Hilton HHonors - Be careful what you select on the online reservations page....

I was just checking rates at a HI.

Select a King Room, best rate goes up 40 bucks a night.

While it is always nice, it isn't worth 40 a night.

I was just checking rates at a HI.

Select a King Room, best rate goes up 40 bucks a night.

While it is always nice, it isn't worth 40 a night.

Well, it depends what it is worth for you, ain't it? I don't mind paying more. And you should check whether or not the room size is the same or not....

Well, it depends what it is worth for you, ain't it? I don't mind paying more. And you should check whether or not the room size is the same or not.... as a diamoond, I am almost always upgraded anyway. I just want the lowest rate. Also, my stays are rarely more than one night. I have a good level of tolerence for one night.

I have noticed this also and often the handhicapped and the (smelly) smoking rooms go for less money.

MisterNice

as a diamoond, I am almost always upgraded anyway. I just want the lowest rate. Also, my stays are rarely more than one night. I have a good level of tolerence for one night.
Well, it depends how far you get upgraded. The cheapest rate will not always bring you into the room you like. And I prefer a King Bed to a Queen Bed and fourty bucks is not a subtantial amount on my 200 nights per year hotel budget. But I appreaciate that this is a very personal and individual decision.

On the other hand, I recently booked online at a HI in Portland and was charged about $25 less than the price quoted when I reserved.
I have 'king bed non-smoking' in my preferences along with 'high floor away from elevators' and did not notice that there was a surchage for this. Perhaps they gave me the discount because I did end up on the first floor.


Commander Bob
Would stay there again.

On the other hand, I recently booked online at a HI in Portland and was charged about $25 less than the price quoted when I reserved.
I have 'king bed non-smoking' in my preferences along with 'high floor away from elevators' and did not notice that there was a surchage for this. Perhaps they gave me the discount because I did end up on the first floor.


I Have the same preferences - I didn't know there was a surcharge for these preferences!

I Have the same preferences - I didn't know there was a surcharge for these preferences!
There is no SURCHARGE per se for those preferences.

The problem is that if you have those preferences, online it may not show you any rooms that don't fit your preferences, even if the only difference is the bed type and even if the rate is WAY lower.

(If the hotel is close to sold out of rooms with one type of bed, the rate on that type of bed can shoot up, while the rate on other types of beds that aren't close to sold out can stay low, because they want to "steer" people into the less demanded rooms. But if you have your preferences set to show only one bed type, you can never see that happening. So it FEELS like a surcharge.)

I thus have always had my preferences set to No Smoking but "any bed", so that it shows me all bed types, and then I can make the decision myself which bed type, balanced against its price, I want on THAT stay.

I have always found the Hilton website to be pretty transparent when it comes to prices. I haven't had a surprised yet. I guess I am used to the fact that when the hotels are listed initially, the quote rate seldom appears when the hotel is selected! Apart from that quirk, I haven't had a problem.

There is no SURCHARGE per se for those preferences.

The problem is that if you have those preferences, online it may not show you any rooms that don't fit your preferences, even if the only difference is the bed type and even if the rate is WAY lower.
I have my preferences set to non-smoking, king bed, but when I can't find a decent rate for a particular property I select the "No Preference" box on the web site. That seems to override the initial preference setting and shows me kings, queens, doubles, H-caps, etc. Most of the time it doesn't make a difference, but once in a while after I select the "No Preference" box a cheaper non-king room will appear in the rate quotes.

I do pretty much the same as PHLGovFlyer . I usually choose the cheaper room (sy a double) and request an upgrade to a King. I can't remember when I was stuck with the original "lesser" room.

[QUOTE=sdsearch]There is no SURCHARGE per se for those preferences.

The problem is that if you have those preferences, online it may not show you any rooms that don't fit your preferences, even if the only difference is the bed type and even if the rate is WAY lower.[QUOTE]
I have my preferences set to non-smoking, king bed, but when I can't find a decent rate for a particular property I select the "No Preference" box on the web site. That seems to override the initial preference setting and shows me kings, queens, doubles, H-caps, etc. Most of the time it doesn't make a difference, but once in a while after I select the "No Preference" box a cheaper non-king room will appear in the rate quotes.

We have our preferences set to King bed, non-smoking as well. When the website presents us with room options that are not palatable, we hit the "view all rates" hyperlink near the top of the page. The resulting web page shows us all available rooms, including double beds and smoking rooms. If there is a two double bed room available for $40 a night less, we will book it and hope that our status as Diamond members will get us an upgrade into a room type we prefer. Of course, there is no guarantee at hotels that are at or near capacity. I hope this message is helpful.

I don't think I've seen more than a $10 a night differential at a Hampton. For $10, I much prefer a king bed. But, what I want most is space. I've stayed at a couple HIS's this year and the $10 extra gets me a "suite". You just have to watch out since many of them are potentially noisy adjoining rooms.

With your preferences set, you will get a display of prices that Hilton thinks match. Once prices have displayed you can also have a greater display of rooms and prices by using the link at the top of the page to view all available prices. This will allow you to see if there is a premium for your particular preferences.

Well, it depends what it is worth for you, ain't it? I don't mind paying more. And you should check whether or not the room size is the same or not....
Tend to agree on the HI side, since most of my stays there are ultimately paid by someone else - its King bed all the way.

Of course if I am hitting a Hampton Inn on the road during a vacation, cheapest room other than a smoking room will do ;) .

I was just checking rates at a HI.

Select a King Room, best rate goes up 40 bucks a night.

While it is always nice, it isn't worth 40 a night.

I always ask for..or order on line...the rock bottom cheapest room I can get.

Being a Diamond, I always get upgraded.

I don't think I've seen more than a $10 a night differential at a Hampton. For $10, I much prefer a king bed. But, what I want most is space. I've stayed at a couple HIS's this year and the $10 extra gets me a "suite". You just have to watch out since many of them are potentially noisy adjoining rooms.I think I've seen a much bigger difference at least one place (and semi consistently): In Nashville, the best HHonors hotel rate by far (without going FAR out of town) often is the "shop & save" rate (or something like that) at Hampton Inn Briley Parkway, but it's only offered on one type of room usually (or at least the times I looked), and it can sometimes be WAY lower than any other rate. (It's a rate that gives you certificate that you then can redeem for a coupon book over at Opry Mills. Not much value in that for me, however, I don't care, if it's many $$ cheaper for the night!)

I think I've seen a much bigger difference at least one place (and semi consistently): In Nashville, the best HHonors hotel rate by far (without going FAR out of town) often is the "shop & save" rate (or something like that) at Hampton Inn Briley Parkway, but it's only offered on one type of room usually (or at least the times I looked), and it can sometimes be WAY lower than any other rate. (It's a rate that gives you certificate that you then can redeem for a coupon book over at Opry Mills. Not much value in that for me, however, I don't care, if it's many $$ cheaper for the night!)

Yeah, I certainly wasn't thinking about promo rates - usually a good deal whether you take the giveaways or not. Most of my travel is on business, booked through a Corp travel engine that seems to overlook rates that include a champagne breakfast or riverboat ride. Unfortunately, I have to take my pick from what the corp TA shows me.