Folks,

I am an SPG Gold, but have only the entry-level status in the HHonors programme.

I took a trip to South Africa last month and returned to discover that my credit card had been charged for a stay at the Jo'burg (Sandton) Hilton. However, I had cancelled that reservation well in advance of the date when I had been planning to stay there - so the hotel charged me for a stay that I did not make.

It took several phone calls, and several follow-up emails and phone calls before this got sorted out. I wasted several hours in total, which is significant to anyone, particularly to self-employed consultants.

No compensation was offered for this foul-up. I asked the London-based Hilton employee who served as a middle-person between me and the hotel, if there was any compensation available. She told me that the hotel would offer me an upgrade if I were to stay there in future. I replied that this was not particularly useful to someone who lives in Canada and who might never visit South Africa again. She replied that nothing further could be done.

I'm somewhat disappointed by that response. Perhaps it is simply my experience in dealing with SPG, but I would have thought that a global hotel brand had some discretion to make some sort of goodwill gesture to an occasional (and potential future) customer whose time they had wasted.

Was I expecting too much of HHonors to receive something (anything) as a token of compensation (points, transferrable upgrade, etc.)? As it stands, I have even less incentive to give Hilton my business in future, and some incentive to offer negative reviews of the HHonors programme to friends and colleagues.