The Policy:
Members of Hilton HHonors, one of the industry's leading guest loyalty programs, will receive Points & Miles(R) only when booking through designated distribution channels, which include Hilton Family proprietary websites, Hilton Reservations Worldwide call centers, Global Distribution Systems/travel agents, corporate travel planners and through hotels directly. The company noted that when combined with the pricing integrity standard, this will help ensure that the Hilton Family's most loyal customers will continue to favor the designated distribution channels. The company will be communicating to HHonors members the benefits of continuing to book through the company's designated distribution
channels.
The introduction of this strategy addresses the continuing impact of the Internet as a growing distribution channel. In 2002, Hilton
reported a more than 95 percent increase in total net and gross reservations on its proprietary brand websites over the previous
year. Online channels currently account for approximately 10 percent of the company's total bookings, with more than 75 percent
of that total coming from the company's brand websites.
Approximately 18 percent of all Hilton HHonors stays are presently booked through the company's brand websites. In mid-January,
Hilton set a single-day record of approximately $4.6 million of gross sales revenue from its brand sites.