, we used the 20K points off certs so paid 80K each for the tickets.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by rewardplanner:
? Two wonderful ladies, Lee and Evonne, work miracles to get you into the property you are requesting. Also, if you need to book a last minute award room, the service center will always expedite the award at no charge to Diamond members.


Nothing beats IDENTIFIABLE human beings who are there day in and day out. The airlines (hello UA!!!) would be much better off by having a dedicated small staff INSTEAD of a dedicated phone line for super elite members.

Lee and Yvonne have always gone to bat for me (for reasonable requests of course!), and whether they succeed or not, I trust them as source of last resort; I don't bother calling to try and find a 'friendlier' CSR.

A dollop of pragmatism. I'm Diamond and Hilton is pretty **** good, not perfect.

When they are not perfect, I find friends who have elite status with Starwood or Marriott to get what I need. And when Starwood or Marriott isn't perfect with my friendds, they come to me for help with Hilton.

The moral; I've got access to leverage super elite in all THREE programs, even if only one program is actually in my name.

IMHO, if you've got Gold or Diamond with Hilton, maintain it; it is an asset that has value to others.

Hilton points comes in handy for me in unfamiliar territories. Few years back, in Nairobi and Johannesburg and last year in Sao Paulo. I can pretty much count on Hilton to have a property anywhere and be upgraded to concierge level. One problem is they tend not to be in the newest part of town.

I always use my award in Hua Hin (Thailand). Only 10,000 point for 1 weekend night. I always get an upgrade too because I am a gold member. No problem booking room there.

Thanks to FlyerTalk I was able to book a 2 weekend night executive stay at the Hilton Suites in Lexington on the weekend of Oct 13. This is the busiest weekend in Lexington as it is during Keeneland and my beloved Wildcats play LSU in football. The 1-800-HHonors number said the property was sold out for reward stays. I called the property and it was no problem. The 35,000 points would have cost me 400 bucks for the 2 nights. I still have 100,000 points left for an exotic stay somewhere.

Without flyertalk, I never would have known to call the hotel directly, and I for sure wouldn't have the remaining 100,000 point balance as that is two 50,000 bonuses. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif)