Hilton HHonors - Getting 2 award rooms when only 1 is available

I need two rooms for an ALON stay, but only one is allocated (March stay at Hilton Singer Island, Florida) I'm not sure how allocation works. What are the odds that if I book one, and wait a while, another will open up?

The reservation guy said that availability was the the same for any kind of stay. Is that correct? In the past I seemed to be able to get ALON any dates I wanted.

Thanks

Unless I'm confused, ALON is for Hawaii only. Are you using a GLON?

Reward code aside, I would suggest you snatch that one room up, and then call the property directly. Start with on site reservations then work your way up, if necessary, to the GM. I would think you'd stand a pretty good chance.

Remember that at some properties if you call and ask for reservations they automatically transfer you to central res. Central res will have no leverage on this.

To answer your specific questions:

1. Award inventory is allocated well ahead of time; so it is unlikely, if not impossible, that additional award allocations will appear in central res system. However, the property can choose to accept award certs any time they want. That's where the phone call above comes in.

2. Yes he's correct. Award inventory is same for all awards. Only exception is for Diamonds, who don't need to draw from inventory, but can still be blacked out during "exceptional demand" periods.

[This message has been edited by Rut Dog (edited 01-13-2003).]

Rut Dog, thanks for your reply. Yes, I guess I meant GLON.

Your response brought up another question...

How do you get to on-site reservations? It seems like more and more you get transfered to central res. My first response (I guess I should have mentioned this) after I was told they only had one room was to call the hotel directly. When I asked for reservations, (it was around 8pm local time) they transfered me to the central number, so I hung up.

Ask for "in house reservations". If you call after the in house people have gone home the operator should tell you that and the hours that someone will be in house the next day.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by FarAway:
Rut Dog, thanks for your reply. Yes, I guess I meant GLON.

Your response brought up another question...

How do you get to on-site reservations? It seems like more and more you get transfered to central res. My first response (I guess I should have mentioned this) after I was told they only had one room was to call the hotel directly. When I asked for reservations, (it was around 8pm local time) they transfered me to the central number, so I hung up.

</font>

Yes, call during normal business hours. And if you are having a problem getting someone onsite, instead of just asking for "reservations", phrase it something like, "I'd like to speak with someone at your hotel about an upcoming reservation..."

It's always theoretically possible that they don't have an onsite reservationist. Regardless, you can always start with management. HHonors Manager (every property is supposed to have a manager dedicated to HH), Director of Rooms, Customer Service Manager, Manager on Duty (MOD), or you can always just shoot to the GM.

Some GM's are happy to take calls from customers without hesitation, others appreciate it if you worked your way up, and others have Exec. Secretaries that just take care of this type of stuff and can be great people to get to know.

Of course, the other option is to switch loyalty to Starwood with no blackout dates and no reward inventory control. I've considered it when in your position.