Hilton HHonors - HHonors points redemption question

How difficult is it to book stays at various Hilton Hotels using points? Are international Hiltons hard to book using award stays? I know that there are some black out dates but I've also heard that there are capacity controls. Does this make redeeming an award difficult?

Depending on where and when you are going, it can be very difficult, especially if you want to use a GLON award.
From what I was told, Hilton only allocates a small (2 - 3%) of rooms for awards at each property. For Diamonds they have an additional percentage of rooms available, so that may help - if you're a Diamond.
I was not able to get 6 nights at any Hilton in London (to use a GLON) last month, but thanks to Starwood I was able to get 8 nights at the Park Tower without a problem.
Someone else on FT mentioned that you need to book popular locations a year out to use HHonors awards.

It is true that there are capacity controls that really work against you if you cannot be flexible. In October, I experienced just the opposite affect in the Chicago area during the Breeders cup. There were no rooms available for paying customers, but there were rooms available for Honors rewards. I was able to get an award stay at a sold out resort and an upgrade to boot.