Canarsie

I thought that in light of the recent major news with absolutely no known proactive communications from the Hilton HHonors frequent guest loyalty program, a thread similar to the Delta Air Lines and FlyerTalk: Communication Issues, Suggestions and Recommendations thread was needed here.

Let the discussion begin regarding the improvement of communication issues between the Hilton HHonors frequent guest loyalty program and FlyerTalk members.

beltway

A fantastic idea, Canarsie. Thank you.

I'll kick things off by noting some of the same concerns expressed in the DL forum. The official spokesaccount -- HHonorsRepresentative, presumably shared by multiple people -- is woefully absent, except when corporate decides to pitch something. There is extraordinarily little interaction with forum members, as can trivially be confirmed by looking at HHRep's scant posting history.

It's not just that Hilton seems to be disinclined to jump into the thread du jour. Even when specifically prompted (e.g., by a PM from me last night urging comment on the unfolding Premium Room Rewards issues discussed in the hot thread), Hilton's "presence" here is actually a conspicuous absence.

If Hilton wanted to do things really right, they'd take a cue from Starwood Lurker, who has to be one of the most engaged and helpful online company reps I've ever encountered. (For those of you who don't frequent the SPG forum, the man is everywhere, often showing up unprompted in threads to answer questions or take on unresolved customer issues.) If Lurker says something, you can count on it being true. He serves not only as a spokesman, but also as a sounding board, a troubleshooter, and a source of prodigious knowledge about the minutiae of the program and SPG properties.

Of course, few other companies on FT rise to that level, and I'm not so demanding (or unrealistic) as to expect Hilton to bring that kind of "A" game right away. Unfortunately, the truth is that almost anything from Hilton would be an improvement. So here's a list of what's sorely needed:

• Respond: When we send you a PM, or a thread with a title like "MASSIVE DEVALUATION OF POINTS" takes off, talk to us. A little information goes a long way. That makes for happier customers, which is what you should be aiming for, right?
• Advocate: Some things will always be judgment calls, such as which category a certain property belongs to. But other issues are very clearcut, such as the universally acknowledged problems with the Hilton website (starting with the endless necessity of re-logging in all the time for no reason). As a company, you should want to fix those things, because they cost you money (lost bookings, disaffected customers). Carry back problems to the mothership and advocate to have them fixed, and fixed right.
• Inform: When there's something that materially affects your frequent guests, let them know what's going on, and honestly. That can't always be done in advance: if the online reservation system is unexpectedly hosed and unavailable for the next 3 hours, a quick post on the subject would be a boon. For big structural changes, such as overhauling the reward charts or elite perks, we expect you to sugarcoat a little, but treat us like adults. If you want to bury the bad news at the end, fine, but tell us nevertheless -- and do it with enough notice (months, not weeks) so that the program doesn't end up feeling like a bait-and-switch.

mnredfox

Thanks Canarsie, I too agree it's a great idea.

Like beltway way posted, HHR is more absent than reps from say IHG, or esp SPG. I will admit HHR has done a good job clarifying promos etc.

But it would be a great to get more feedback on core issues like the Diamond force devaluation, and now the MAJOR devaluation with prem rooms. These are core issues that will drive diamonds (most loyal/frequent customers) to other chains.

I've always said that HH has acted like Delta in many ways (silent devaluations, sneaky policy changes, lack of customer engagement, marriage to Amex), and the lack of any proactive communication is one thing DL does that HH should not emulate.

Keyser

great idea canarsie....

i think we definitely need more involvement from hhonorsrepresentative....i'm not expecting them to be like the lurkers in the spg forum but they need to do more than they are currently doing at present....

sk3

Thank you for starting this thread. Last April when HH began their current program changes, also with no prior notice, I had started http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...sentative.html with the hopes of encouraging HH to take a more active role on FT.

With these latest, and most egregious changes implemented on October 3rd hopefully we can now ALL agree that the best course forward is to in unison encourage HH to utilize FT. And why shouldn't we encourage them to emulate SPG's approach - it's served SPG incredibly well over the years! HH needs only to read http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...s-program.html to see how their current model is a failure.

beltway

I agree. And to expand on that point, it's not enough for Hilton to have a Twitter presence instead; the issues and concerns we have need a long-forum medium, not one tied down by a 140-character limit.

beltway

Now that HHRep has made an appearance, let's see how s/he did:

Folks, there's sugarcoating, and then there's just plain sadly obvious Happy Talk that deflects instead of acknowledging problems. Don't apologize for supposed confusion; apologize for the underlying screwup. (This is like the gutless politician who says "I'm sorry if anyone was offended" instead of "I'm sorry for my hurtful and offensive comments.")

This is completely tone-deaf. It doesn't just read like a press release; it is a press release. When people are angry and upset, you might think about trying to mollify them by a) speaking directly to their concerns b) in a more natural voice c) that isn't so overloaded with Mary Lou Retton-chirpiness.

Here, quite frankly, I find it a challenge to be civil. Glitch? GLITCH?!? No, I'm afraid what we've had is a total failure of your rewards booking system for several consecutive days. Look, we get that IT failures happen; they make nobody happy, but eventually they get fixed, more or less. But you can't just show up several days into the disaster and breezily handwave it away as a "glitch." That's an insult to our intelligence, and an even greater example of tone-deafness.

It's almost beside the point that you don't even reach this issue until paragraph three.

Last:
What? You skipped right over some pretty key information, including

• when this "glitch" will be fixed
• whether properties will be required to designate a minimum percentage of rooms as standard, or otherwise ensure meaningful availability of Standard Room Rewards

Overall, I don't see any improvement here. You're still late to the game instead of acknowledging issues proactively. You hit and run, instead of staying (once you do show up) to engage and answer further questions. And your tone has the opposite effect from what you intend.

If you were to follow only one piece of advice from me, I'd hope it would be this: Find a more personal voice and style of engagement. Don't talk to us in PR-speak. If your IT people screwed up, admit it; explain what's really happening; and tell us when we can expect things to be fixed. And stick around to build trust in you and the program. It's a "loyalty" program, right? So work to build that loyalty fairly, not by sweeping our concerns under the rug and hoping we're too dumb to notice.

{despairing}

365RoadWarrior

Anyone making odds on whether/when HHonorsRepresentative will weigh in on this thread?

volklboy

"The physical plant determines the standard room"

or

"97,000 point twin-plus this" (with image of Mary Lou Retton)

Keyser

not anytime soon....

blackjack-21

Many on FT will remember Adam Burke's tenure as a FT rep. from Hilton. He was usually around to answer questions on here and via PM's to help out sometimes, but usually in a very timely and professional manner. Adam was on here for many years, a bit less after he got promoted at Hilton, but we had an email address where we could reach him at Hilton if needed. Adam moved on from Hilton a few years ago, and it's too bad that Hilton hasn't delegated someone to spend more time and effort reading FT and responding quickly to our collective and individual thoughts and ideas as the company representative the way Adam used to do.

bj-21.

mnredfox

When you bring back AB, please bring back RT, DSA, and a real rewards program.

hedoman

Great idea for a thread.

Repeating myself, but I've been diamond long before a published diamond level existed. Currently at 30 YTD stays, which is higher than my total stays for past five years. So, you can say I bailed on this program six years ago. I live in hotel rooms and pay from my own pocket.

When Hilton bought Hampton and whatever else, it was not difficult to predict that a downward spiral would begin. That Adam stuck around as long as he did was the only surprise to me. There is a group, or individual at the top that decided years ago the direction of Hhonors and that vision is now your reality. Kind of like taking off your shoes for the TSA, thinking it really can't get worse than this.

So have fun ranting and raving with hopes of a reaction. Hhonors is not a rewards program. It's a program that runs a worthwhile promo every so often. It's a program that should give you a room away from the ice machine.

squeakr

I think it's a great idea to have this thread. I've been traveling and just now got back so I'm just seeing it.


That said, I am all about "don't shoot the messenger." Granted the timeliness and lack of response has been and I'm sure will continue to be an issue on the HH side. BUT trashing the HHHonorsrep who is in essence a group of folks from the marketing dept is IMHO barking up the wrong proverbial tree. I think the most helpful way to work w/ them is to ask SPECIFIC TARGETED questions about when/what will happen.

Just my 2 cents .

Canarsie

That is a very important point.

The group of Hilton HHonors employees who post here in the Hilton HHonors forum most likely do not create nor control the policy of communication with FlyerTalk members and therefore may not have the authority or scope to significantly change that policy, if at all. What they can do is communicate the issues, suggestions and recommendations posted in this thread to their peers and superiors in the hopes that constructive policy changes occur for the benefit of all.