Keyser

i get that part but why offer a room for 2.5 times the value of the base room when (a) a base room is available or (b) the difference between the 2 rooms is only $20????

i agree with both points....

jpdx

Ime, in many cases, premium rooms will be available for just a bit more than the standard room, and some people may say, hey, why not go for the partial ocean view for 54,325 points instead of the dumpster view for 50k. So I'm assuming the good folks at HHonors show the higher rates on purpose to entice members to spend a few extra points on some of the "reasonable" premium redemptions. I doubt this is a smart strategy, because many people will be seeing the outrageous 181,536-type rates and perhaps think, wth, my points aren't worth anything. So showing the sky-high premium rates may erode loyalty, who knows? What truly befuddles me, however, is that HHonors hasn't found a way to suppress premium rates when they're lower than standard rates.

andysiz

I don't know if things have changed in the past few months, but way upthread people were able to figure out a general pattern in the premium room pricing -- instead of a variable value redemption like the standard awards (no matter the price of the standard room, the cost is X HHonors points depending on the hotel category), the premium rooms seemed to price based on a fixed value (either ~0.3 cents per HH point or ~0.6 cents per HH point), which explained both the bizarre amounts (like 181,536 HH points per night) as well as below-standard award amounts at some hotels (which underscored the particularly BAD value proposition of a standard award at such a hotel -- you would be getting less than the minimal fixed value per HH point spent on such a standard award).

SanDiego1K

I was looking at a hotel that ordinarily goes for 25K points/night. I'm going to be staying there two nights separated by 5 days. I found their penthouse suite for 10,500 points for 1 night and 198K points for the other. It adds an element of surprise and fun when searching for a property!

3Cforme

That's for coming back to report that, and have a good visit in Memphis.

HHonors online services are pretty buggy, and I mean buggy, unreliably responding to consistent commands, not just demanding an understanding of nuances by guests trying to make a booking.

Keyser

i agree....i think its a terrible strategy....

i guess its just a matter of time....

Need

Well I know that if a hotel has premium rooms available, Diamond cannot force a standard reward room anymore. I have first hand experience last year with Conrad HK. But now when I look at Hilton website it clearly did not mention anything about about it:

Do they just forget to change their website wordings? Or did they have a change of heart?

jasonvr

You need to put on your slimy business hat to see thru the wording. The guarantee is applicable when the hotel is sold out. If there are premium rooms available, then it is not sold out, regardless of whether the room type you'd actually be able to force (standard) is sold out.

mnredfox

Hence it is a major devaluation and this whole prem room thing is a scam to make the DSA useless.

jasonvr

And that would be why I am now down to Gold and trying to burn every last HH point I have to wipe my hands of them

Need

Oh.... I see now. Everything is so clear now.. wit this hat on. So even for paid stay, if all the rooms are gone except for the Presidential Suite, Diamond still cannot force a standard room, because the hotel is not sold out?

amanuensis

For Mother's Day weekend, I am taking the family to the Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Hotel. It is a Category 7 property so there are a few standard rooms for 50,000 points (all of which are just single bedded, so not suitable for families). But the premium rooms offered for the variable points were available for far less than 50,000 points per night when I made the reservation back in February. I got three nights for about 103,000 points.

I checked today and found out that the premium rooms now were even cheaper, for about 33,000 points per night. So I called Hhonors and they redid my reservation and I got about 4,000 points back. Plus, we are now going to be in a slightly nicer suite -- Partial Ocean View instead of Poolside View. The cash price for the suite is about $200 per night.

Just for kicks, I tried a reservation for a random weekend in the middle of July. The same suite then is $300 per night, but the points required have gone through the roof, to about 78,000 points per night for a Partial Ocean View suite. So the cash price difference between the shoulder season and the high season is about $100 per night (50% more), but the point difference is about 100% more.

etsmyers

So having never actually USED my HH points as I was hoarding them. I was informed of a trip to VA beach over labor day. Of course the premium is 109k per room per night. They lost out to the Sheraton, a steal at 7k per night with a guaranteed suite upgrade.

mnredfox

I think if you're going to where an SPG hotel is, that program is better as elite.

stifle

And don't forget that the Starpoints accrual rate is tiny compared to HHonors at 2/$ rather than 15.