Jwebber57

Hey members,
I made a reservation at the Hilton Newark/Fremont in California for one night in march.

I just noticed in the email I have the option to upgrade rooms, (example for $10 more I can have a room on the executive floor, for $5 more I can have a room with a garden view)

As a hhonors gold member, do I get free upgrades, or is this E-standby just a method to ensure u get an upgrade

Please help!

gav0106

Hey

They will give you "preferred room" or one step up free on upgrade, the rest you have to pay for at a discounted rate. Ie as Diamond on e-standby I get Executive room free, if I want suite I would be charged $50 a night extra rather than the normal $100. Really depends if you want to pay, even then you are not guaranteed to get it.
Check your reservation the afternoon before you stay, they will usually change your room type as they allocated the day before people arrive. You will then before you get to hotel what you are likely to get, and you can ask at check in if you requested differant.

b1513

That type of upgrade is a NOR 1 upgrade. Some hotels participate in this.

http://www.nor1.com/. If you do a FT search using NOR1 there is a lot of information on this type of upgrade.

Welcome to FT Jwebber57.

Bobette

travelinfoo

As a Gold member, you will most likely receive only a one-level upgrade from the room booked. If you want a much better room, the NOR-1 upgrade option can give an inexpensive option. Just make sure you aren't opting to pay for a upgrade you would have gotten anyway, e.g. standard to deluxe ot corner room can be the expected upgrade. Don't pay for this upgrade.

If you take the NOR-1 option, because you AGREED to PAY for the upgrade, you will be put ahead of ALL complimentary upgrades. This includes all Diamonds. Paid always trumps free.

chad3

The NOR1 upgrade system "knows" that as gold or diamond, you would get a one step upgrade for no charge so offers that "upgrade step" at £0 or $0. Stepping up another room grade carries a charge in the NOR1 system and it usually is a reasonably good deal but (and this is the important point), not many properties I've stayed in will give golds or diamonds a two step upgrade unless they are really short of rooms at the lower end.
So, if you are happy with a one step upgrade, you can ignore the NOR 1 offer but if you have higher aspirations, then it's often a good deal

The interesting part though is when you get to within 24 hours... As a previous poster said, the rooms can often get allocated the day before. If as a gold or diamond, you get upgraded, you can often see that in advance if you click the "view/edit" on your upcoming reservation and by then clicking "room details". If you've hit the room upgrade jackpot, then the bonus is that the NOR1 offers then reset - I'm checking in to a hotel tomorrow where the upgrade offer was +$80 for a two step upgrade (to the third level of room) at the time I reserved..... Having now seen that I have an upgraded room, the upgrade to the third level is now only one step more and so the upgrade price has dropped to $30. THAT is a deal!

travelinfoo

I have been offered a paid upgrade to ER as a Diamond and no $0 option. That's supposed to be my default upgrade. There have been several instances where I have been offered a paid upgrade to my expected upgrade.

Miesque

I don't know if this is the best place to post this link but I came across a pdf detailing the whole Nor1 EStandby upgrade process just in case anyone was interested. I don't use it very much and I have one that I did for a four night trip to Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort which was a paid upgrade from a Junior Suite to a Two Bed Room Suite and was trying to figure out when the best time to know how successful that upgrade attempt will be since I will have to make alternative plans if it looks to be unsuccessful (I made the original reservation thinking it would just be me and since I had already paid a one night deposit I did not want to make another alternative back-up reservation)


http://www.nor1.com/NEWTRAINING/1.9a...20Pricing).pdf

vortix

Thanks for sharing...this is very helpful. Bottom line is that eStandby hotels are encouraged to process upgrades based on revenue ahead of anything else. The system itself appears to be simple in how it works. Revenue managers are responsible for setting and maintaining eStandby upgrade options. eStandby upgrades are reviewed 1-3 days prior to checkin, and upgrades are processed via the hotel's reservation software. By the time you check in at the front desk, available upgrades should have already been granted or denied.