Hilton HHonors - Booking same day Hilton HHonors Award reservation question

I have a question about booking a HHonors award reservation. For an upcoming trip to Whistler, I wish to fly into Seattle, drive to Vancouver, and use a HHonors award for a one night stay in Vancouver at a Hampton Inn. But my driving to Vancouver depends upon what time I actually arrive in Seattle. If I get in early enought, I'll drive to Vancouver, and if not, stay somewhere in Washington or Seattle area. Reason why I am not sure what time I'll arrive in Seattle is because currently were booked to arrive at 8 pm, and another person in my group is also scheduled to arrive at 8 pm on a different airline, but if either of us face delayed flights due to weather, mechanical problems, or lost luggage, then our drive to Vancouver that evening my be cancelled and we'll just overnight in Seattle area. But, if all goes well, then we'll want to drive to Vanocuver and use my HHonors to book our stay for the night. Therefore, I won't really know till we get there in Seattle whether or not we can make it to Vancouver. If we can, then I'll call Hilton to book the award reservation. But I know I'll need to produce an Award Certificate when I check in, which I will not have becasue it will be sent to my email and I'll have no way to print it off while traveling.

Or, can I simply make a reservation from Seattle airport, drive to the Hampton Inn in Vancouver, and deal with cashing in my award points there? I guess I've always booked in advance my award stays, and was able to produce my Award Certificate. I am just not sure how it works with a last minute reservation. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Sure, you can book the reward resv while on the road or even from the front desk of the hotel. I've done this many, many times w/no problems and it's never been a hassle without the printed email or award cert.

Of course, there's always a chance the hotel may be sold out but HH can help you find a place that has award nites avail.

When you call to make the reward reservation simply ask the agent to fax your reward directly to the hotel. This is very commonly done. Also obtain the certificate number and the reservation number for your own records.

I would also suggest that you have a second location in mind in case your first choice hotel is sold out that night.

Have a nice trip.

For a different reason, I walked up to an HGI recently and wanted to book an award stay on the spot (late afternoon). First of all, they said they can't do it at the front desk. I had my laptop with me, but the hotel claimed I couldn't use it prior to check-in (not true, turned out after I checked in that it had free wireless including in the lobby with no codes needed for login!) and told me I had to call. I called HH and got it all done, and was told they were going to fax the certificate. The hotel agreed to let me sign in, but later called my room and said they still hadn't gotten the certificate. I called HH again and the new agent said the first agent had never actually pulled the certificate! They finally pulled it and really faxed it then, and that solved it all.