Hilton HHonors - Status is like Candy

Listen to this... I'm not sure if it is a good thing or bad thing:

I'm a Gold marriott member, and I do 60+ nights per year in hotels... My next few trips are booked in Hiltons, so I called to ask about a status match.

They matched me with NO PROBLEM. I didn't have to fax Marriott statements or anything.

This may be good for people who don't stay there too often, but does it dilute the value of Gold status?

IMO it dilutes the value for other VIPs in direct porportion to how often you stay at Hilton. Few stays=little dilution -- many stays=lots of dilution. But with many stays, you deserve the comped status anyway so its no problem.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by Galla47:
Listen to this... I'm not sure if it is a good thing or bad thing:

I'm a Gold marriott member, and I do 60+ nights per year in hotels... My next few trips are booked in Hiltons, so I called to ask about a status match.

They matched me with NO PROBLEM. I didn't have to fax Marriott statements or anything.

This may be good for people who don't stay there too often, but does it dilute the value of Gold status?

</font>

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by Galla47:
Listen to this... I'm not sure if it is a good thing or bad thing:

I'm a Gold marriott member, and I do 60+ nights per year in hotels... My next few trips are booked in Hiltons, so I called to ask about a status match.

They matched me with NO PROBLEM. I didn't have to fax Marriott statements or anything.

This may be good for people who don't stay there too often, but does it dilute the value of Gold status?

</font>
The Diamond status is the truly earned status. You can call, beg and plead for be upgraded to Diamond, but its futile. Thats why when people earn that status, the benefits are great. You can tell them that you are going to stay 200 nights this year in hopes of getting the upgrade, but they wont do it. 28 stays or 60 nights

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by Galla47:
Listen to this... I'm not sure if it is a good thing or bad thing:

I'm a Gold marriott member, and I do 60+ nights per year in hotels... My next few trips are booked in Hiltons, so I called to ask about a status match.

They matched me with NO PROBLEM. I didn't have to fax Marriott statements or anything.

This may be good for people who don't stay there too often, but does it dilute the value of Gold status?

</font>


This is no news to those of us who have been on this board for some time. You can do a search on this topic and see the debates about this and Hilton's generous promotions that are very much unlike Marriott's.

In answer to your question, thus far,there has been little if any evidence, even anectodal evidence, that this is truly a problem, rather than a figment of someone's over fertile imagination that the "barbarians are at the gates."

Welcome to the board. Perhaps you are a refugee from Marriott Rewards now that they have totally altered for the worse, their rewards structure? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

The only thing that is amazing to me is that you were not told of the EWRDC promotion. Read (this board) and ye shall learn of all Hilton's great promotions! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

[This message has been edited by DOC 2 BE (edited 06-21-2001).]

Status is only like "candy" and dilutes things if you can't get your benefits at the status level. And so far as a HHGold (on and off for a few years now), other than hotels that refuse to participate properly in the program, I think the hotels have plenty of "status product" to deliver.

Besides, if these "new found" elites don't make very many stays, they aren't diluting anything. If they make a lot of stays, the marketing was successful and they'd reach the level anyways. (I think I'm up to 3 1/2 cents of advice - time to stop http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Eastbay1K (edited 06-21-2001).]