Hilton HHonors - Hotel paid for by company. Points?

So I have been staying at a Double Tree for the past 50 nights. The hotel bill is being paid by my company. I asked the hotel manager if I would receive points and status for my stay. He said I would receive status but not points. Has any one else ever faced this dilemma?
Do you think I could call Hilton customer service and ask them for an explanation as to why I am not being given the points?

Thanks,

Aj

If your staying on a corporate rate, you sometimes don't earn points. All depends on the deal that your company has with hilton/that hotel.

Did you give them your Hilton number upon checkin? Did your company negotiate a very low rate? I would call customer service to find out why. That's a lot of points to be missing.

There are two issues here. The T&C and the negotiated rate.

The T&C state that you will earn points on eligible stays unless it is a group billed to one company. If this is a group bill situation, then you won't receive points.

A Member whose individual hotel bill is billed directly to a company and the Member is responsible for authorization for settlement at check-out is eligible for HHonors points as described herein. However, group master-billing arrangements where charges for multiple rooms are placed on one hotel bill and billed to a company or common address or settled at check-out by one individual are not eligible for HHonors points. Incidental charges (those charged to a Member's room) paid for directly by the Member at check-out are eligible for point credit. Incidental charges billed to a master bill are not eligible for point credit.

The second issue is the with the negotiated rate. Sometimes a company will negotiate a lower rate and will forgo points to get that extra low rate. If this is the case with your rate, then you will earn no points.

There are three issues, depending on the location.

50 days may no longer be a hotel stay and no matter what the rate it may not be eligible. It depends on the area and their local laws if you are considered a hotel guest or temporary resident with a stay that long.

It totally depends on the rate your company negotiated and if it's a master bill or not.

When my stays are billed directly I've always made a small incidental charge to ensure the stay registers and I get the stay credit. As per the t&c I've never expected the points for the room, but the stay credit and double dip miles can be important.

Did you give them your Hilton number upon checkin? Did your company negotiate a very low rate? I would call customer service to find out why. That's a lot of points to be missing.
I would not call CS until first speaking with whoever handles the travel negotiations at your company. Some employers take it rather poorly when their employees gum up contractual arrangement.

Once you've got the details from your employer, you can determine whether or not a call to CS is appropriate and you will also be armed with the facts if your employer's negotiated rate is not eligible.

If it's the direct-billing issue, which is common, the next time ask if you can pay the bill yourself and submit it every 10 days or so for reimbursement.

Did you give them your Hilton number upon checkin? Did your company negotiate a very low rate? I would call customer service to find out why. That's a lot of points to be missing.
This is not good advice. First place to check is your corporate travel department.

I would not
If it's the direct-billing issue, which is common, the next time ask if you can pay the bill yourself and submit it every 10 days or so for reimbursement.

It sounds like this is the issue. A direct bill is not going to be eligible to earn points.

The guest must be staying and paying in order to receive credit.

It sounds like this is the issue. A direct bill is not going to be eligible to earn points.

The guest must be staying and paying in order to receive credit.

Not according to the Hilton Honors Terms (as quoted above)

A Member whose individual hotel bill is billed directly to a company and the Member is responsible for authorization for settlement at check-out is eligible for HHonors points as described herein.


It depends on which type of direct billing arrangement it is if it's eligible for points or not.

Thanks for the response everyone. The company has negotiated special rate and we have around 28 people staying at this hotel. Although we have individual room bills, Hilton probably sends a master bill.
But technically individually we have to authorize the weekly bill and they do have our individual credit card info even though they dont bill us individually other than any extra charges.

Not according to the Hilton Honors Terms (as quoted above)

A Member whose individual hotel bill is billed directly to a company and the Member is responsible for authorization for settlement at check-out is eligible for HHonors points as described herein.


It depends on which type of direct billing arrangement it is if it's eligible for points or not.

Thanks for the response. Where do I find this document on the website?

Thanks for the response. Where do I find this document on the website?

Go to Hilton Honors and click on terms and conditions:
http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/terms.do
12.A Member whose individual hotel bill is billed directly to a company and the Member is responsible for authorization for settlement at check-out is eligible for HHonors points as described herein. However, group master-billing arrangements where charges for multiple rooms are placed on one hotel bill and billed to a company or common address or settled at check-out by one individual are not eligible for HHonors points. Incidental charges (those charged to a Member's room) paid for directly by the Member at check-out are eligible for point credit. Incidental charges billed to a master bill are not eligible for point credit.

Thanks for the response. Where do I find this document on the website?

Don't forget that the rate may not be eligible for points. If the company negotiated an extra low rate points are sometimes a concession. You'll want to be sure this isn't the situation before pursuing this further.

Thanks for the response everyone. The company has negotiated special rate and we have around 28 people staying at this hotel. Although we have individual room bills, Hilton probably sends a master bill.
But technically individually we have to authorize the weekly bill and they do have our individual credit card info even though they dont bill us individually other than any extra charges.
Arjun, what did your company say when you raised the issue? Once again, this isn't something you want to pursue if it upsets some contract your company entered.

So I have been staying at a Double Tree for the past 50 nights. The hotel bill is being paid by my company. I asked the hotel manager if I would receive points and status for my stay. He said I would receive status but not points. Has any one else ever faced this dilemma?
Do you think I could call Hilton customer service and ask them for an explanation as to why I am not being given the points?

Thanks,

Aj

365 days a year (about 320 of them business-paid), 20 years, and all of my points go to whoever pays the bills. Then again, I'm in public service (non-government).

Not according to the Hilton Honors Terms (as quoted above)

A Member whose individual hotel bill is billed directly to a company and the Member is responsible for authorization for settlement at check-out is eligible for HHonors points as described herein.


It depends on which type of direct billing arrangement it is if it's eligible for points or not.

Cordelli,
your statement (as quoted) is true. However, I guess I consider a 'direct bill' to the company means the individual guest is not usually authorizing the settlement at time of check out.

Their may be a few instances where the individual in the hotel is the 'person authorizing' the settlement at time of checkout, but don't you think this is a rare exception?

It really depends on the arrangement set up between the company and the hotel.

Thanks for the response everyone. The company has negotiated special rate and we have around 28 people staying at this hotel. Although we have individual room bills, Hilton probably sends a master bill.
But technically individually we have to authorize the weekly bill and they do have our individual credit card info even though they dont bill us individually other than any extra charges.

You can call hhonors to find out if it's a masterbill or not.

Arjun, what did your company say when you raised the issue? Once again, this isn't something you want to pursue if it upsets some contract your company entered.

I haven't spoken to my company about this. I don't think this is worth bringing up with the company, firstly because the travel part is handled my AMEX travel services so the company can't do much anyway. Secondly, because of the fact that its highly likely they have some sort of contract.

I wanted some clarity on whether anyone had received points when their company picked up the check directly.

Thanks all!

I wanted some clarity on whether anyone had received points when their company picked up the check directly.

For what it's worth, I can confirm that I have received points in this situation in the past.

Thought I'd add my experience to this thread.

I had a pricey stay in NYC that my company decided to direct bill. I knew this might be a problem with points so I tried to talk to the hotel about it. The problem was we were working long hours and a manager was never there when I was there. Finally on my last day I left earlier and stopped in the hotel. The manager didn't even have the courtesy to come out of the backroom and just had the clerk tell me no points.

I got in the cab and called the Diamond desk and they said no problem. I had 80,000 points in my account within 24 hours. I'm guessing that's because although it was direct billed, my rate was eligible.

Most stays should count, but I'd call the acct manager to confirm.

I think in general terms, a direct bill is an individual bill sent to the company on behalf of the guest, very similar to a credit card charge. Keeping guest identity unique is a simple thing.

However, when doing master billing, all charges are added together and sent in for payment. It may also include a negotiated rate or extras and maybe exclude program points.

Of course, this might not apply to all cases, but it appears to be a simple way to separate the two.

Best to talk to the reservations manager or group sales manager at the hotel in question. He/she can tell you what was negotiated in terms of points accrual.

I've been staying, for the most part, at the same Hilton for 3 years and have gotten points + stay credit. My room charges are paid directly by the client. When I charge incidentals, I get a separate bill under the door to pay (and I get points for those charges too)

There are 20 others on my project in the same scenario. I know for a fact that the client receives 20 separate bills to sign off on. Therefore, we are not on a master bill.

It really all comes down to what the hotel has negotiated, which is why I suggest you get to know the sales manager at your hotel if you're on a long term assignment.

To earn HHonors points for hotel stays, a Member must be a registered, paying guest at a participating hotel within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio and meet all of the conditions described herein.

aka ... if you aren't paying you aren't getting points

To earn HHonors points for hotel stays, a Member must be a registered, paying guest at a participating hotel within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio and meet all of the conditions described herein.

aka ... if you aren't paying you aren't getting points

... and in this case the hotel is being paid by the guest via a check from his company. All within the rules. If you carry the "paying guest" to the extreme, then using a credit card would invalidate getting points/credit since the credit card company is paying the hotel and you're not.

Being on a master bill (company, convention, or airline) or using someone else's credit card is what I believe they are trying to block.

To earn HHonors points for hotel stays, a Member must be a registered, paying guest at a participating hotel within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio and meet all of the conditions described herein.

aka ... if you aren't paying you aren't getting points


Did you not even read the rest of the thread? The terms very clearly (well at least I think it's pretty clear) allow for points if you are not the one paying for the room are quoted several times in this thread.

They specifically spell out in simple terms (though apparently not simple enough) which types of direct billing qualifies for points, and which type of direct bill arrangements do not.

aka read the entire terms and conditions before making blanket statements that are not correct.

If you fill out the Missing Stay Request form on the website...do they always email back requesting verification of your stay? Or is it an automated process (like Starwood) that sometimes generates points if the computer determines you are eligible?

Is there nobody else in that group of 28 people who noticed that they had 50-250k points missing from their account?

I see few scenarios:
- booking made by the company travel desk AND no HHonors ID logged in the system for each traveler. In this case, get your HHonors ID registered under 2 of the rooms.
- booking made by company at very-low negotiated rate, with no points. In this case I would ask hotel reception to print a folio of your room costs, incidentals, ensuring it includes your HHonors ID. Scan and email it to Hhonors and kindly request somebody to review this case. Worst-case they might say no. Best case --> 50-120k points + instant Gold Status.

Good luck!

Don't forget that as a part of many of these agreements (at least the ones we always worked out back when I owned a TA), there are comp room nights for every X room nights, and (as some up thread pointed out) possibly no points authorized.

Similar to this is when you get put into a room by an airline, should you receive points? Some would say yes, some no. Reality is that if I'm an airline, I want the price as cheap as possible and don't want points to be a part of the equation...

Best of luck, and as stated up thread, the DD may give you courtesy points (if the case is that they don't actually apply to this transaction...).