Originally Posted by
attorney28
All of this does not take status into account at all so far. E.g. as a Diamond, you should receive certain upgrades anyway. I think that this will further devalue the top status. On the other hand, it does give a bit more flexibility. But they should really think about how to design this so that Diamond members e.g. pay less points for an upgrade to a suite because the difference between what they should be getting anyway and what they get by paying with points is smaller than for a Blue member.
I don't see how they could entertain such proposal, it's way too complicated. What if there is a status change between the time of booking vs. the check-in time? Remember elite upgrade is based on your status on check-in date, not when you book the stay.
In any event, based on experience with similar upgrade program under SPG, even SPG Platinum do not get a discount when booking confirmed Suite upgrade in advance and the SPG Platinum are entitled to Suite Upgrade in writing in their program whereas HH Diamond Suite upgrade is at best, an unwritten rule and So it's hard to imagine HHonors will go beyond what SPG offers.
If anything, I expect the Suite upgrade with Hilton HHonors using points to be more expensive than SPG, comparatively, because it appears, there is no capacity control on such inventory, which is already superior to SPG. But the money has to come from somewhere. Some of my experience with Hilton HHonors hotels which do Suite upgrade - their Suites tend to be amazing and what I would consider beyond a comparable "Standard Suite" under the SPG program. My guess is that's because Hilton does not officially has a Suite upgrade for Elites and they tend to have less small Suites as well - any available Suites tend to be larger or better furnished because those are usually sold for money. Because Hilton doesn't seem to have evolved to a point where they are using the definition of "Standard Suite" - an exclusively SPG jargon, my hunch is that under this new program, Hilton HHonors hotels would be forced to open up their limited Suite inventory for upgrade using points. And in response, hotel management would likely demand a compensation in points that is consistent with the cost of providing such award, which could potentially be sold for the value for several times that of a regular guest room. The key words here, if you read the new Upgrade awards carefully, is that the Premium Rooms and Suites awards appear to be free of capacity control as well, which I must say is a major departure compared to SPG - something guests must pay a premium in order to enjoy. As such, I am less concerned about elite upgrade dilution because chances are, the cost would be high enough that it would deter all except the most serious and inelastic customers.