HH website maintenance issues 2013
Jun 21, 2013, 4:36 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: PHL / NYC / PSA-BLQ
Programs: AA PPRO, Marriott/Hilton Gold, AMX-Plat, Global Entry
Posts: 3,109
HH website maintenance issues 2013
I've been more of a SPG/Marriott person the last few years but needing a Chip & Sign card and no FX, and having a week in Sicily late this year where two Hilton properties (Naxos & Palermo) would be good stays, I decided to get the Hilton Reserve card (bonus that it gave Gold status, too).
So, this is a long wind up to a combo post. Questions on how to work Hilton and a bit of a rant on their website.
I got the Great Getaway promo e-mail today and in clicking through, I say both properties show as (from) ~50GBP. Okay, that's better than I've been seeing before so I go to do a booking and I get the same 71GBP I've seen before. Doesn't seem that there's a Great Getaway to be had in early December (not exactly peak tourist season). Now I realize that promo rates aren't in place at all properties (although these are cited as having them) and for all dates. I haven't tried to scan to see how prevalent the promo rates are but this makes me feel that the inventory behind this promo may be a little weak.
So, I called HHonors to see if maybe there is a good rate but it's not loaded yet. Got through and nada. I ask the agent about points/cash and how do I find out about that. She tells me they field a lot of calls on that and she would be happy to put me through.
Now here's the rant part. This strikes me as a ridiculous system. I mean on SPG, I click on Points/Cash and I know exactly how many points and cash it will take to book a room. How come Hilton's website can't provide this basic functionality?
My questions are:
1) Am I missing something about how to find points/cash bookings?
2) Is my conclusion that Hilton promo inventory is thin valid? consistent or inconsistent with past promos?
3) Is it too far out to expect promo fares in December to be loaded?
Thanks all.
So, this is a long wind up to a combo post. Questions on how to work Hilton and a bit of a rant on their website.
I got the Great Getaway promo e-mail today and in clicking through, I say both properties show as (from) ~50GBP. Okay, that's better than I've been seeing before so I go to do a booking and I get the same 71GBP I've seen before. Doesn't seem that there's a Great Getaway to be had in early December (not exactly peak tourist season). Now I realize that promo rates aren't in place at all properties (although these are cited as having them) and for all dates. I haven't tried to scan to see how prevalent the promo rates are but this makes me feel that the inventory behind this promo may be a little weak.
So, I called HHonors to see if maybe there is a good rate but it's not loaded yet. Got through and nada. I ask the agent about points/cash and how do I find out about that. She tells me they field a lot of calls on that and she would be happy to put me through.
Now here's the rant part. This strikes me as a ridiculous system. I mean on SPG, I click on Points/Cash and I know exactly how many points and cash it will take to book a room. How come Hilton's website can't provide this basic functionality?
My questions are:
1) Am I missing something about how to find points/cash bookings?
2) Is my conclusion that Hilton promo inventory is thin valid? consistent or inconsistent with past promos?
3) Is it too far out to expect promo fares in December to be loaded?
Thanks all.
Jun 21, 2013, 4:57 pm
#2
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol, UK
Programs: HH D, Rad VIP, Marriott G
Posts: 5,357
Hi JMN57, welcome to the Hilton FT forum ^
A couple of things may be affecting your experience in trying to get this sale fare...
1) the website is going to be having some maintenance on the 22nd June which from previous experience may mean that some things are already being worked on or may not work... Details of the website maintenance is on their homepage but I have copied it below for convenience:
Begin Quote:
Maintenance in Progress -
We apologize for the inconvenience but system maintenance is scheduled for Saturday, 22 June 2013 from 2:00am to 10:00pm US Central Time.
During this time, you’ll be unable to do the following on the website or through our call centers:
• Enroll in HHonors
• Update your HHonors profile
• Book an HHonors reward reservation
These functions will be available again after maintenance ends at approximately 10pm US Central Time.
End Quote
So this may be the reason for some of the website issues...although many people report having many issues with the Hilton site on here when it is supposed to be working okay...YMMV.
In all honesty though, I believe the main reason for your issues is the T's and C's for the European Great Getaway offer have some small print that affects you: (see my bolding below)
Begin Quote of T's and C's for the EU and Africa Great Getaway offer:
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Currency conversions are an estimate and correct as of 31/05/13.
Offer is subject to availability at participating hotels within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio in Europe, Middle East & Africa, offer details stated herein, and the selected hotel’s booking terms and conditions. Applies to stays on select days of the week/weekend, which vary by location as detailed below. For Europe properties, book between June 21, 2013 and September 2, 2013 and stay between June 28, 2013 and December 30, 2013. For Middle East and Africa properties, book between May 13, 2013 and September 30, 2013 and stay between May 17, 2013 and October 4, 2013.Full non-refundable prepayment required at time of booking. Your credit card will be charged immediately for the total amount quoted for the entire stay as reserved and refunds or credits will not be issued unless otherwise indicated by local law and except in Germany where 10% refund applies to cancellations. Charges cannot be applied to other stays, services or merchandise. Booking cannot be changed. Must book at least seven (7) days in advance of arrival for hotels in Europe if booked before July 27 or at least three (3) days in advance of arrival if booked July 27 or after. Must book five (5) days in advance of arrival for hotels in Middle East & Africa, except as noted below.
Each hotel has a policy addressing cancellations and/or blackout dates that may apply. Offer not valid with group bookings and cannot be combined with other offers. Unless otherwise stated, quoted rates are per room per night, based on double occupancy and do not include taxes, gratuities, resort fees or incidental charges. Savings are based on standard room rates, except at the following UK properties, where the promotion rate applies to deluxe or executive rooms only: Hilton Liverpool, Hilton Manchester Deansgate, Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, Hilton Belfast, Hilton Dublin, Hilton London Kensington, Hilton London Tower Bridge, Doubletree by Hilton London – Tower of London, The Trafalgar, The Waldorf Hilton, Doubletree by Hilton London – Westminster, Hilton Brighton Metropole, Hilton Cardiff. The Hilton Minibreaks offer, which includes a second room for children at half-price, cannot be combined with this offer.
DISCOUNTS AND AVAILABILITY OF RATE BY REGION:
Discounts are taken from the Best Available Rate and the Best Available Bed & Breakfast Rate. Percentage discounts apply as follows and vary by geographical location of property and/or by brand unless otherwise stated by the particular hotel.
Europe: Participating Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Garden Inn™ and Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts properties are offering a 40% discount on the Best Available Rate and Bed & Breakfast Rate. Participating Hampton by Hilton™ properties are offering a 15% discount on Best Available Rate. Hilton Malta, Conrad Algarve, Hilton Brussels City, Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport, Hilton Florence Metropole are offering a 30% discount on the Best Available Rate and Bed & Breakfast Rate. Discount applies only to weekends (Friday through Sunday) other than for arrivals between 27 July and 2 September, when the discount applies seven days a week. Discount applies to participating Scottish resort properties on Tuesday through Thursday only, unless otherwise specified by property.
Middle East and Africa: Participating hotels are offering a 25% discount on the Best Available Rate and Bed & Breakfast Rate.
End Quote:
So I think you along with others may be trying to book black out dates or dates that are not on the weekend or within the period where all dates are valid? (although some hotels do offer the rate throughout the week which leads to confusion).
Also, when you get to the first page of hotel rates for the dates in question the special rate may not be visible...you need to click on the hotel (book) link and then it will show you the various rates for that hotel on those dates and list the great getaway rate finally...
Not great but hope these points help.
I'll try to post some screen shots of what I mean in another post and hope this helps as well.
A couple of things may be affecting your experience in trying to get this sale fare...
1) the website is going to be having some maintenance on the 22nd June which from previous experience may mean that some things are already being worked on or may not work... Details of the website maintenance is on their homepage but I have copied it below for convenience:
Begin Quote:
Maintenance in Progress -
We apologize for the inconvenience but system maintenance is scheduled for Saturday, 22 June 2013 from 2:00am to 10:00pm US Central Time.
During this time, you’ll be unable to do the following on the website or through our call centers:
• Enroll in HHonors
• Update your HHonors profile
• Book an HHonors reward reservation
These functions will be available again after maintenance ends at approximately 10pm US Central Time.
End Quote
So this may be the reason for some of the website issues...although many people report having many issues with the Hilton site on here when it is supposed to be working okay...YMMV.
In all honesty though, I believe the main reason for your issues is the T's and C's for the European Great Getaway offer have some small print that affects you: (see my bolding below)
Begin Quote of T's and C's for the EU and Africa Great Getaway offer:
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Currency conversions are an estimate and correct as of 31/05/13.
Offer is subject to availability at participating hotels within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio in Europe, Middle East & Africa, offer details stated herein, and the selected hotel’s booking terms and conditions. Applies to stays on select days of the week/weekend, which vary by location as detailed below. For Europe properties, book between June 21, 2013 and September 2, 2013 and stay between June 28, 2013 and December 30, 2013. For Middle East and Africa properties, book between May 13, 2013 and September 30, 2013 and stay between May 17, 2013 and October 4, 2013.Full non-refundable prepayment required at time of booking. Your credit card will be charged immediately for the total amount quoted for the entire stay as reserved and refunds or credits will not be issued unless otherwise indicated by local law and except in Germany where 10% refund applies to cancellations. Charges cannot be applied to other stays, services or merchandise. Booking cannot be changed. Must book at least seven (7) days in advance of arrival for hotels in Europe if booked before July 27 or at least three (3) days in advance of arrival if booked July 27 or after. Must book five (5) days in advance of arrival for hotels in Middle East & Africa, except as noted below.
Each hotel has a policy addressing cancellations and/or blackout dates that may apply. Offer not valid with group bookings and cannot be combined with other offers. Unless otherwise stated, quoted rates are per room per night, based on double occupancy and do not include taxes, gratuities, resort fees or incidental charges. Savings are based on standard room rates, except at the following UK properties, where the promotion rate applies to deluxe or executive rooms only: Hilton Liverpool, Hilton Manchester Deansgate, Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, Hilton Belfast, Hilton Dublin, Hilton London Kensington, Hilton London Tower Bridge, Doubletree by Hilton London – Tower of London, The Trafalgar, The Waldorf Hilton, Doubletree by Hilton London – Westminster, Hilton Brighton Metropole, Hilton Cardiff. The Hilton Minibreaks offer, which includes a second room for children at half-price, cannot be combined with this offer.
DISCOUNTS AND AVAILABILITY OF RATE BY REGION:
Discounts are taken from the Best Available Rate and the Best Available Bed & Breakfast Rate. Percentage discounts apply as follows and vary by geographical location of property and/or by brand unless otherwise stated by the particular hotel.
Europe: Participating Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Garden Inn™ and Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts properties are offering a 40% discount on the Best Available Rate and Bed & Breakfast Rate. Participating Hampton by Hilton™ properties are offering a 15% discount on Best Available Rate. Hilton Malta, Conrad Algarve, Hilton Brussels City, Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport, Hilton Florence Metropole are offering a 30% discount on the Best Available Rate and Bed & Breakfast Rate. Discount applies only to weekends (Friday through Sunday) other than for arrivals between 27 July and 2 September, when the discount applies seven days a week. Discount applies to participating Scottish resort properties on Tuesday through Thursday only, unless otherwise specified by property.
Middle East and Africa: Participating hotels are offering a 25% discount on the Best Available Rate and Bed & Breakfast Rate.
End Quote:
So I think you along with others may be trying to book black out dates or dates that are not on the weekend or within the period where all dates are valid? (although some hotels do offer the rate throughout the week which leads to confusion).
Also, when you get to the first page of hotel rates for the dates in question the special rate may not be visible...you need to click on the hotel (book) link and then it will show you the various rates for that hotel on those dates and list the great getaway rate finally...
Not great but hope these points help.
I'll try to post some screen shots of what I mean in another post and hope this helps as well.
Jun 21, 2013, 5:04 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2001
Programs: DL 1 million, AA 1 mil, HH lapsed Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 28,190
2. Yes. Points & Money is a promo rate. There's a sticky in this forum.
3. Yes.
One way to find Points & Money rates online:
From a search page...
tick the box for 'use flexible dates'
tick the box for 'use HHonors points'
click 'find hotels'
select 'view available dates' for a specific property
in the rate type drop box, select 'points & money rewards'; update
Last edited by 3Cforme; Jun 21, 2013 at 5:10 pm
Jun 21, 2013, 5:08 pm
#4
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol, UK
Programs: HH D, Rad VIP, Marriott G
Posts: 5,357
So here is an example for the Barcelona hotel:
When I put in dates on a weekend in Dec. for Barcelona I get this offered:
Initial screen for hotel choice by BA_pics, on Flickr
Which doesn't show the great getaway rate yet...click on book:
then, depending on hotel, you need to check if only the premium rooms have special rates attached...in this case the basic rooms do not but some of the premium rooms do...
click on book to see rates on some rooms by BA_pics, on Flickr
interestingly, this reduced rate is cheaper than the Euro 144 shown on the initial screen and also less than the basic room would be...go figure...
So, unfortunately, this is not as good or clear as it could be, however, with a bit of playing around you should be able to get the place and rate you want in a couple of days when the website maintenance is done...
Hope this helps. Let us know if you still have problems afterwards and hopefully someone will be able to help.
When I put in dates on a weekend in Dec. for Barcelona I get this offered:
Initial screen for hotel choice by BA_pics, on Flickr
Which doesn't show the great getaway rate yet...click on book:
then, depending on hotel, you need to check if only the premium rooms have special rates attached...in this case the basic rooms do not but some of the premium rooms do...
click on book to see rates on some rooms by BA_pics, on Flickr
interestingly, this reduced rate is cheaper than the Euro 144 shown on the initial screen and also less than the basic room would be...go figure...
So, unfortunately, this is not as good or clear as it could be, however, with a bit of playing around you should be able to get the place and rate you want in a couple of days when the website maintenance is done...
Hope this helps. Let us know if you still have problems afterwards and hopefully someone will be able to help.
Jun 21, 2013, 5:25 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: PHL / NYC / PSA-BLQ
Programs: AA PPRO, Marriott/Hilton Gold, AMX-Plat, Global Entry
Posts: 3,109
Hey all - thanks & also thanks for your generous welcome and response. As you all know, questions/comments like the one I posted aren't met warmly in some corners of FT so I really appreciate your help and kindness.
and yes - I did miss the part of weekend - I'll take a shot at a weekend booking to see if I can find the rate (my Dad used to say if you ordered the clam chowder at a diner, you won the lottery if you actually got the clam - looking for a good deal can seem like that!).
In reality, the prices at these properties are pretty good to start. I'm debating splitting some nights on points and others for $. If the rate gets low enough, I'd just pay for them all.
The BCN example helps. I am there at the end of July but staying at the Four Points ($55 +3500 *pts)
and yes - I did miss the part of weekend - I'll take a shot at a weekend booking to see if I can find the rate (my Dad used to say if you ordered the clam chowder at a diner, you won the lottery if you actually got the clam - looking for a good deal can seem like that!).
In reality, the prices at these properties are pretty good to start. I'm debating splitting some nights on points and others for $. If the rate gets low enough, I'd just pay for them all.
The BCN example helps. I am there at the end of July but staying at the Four Points ($55 +3500 *pts)
Last edited by JMN57; Jun 21, 2013 at 5:31 pm Reason: More info
Jun 21, 2013, 5:48 pm
#6
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SFO/SMF
Programs: Holder of six "persona non-grata" awards
Posts: 1,914
So here is an example for the Barcelona hotel:
When I put in dates on a weekend in Dec. for Barcelona I get this offered:
Initial screen for hotel choice by BA_pics, on Flickr
Which doesn't show the great getaway rate yet...click on book:
then, depending on hotel, you need to check if only the premium rooms have special rates attached...in this case the basic rooms do not but some of the premium rooms do...
click on book to see rates on some rooms by BA_pics, on Flickr
interestingly, this reduced rate is cheaper than the Euro 144 shown on the initial screen and also less than the basic room would be...go figure...
So, unfortunately, this is not as good or clear as it could be, however, with a bit of playing around you should be able to get the place and rate you want in a couple of days when the website maintenance is done...
Hope this helps. Let us know if you still have problems afterwards and hopefully someone will be able to help.
When I put in dates on a weekend in Dec. for Barcelona I get this offered:
Initial screen for hotel choice by BA_pics, on Flickr
Which doesn't show the great getaway rate yet...click on book:
then, depending on hotel, you need to check if only the premium rooms have special rates attached...in this case the basic rooms do not but some of the premium rooms do...
click on book to see rates on some rooms by BA_pics, on Flickr
interestingly, this reduced rate is cheaper than the Euro 144 shown on the initial screen and also less than the basic room would be...go figure...
So, unfortunately, this is not as good or clear as it could be, however, with a bit of playing around you should be able to get the place and rate you want in a couple of days when the website maintenance is done...
Hope this helps. Let us know if you still have problems afterwards and hopefully someone will be able to help.
Jun 21, 2013, 6:18 pm
#7
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol, UK
Programs: HH D, Rad VIP, Marriott G
Posts: 5,357
13th Dec. to get the rate I show.
Using 27th I get Euro 163 as well for this room and Euro 135 for basic room.
Sorry if this caused confusion, just picked a date arbitrarily!
Hope this helps.
Using 27th I get Euro 163 as well for this room and Euro 135 for basic room.
Sorry if this caused confusion, just picked a date arbitrarily!
Hope this helps.
Jun 21, 2013, 8:30 pm
#8
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SFO/SMF
Programs: Holder of six "persona non-grata" awards
Posts: 1,914
Jun 22, 2013, 1:54 pm
#9
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Washington, DC, USA
Programs: UA-1Kmm, AA-EX Plt mm-, Hilton Diamond,
Posts: 1,093
Points have vanished
I logged into my account and noticed quite a lot of points are missing. The service center claims they are running maintenance on the system today. I sure hope the points all come back!
Jun 22, 2013, 2:00 pm
#10
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: MKE
Programs: DL-MM-Diamond HH-Diamond
Posts: 3,218
I'm missing points as well. As soon as I read your pat took a screen shot of my balance from yesterday from another program, then updated it and poof, missing about 75k in points. Will wait to call at least I know what be balance should be, thanks for the heads up
Jun 22, 2013, 2:18 pm
#12
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol, UK
Programs: HH D, Rad VIP, Marriott G
Posts: 5,357
I copied the text from the website banner warning about the maintenance which was:
Maintenance in Progress -
We apologize for the inconvenience but system maintenance is scheduled for Saturday, 22 June 2013 from 2:00am to 10:00pm US Central Time.
During this time, you’ll be unable to do the following on the website or through our call centers:
• Enroll in HHonors
• Update your HHonors profile
• Book an HHonors reward reservation
These functions will be available again after maintenance ends at approximately 10pm US Central Time.
As this seems to be affecting the honours points side of things, I imagine this is why you are seeing the erroneous balance, tomorrow will tell...
Hope this helps.
Maintenance in Progress -
We apologize for the inconvenience but system maintenance is scheduled for Saturday, 22 June 2013 from 2:00am to 10:00pm US Central Time.
During this time, you’ll be unable to do the following on the website or through our call centers:
• Enroll in HHonors
• Update your HHonors profile
• Book an HHonors reward reservation
These functions will be available again after maintenance ends at approximately 10pm US Central Time.
As this seems to be affecting the honours points side of things, I imagine this is why you are seeing the erroneous balance, tomorrow will tell...
Hope this helps.
