Originally Posted by
Uniter
Maybe I'm confused ... but don't Golds get this same benefit? There's nothing about it in the T&Cs aside from the Diamond 48-Hour guarantee reservations ability -- but that's not for award res is it? I was under the assumption that the diluted benefits made gold and diamond equal in this regard.
It's the "Diamond Force" that makes the difference. No blackout dates for Diamond and now Gold, but if award inventory is gone, it's gone for a Gold. For Diamond, the Diamond Desk can make a "special arrangement". It might take a couple of days, but they will go so far as to actually purchase the nights for you.
I've had to use it once for the Cavalieri, and others have reported great success with this unpublished benefit also.
From my point of view, if you're planning on doing Hilton award stays (and why else would you be collecting points?), one stay to make Diamond is a real no-brainer.