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Originally Posted by Need
(Post 23062511)
I agree! But just to be clear, I am sure you meat Diamond force for standard reward stays. Because right now the hotel almost never ran out of the reward rooms...just that they are premium rewards!
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Originally Posted by jamesteroh
(Post 23051975)
I would love for Hilton to offer the 24 hour revolving check in like SPG has. It would be great for Europe flights were I get to the hotel late morning and will also have to leave late morning on my day of departure and for Vegas and west coast flights were I get to the hotel around 9 p.m. on the day of arrival and take a red eye home.
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Anthony/HHR - welcome to FT. It's great to see a better HH representation on FT. You already have posted a lot more than the previous several HH FT representatives. One of the gripes in the HH forum over the years is how silent HH seems to be from a corporate level, esp given the responsiveness of reps from other brands (eg SPG, Hyatt, etc).
I too would be interested in a lifetime program, but I know others are more passionate about that. For me, I've been a HH Diamond for probably the last 8+ years, but have significantly decreased my stays with HH to stay at Hyatt's and IHG hotels. I love the Hilton brand, but here are my reasons why I have shifted away (if Hilton changes these, I would strongly consider changing): 1. Lack of real special value to Diamond over Gold (especially with the loss of the Diamond Special Arrangement and introduction or prem rooms - which most FT-ers call a scam to eliminate the DSA) 2. Lack of real UG's. To be honest, an UG to me is a suite, not on the Exec Level. If I get access to the Exec club, I don't care what floor I'm on. Hyatt gives out suite certs - I'd like Hilton to do something like this too. But to be honest I get UG's about 50% of the time at Hyatt's without even using a cert. And I get Ug's at IHG hotels about 75% the time as a plat which is easier than HH Diamond to reach. 3. Lack of late check-out. One of the biggest reasons I keep staying at Hyatt's is my 4pm guaranteed checkout (IHG RA has this too). I hate fighting every Hilton hotel for a late checkout of 1-2pm. It makes me seem like I'm the bad guy asking all the time. 4. I would love if you go back to the RT Calendar. HH said they changed it because of customers, but I tend to not believe it. It was better for us as customers in flexibility to qualify, and better for you to keep customers at HH hotels. |
Hi everyone! Glad to be back in business. Thank you all for your patience while I was out.
Just to keep this response as concise as possible, please note that I gathered all of your feedback and I'm sharing this with my team each week. Not one bit of constructive feedback is going unnoticed, so if I don't reply to each individual comment, just know that I am reading everything and adding to my reports.
Originally Posted by Need
(Post 23030347)
Anthony,
When a Diamond member called and reserve a reward stay under someone else name, would that person receive Diamond benefits for the stay? I have done that many times and it seems that every time they would receive Diamond benefits. And even the confirmation email will show HHONORS Status: Diamond, Jane Smith. Since there is no way to tell if Jane Smith has any HHONORS status, does the system just take my status as the default one? Or it just assume that Jane Smith has no status at all? But that wouldn't make sense because all my family members and friends got Diamond status during their stay. Thanks.
Originally Posted by PDXPremier
(Post 23030782)
Why does the Hilton Customer Care team seem to have zero clue about the (now expired) AMEX Platinum Hilton Gold promotion? Despite having the card and calling in (now months ago) to register, my account was never upgraded (and it seems I'm not the only one).
I've since given up calling and emailing about it since it is now June and no upgrade, but I wanted you to be aware that the customer care folks responding to emails about this seem to be clueless about this promotion (even after I've sent them old links with specific details).
Originally Posted by miasmal
(Post 23048600)
I believe you had to call AMEX for the promo - not Hilton.
Originally Posted by underpressure
(Post 23044704)
Anthony, one thing I wondered about is the decision for H2S to have 50% of the HHonors points.
I suppose I could understand it for long term stays but I would bet a milkshake the majority of the stays are for 2 nights or less. Tonight and tomorrow, I am at a StayBridge Suite, next to an H2S for that very reason.
Originally Posted by mudbug31
(Post 23044850)
I certainly agree that it would be quite nice if H2S stays earned 10 points per dollar--perhaps something to add to the list for feedback, Anthony?
Originally Posted by jsmith50
(Post 23049558)
Anthony, can you comment on how Hilton tests their internet signals? I've noticed in many, many, many properties that if I have a room near the center of the hotel or near the elevators that my WiFi signal is strong, however, if I have a room toward the ends of the hall (and my profile preference is high floor away from elevators so not uncommon for me to get one of the last few rooms on a hallway) my signal is poor and often I have to plug in to the ethernet port in the room to get a serviceable signal. This used to be a problem in many of the Marriott properties where I stayed (before becoming Hilton loyal) and they seem to have remedied the issue by adding signal repeaters throughout the properties in many locations. Any word if Hilton has a standard policy on addressing these far corners of the hotels?
Thanks. JS
Originally Posted by jefftiger
(Post 23049730)
I've had similar thoughts about the location of the access point. I also have a preference for a "high floor, away from elevator" and this is where I'm typically placed. I wonder if this is a reason for the slow internet speeds that I've experienced at one property. As the HHonors Rep suggested, I did send a note to [email protected] about my experiences at the property and I received an e-mail today from the front office manager at that property. We're going to meet when I'm there next week to look into my slow internet issue.
Originally Posted by Bluefan75
(Post 23055315)
I see someone else commented on it, but must have gotten lost in all the other posts to respond to: Is there any movement on getting a credit card in Canada? We have gold status, but have to do so by nights, because we have no option. It really does suck knowing people who live no more than 100 miles away can have the same status as us without needing to stay at your hotels as often as we do, just by virtue of having a credit card we can't get.
Originally Posted by ptownca
(Post 23058877)
I'll second that!. Give him a raise.
Originally Posted by mnredfox
(Post 23065943)
4. I would love if you go back to the RT Calendar. HH said they changed it because of customers, but I tend to not believe it. It was better for us as customers in flexibility to qualify, and better for you to keep customers at HH hotels.
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Anthony Welcome to FT. Will appreciate a clear response on the Diamond Guaranteed benefits from Hilton- I and a lot of other members here spend 100+ nights in your properties annually and personally I am coming to 50 now this year- and I still have to depend on the whims and fancies of the property to be upgraded to a suite.
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Dear Anthony,
welcome from my side as well. Many of us expected you earlier here. But better late than never ;) As a former long time Diamond VIP, who has been irritated by the devaluation of the program, I am still a fan. Hilton HHonors has been my first hotel loyality program, and I appreciate the team spirit and many beautiful hotels at superb locations, and consider to go for Diamond again, but have concerns as follows. 1) The coverage in Central Europe is relatively poor and this reduces the chances for European members (except UK) or members staying in Europe (except UK) to stay at Hilton group hotels and to earn points. Look at Germany (France even worse). We are the no. 1 economy and the leading manufacturing country in Europe and Hilton concentrates its activities on a few destinations only (Berlin 3x - Frankfurt/Main+Mainz 5x, thereof 2x at the airport/ICE station in the same facility - Munich 3x, one at the airport). These out of 17 in total. No hotel left in Germany´s biggest agglomeration, "Ruhrgebiet" = Ruhr Region (legally "Regionalverband Ruhr", part of federal state ("Bundesland") NRW), 5,1 Mio. inhabitants on 4.435 sq km, 1.158 inhabitants per sq km, 5th biggest agglomeration in Europe. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhrgebiet https://translate.google.de/translat...-text=&act=url http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regionalverband_Ruhr https://translate.google.de/translat...-text=&act=url http://www.metropoleruhr.de/en/start/ Don´t mix it up with Dusseldorf, Cologne, Bonn - cities where Hilton has got hotels. It has nothing to do with Ruhrgebiet. Maybe looking on the map you think it is near. Driving from Dusseldorf or Cologne which is also NRW to locations like Dortmund cost you one hour in times of no traffic (70-90 km distance) and 1,5 to 2h during rush hours. Your last hotel there was Hilton Dortmund, you gave it up, it is a Radisson blu now. This region is full of business, I go there every 2-3 weeks, and I do not know who (and why!) in your company decided to not consider it as location for Hamptons, Garden Inns, Double Trees, or even Hiltons (Essen!). As well major other parts of Germany are left uncovered by your group. Since Bremen was reflagged as Radisson blu, not one Hilton Group Hotel left in Northern Germany, Hamburg never has seen one in its life I believe. Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Heidelberg, Mannheim region - nothing. Stuttgart Garden Inn is the only one in that greater region and often full. You have wonderful hotels indeed in tourist destinations such as Dresden, Berlin, and exceptional new ones like "The Squaire" at FFM Airport (congratulations). But don´t forget Germany is not alone a tourist destination for our highly esteemed friends from US but also daily business for many people working and living here who must stay in the neighbourhood of their next day´s meetings to not loose too much time in traffic. Referring to Hilton HHonors program this means for members in Germany a major disadvantage compared to other regions like UK which is full of Hiltons or compared to other chains like Marriott (29 hotels in Germany), Starwood (26), IHG (71), Accor (340). The situation makes it difficult to increase the no. of stays at Hilton group hotels to balance out the results of the devaluation. 2) The luxury segment. Your company has built or collected wonderful hotels at prime locations like WA Berlin, WA Amsterdam, Trianon Palace Versailles, Rome Cavalieri, Conrad Algarve, etc. Looking from outside but observing the hotel industry I think the strategy is right. Related to Hilton HHonors program and considering the increased no. of luxury properties wordwide wearing WA and Conrad brands I would recommend a status level above or beside Diamond which guarantees the holder benefits during stays at those categories. For example comp full buffet breakfast, access to executive lounge and upgrades to best available rooms or suites, late checkout. That could be a concept like IHG´s Ambassador or Royal Ambassador but more standardized in terms of guaranteed benefits (Amb do not get comp breakfast, RA may be upgraded to lounges, may get comp breakfast). It could include WA only, or additionally Conrad (which is now handled same as Hilton brand in terms of Diamond benefits). That would mean Conrad guests would not get the benefits anymore as Diamond only but with the new card. These savings in the program could be used to finance the additional WA benefits. Plus a yearly fee for the card (Amb like). The highest level you get only with a certain no. of stays at WA or Conrad hotels (RA like). 3) Rewards stays. The amount of HH points needed for stays in the highest hotel categories (80.000 or more) has become too much. Collecting many points might be easier for those in countries full of your hotels or with Hilton credit cards. If I stay 5 times at (at minimum two) LHW properties as member (small fee for the Leaders Club card) I get one free night certificate, comp breakfast, upgrade, one cert rewardable per stay. As LHW Unlimited member (to be paid 1.200$ p.a., but from a no. of stays on it fully pays back), I get one cert after 4 stays at 2 properties, guaranteed upgrades, comp breakfast, three certs rewardable per stay. LHW has got properties with a rate from Euro 100/150 to 200 per night on (partly also at prime locations). At WAs I might pay same or more per night but need 16 stays at a WA as Diamond (250$ x 20) no double points promotion and 10-11 stays (250$ x 30) with double points promotion (for an 80.000 points reward night). Hope you have the excecutive floor´s ear for all our ideas and comments here. As well you should report from time to time about their reactions or planned future actions on our thoughts and wishes. Have a nice Sunday. Best regards Martin |
Does one get full status points/stay/night credit with travel agent booking?
This answer to this question, from my perspective, is not as obvious as it seems.
On the HHonors web site, it does state what type of stays are not eligible for such credits? Obviously, the issue of opaque travel booking sites, such as priceline or hotwire, comes to mind. It is not clear to me whether one does or one does not get full credit (and also the benefits of top tier HHonors status, if one has that status - such as myself - I have HHonors gold status) if one books a stay at a Hilton family of hotels either via a travel agent, or via a "transparent" travel booking site like expedia. |
Originally Posted by miasmal
(Post 23048600)
I believe you had to call AMEX for the promo - not Hilton.
On a lighter note, this situation reminded me of the old John Grisham movie "The Rainmaker" when the policy of the insurance company was "DENY ALL CLAIMS!" :) |
Originally Posted by HHonorsRepresentative
(Post 23068617)
Hi everyone! Glad to be back in business. Thank you all for your patience while I was out.
Just to keep this response as concise as possible, please note that I gathered all of your feedback and I'm sharing this with my team each week. Not one bit of constructive feedback is going unnoticed, so if I don't reply to each individual comment, just know that I am reading everything and adding to my reports. Good question. Let me double check and I'll get back to you soon. Sorry to hear you experienced issues with this. I understand you've given up on emailing/calling, but if you are able to PM me with additional details (your name, HHonors number, and email, as well as any helpful details about this offer), I'd be happy to look into it. I'm on it! Hi there, apologies for these internet issues. I am really only able to comment from an HHonors perspective, so I would not be the best person to get clarity around this particular issue. However I'd recommend sending an email to [email protected], as some others have had recent success there. Best of luck! Excellent! Glad you have been able to get in-touch with the front office manager. Good luck with the internet issues! Thanks for sharing this. I am personally not aware of anything at the moment but I will ask around and if I learn of more I will be sure to let you know. I'm DEFINITELY collecting this feedback. ;) Hi mnredfox, thanks for this. I've gathered all your feedback, but can you explain what you mean by RT Calendar? I'm still learning the FlyerTalk lingo! :) |
Another suggestion is to retrain your properties in the HH program, especially when it comes to giving out upgrades.
I have travelled with Gold's before who have gotten better upgrades than me staying the same nights at the same properties and other diamonds have reported the same issue. A gold shouldn't be receiving a better upgrade than a diamond staying the same nights at the same property |
Originally Posted by ashkale
(Post 23070101)
Anthony Welcome to FT. Will appreciate a clear response on the Diamond Guaranteed benefits from Hilton- I and a lot of other members here spend 100+ nights in your properties annually and personally I am coming to 50 now this year- and I still have to depend on the whims and fancies of the property to be upgraded to a suite.
Complimentary room upgrades are based on several factors that certainly depend on the property. In short, upgrades are based on availability for the entire stay at the time of check-in. Upgrades for Diamond HHonors guests may include the next-best available room from the room type booked. Upgrades may also be rooms with desirable views, corner rooms, rooms on high floors, rooms with special amenities or rooms on Executive Floors, as identified by each property. If you are a Diamond HHonors guest, you will receive complimentary access to the Executive Floor Lounge, even if you do not receive a room upgrade to the Executive Floor. There are some exclusions for room upgrades based on rate and room type, and I'd point you here to learn more (particularly if you go to the "Diamond Elite Membership" portion of these terms). I know that is a lot of info, so if there is a particular part of our policy that you'd like me to clarify let me know.
Originally Posted by submonte
(Post 23076210)
Dear Anthony,
welcome from my side as well. Many of us expected you earlier here. But better late than never ;) Hope you have the excecutive floor´s ear for all our ideas and comments here. As well you should report from time to time about their reactions or planned future actions on our thoughts and wishes.
Originally Posted by FlyerGoldII
(Post 23076240)
This answer to this question, from my perspective, is not as obvious as it seems.
On the HHonors web site, it does state what type of stays are not eligible for such credits? Obviously, the issue of opaque travel booking sites, such as priceline or hotwire, comes to mind. It is not clear to me whether one does or one does not get full credit (and also the benefits of top tier HHonors status, if one has that status - such as myself - I have HHonors gold status) if one books a stay at a Hilton family of hotels either via a travel agent, or via a "transparent" travel booking site like expedia.
Originally Posted by PDXPremier
(Post 23078594)
Thanks for the offer to look into it, but I really have let Hilton/AMEX win this one....lots of wasted time. I just thought you may want to pass on the promotion information to customer care since they seemed unaware and have probably been dealing with others like myself who never received the promised upgrade.
Originally Posted by ILovetheReds
(Post 23081365)
Another suggestion is to retrain your properties in the HH program, especially when it comes to giving out upgrades.
I have travelled with Gold's before who have gotten better upgrades than me staying the same nights at the same properties and other diamonds have reported the same issue. A gold shouldn't be receiving a better upgrade than a diamond staying the same nights at the same property |
Originally Posted by HHonorsRepresentative
(Post 23082467)
Sure, I'd be happy to elaborate! I find this page to be most helpful in outlining Diamond benefits.
^ I'm not sure that page is up to date. It lists Diamond as 28 stays and Gold as 16 stays, and this changed to 30 and 20 awhile ago. Also, the room upgrade benefit was enhanced in 2012 I believe to also include suites and that language doesn't reflect that. Just wanted to point those out. |
Originally Posted by Michael19887
(Post 23082616)
Hi Anthony,
I'm not sure that page is up to date. It lists Diamond as 28 stays and Gold as 16 stays, and this changed to 30 and 20 awhile ago. Also, the room upgrade benefit was enhanced in 2012 I believe to also include suites and that language doesn't reflect that. Just wanted to point those out. |
Originally Posted by ILovetheReds
(Post 23081365)
Another suggestion is to retrain your properties in the HH program, especially when it comes to giving out upgrades.
I have travelled with Gold's before who have gotten better upgrades than me staying the same nights at the same properties and other diamonds have reported the same issue. A gold shouldn't be receiving a better upgrade than a diamond staying the same nights at the same property |
Originally Posted by ashkale
(Post 23083520)
2nd that, also can you clarify why your properties make the rooms available for sale right up to midnight which you specifically deny are available when asked for upgrade. Why cant we have suite certs etc, is it hard to copy positives from similar programs- unless ofcourse you want us to move to those programs:D
And the suite upgrade certs would be great for vacation travel. It would be a great benefit to offer diamonds and keep your benefits in line with the competition's diamond benefits and wouldn't cost Hilton a penny |
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