We know Hilton devalues its points on a regular basis (sometimes pretty significant for low- or mid-tier hotels). On the other hand, it's still better than Bonvoy.

Best deal? Assuming a notional value of $400 for 80k points you have to be happy spending that on one night in a hotel room. Many people aren't... and couldn't care less if the headline price is $750.

It isn't illogical to assume that Hilton is crushing the mid/low range hotels precisely because that's actually where people like to redeem their points.

It makes far more sense to walk away from Hilton than to adjust to spending massive amounts of points (earned how exactly???) on really high-end hotels.

I of course don't disagree. I'm just pointing out where the best value is after these devaluations.

FWIW, my bill from 4 nights in Bora Bora was just the OWB upgrade fee (which I thought was worth it for a OIALT experience). Spend $0 on food/drinks onsite - bought them at the store across the water. Intend to do the same when I go back this year.

I'd argue HH pts are no longer worth 0.5 CPP. However, I just checked and Bora Bora has increased to 89k. I'd say that's worth $300-350.

But yes, I'm happy to spend $300-350 worth of HH pts in absolute paradise, when the alternative costs 50-70% for a normal experience.

Sorry, I meant to highlight the disparity. The first deal is ****. The 2nd good.

2 hotels observed:

Hilton Sydney: 55K to 66K
HG Singapore Serangoon: 20K to 36K

First one I locked in at 51K with 5 nights but was hoping it would drop down to 48K again so I guess it would never happen.

Second one, ouch! I did lock in good revenue rate so I'll have to stick with that.

I do see the devaluation coming given how they gave out points like candies with all those CC SUBs so my goal was to burn most before they become absolutely useless

I guess my remainder will be used in Turkey and Egypt in the future, that's if the properties are still low enough to redeem.

I watch this property quite closely because I stay there a lot. What's strange is that the cash rates went up between 20-30% for December-that is a shocking increase. This increase happened concurrent with the points deval within the last week.

Hyatt and Hilton were/are the only viable options for my Tokyo business trips, with Marriott, etc. having no footprint in Shinjuku. I've ended-up having around 525 nights at the Tokyo Hilton and 550 nights at the Hyatt Regency Tokyo, across the street, over the last 25 years. So, in my case, I am a virtual captive to those two chains in Asia, and I now stay mainly with Hilton because they treat me better than Hyatt. I've never been loyal to Hilton for the points.

Maybe you watch it more closely than I do, but it seems to me the cash rates have traditionally fluctuated quite a bit at Tokyo Hilton.
I do see that most Dec rates are at least 50,000yen + tax, which is quite high for this property. But keep watching it, and I'm sure it'll come down at some point (then it'll rise back up, then possibly come down or stay up as you get to within a couple weeks of the date).
But if you take a closer date, like June 24th for instance, you will see that they're going for as low as 28k yen + tax refundable rate (still 70k points, though, which is their new floor) which is close to some of the lowest refundable rates I've seen them go for over the past year.

My criticism of hotels.com was not so much to praise Hilton, but more so to highlight an important flaw of hotels.com, which is that reward accumulation is only possible if no coupons are used.
That to me means that I need to pay more in order to earn their rewards. I personally prefer to use a coupon for 10% off instead of banking the 10% in hotels.com rewards.
Argument for independent hotels definitely stands in many occasions - but those are the hotels that coupons always work on.

I hope you're right, and I am playing the waiting game right now. But those December rates are the highest I've ever seen in 25 years at this property-I always stay for a two week block in December every year.

I did the same as you and didn't spend much at the resort, but carried 4-12 packs of Coke/Sprite Zero and various food items e.g. tuna fish packets, pickles, condiments, Ritz Crackers, noodle cups, etc. in my luggage, and bought liquor at Duty Free in SFO instead of at Chin Lee supermarket. The only thing that I had to buy when I got to Vaitape was limes from one of the roadside vendors. A couple of the restaurants near Vaitape were outstanding e.g. St. James.

The resort is truly exceptional. Honestly, it's the best place I've ever stayed and better than the Four Seasons, where I also spent 5 nights. Bora Bora is way nicer than Hawaii, and the ocean swimming is the best and clearest that I've ever experienced-including the Maldives. I got 11 award nights in a row and received an excellent OW upgrade on my recent stay. The above being said, the dining leaves much to be desired. The food is definitely not 5-star quality.

Hotels.com is a loosing proposition whichever way you cut it...It's either 10% discount now or the 10% voucher in product in the future.
I always use cheaptickets.com with a standard 16% discount, or book with the hotel chain directly for elite perks and discounts.
Expedia, orbitz, hotels.com, and cheaptickets are the same company, with the same room rates and even same page layout...Just pick the one with the highest coupon discount, which should be at least 15-20%....

I think the only remaining value in HH is at these few 5k properties left (and maybe in Maldives in the upper end), other than that the program is in shambles...My plan is to ride this train wreck at the 5k properties until the wheels come completely off, which is not that far, lol...SHAME!

Loyalty Lobby has a list posted.

McDermitt, Nevada? Don't miss the mercury mine tour!

Doubletree Culver City, CA (LA): 40K->50K

Sigh..