Originally Posted by
tomj888
Well upgrades are a start. the entire "experience" has many moving parts: The actual location. Quality of the rooms. Quality of the staff and service offered. Those variables or static items are out of my control. Asking for an upgrade is within my control. While I cannot guarantee it myself, I can ask for it. My purpose was to understand how Hilton works with their upgrades from people on this forum. Knowledge is power, so the more I can learn, the more I can leverage that info into my experience.
See, I think I can "control" for the quality of my experience by selecting the hotel based on reviews, location, and what I know about included services more than by asking for or expecting an upgrade. Most of the time an upgrade is just more empty space I won't use. I also wouldn't say the quality of the hotel is part of the elite status.
Hotel elite status features the matter to me far more than upgrades are:
- Included internet and breakfast (I'm far more bothered by the travesty that is Hilton's domestic meal credit benefit than I am by anything else about the Honors program)
- Executive Lounges - a meaningful thing outside the US
- Access to swimming pools / fitness centers at hotels where those are charged services (common in Asia for instance)
- Bonus points for redemptions (love staying at Hamptons and Homewoods and then redeeming for Conrads)