brkandjfk

This may well be the case, I don't know. Our events were such that we never signed the hotel's agreements, rather the agreement signed was based on the language contained in our RFP for that event (sometimes with negotiated terms).

motytrah

I'm not entirely sure how an event is any different from a full property in terms of requests/infighting for upgrades and late check-outs. If anything, as sethb correctly pointed out, given the demographics of the convention attendees I suspect there was considerably less HHonors Golds and Diamonds to deal with compared to a simple busy day at the property.

Which bring me back to what the GM was thinking. I'm glad Anthony has taken up this issue for me. But disappointed that it appears that we're almost a business week later with no response from the property.

sethb

It's amusing to compare it with the convention I'm attending now, at a Marriott. I'm Platinum, and I suspect that out of the (1/5 as many people attending) there are several dozen higher-ranking members here.

arlflyer

They way they deal with it is Hilton tells the property to shape up or they aren't a Hilton anymore, simple. Do you think that these crummy properties that only get business from event planners, corporations, etc. because they have "Hilton" in the name would do as well if they suddenly became "Cowtown Nowhere Independent Hotel"?

Now, Hilton actually wanting to do this is a whole different story. If the properties are getting away with less, giving away less benefits, fewer points, etc. and still filling rooms, then who's to complain? It's a myopic point of view but only if they really think that loyalty is bringing them value.

JDiver

In the vernacular, ain't gonna happen.

arlflyer

As long as Hilton is selling rooms, nothing else matters to them. And why should it - they're not a charity. Right now, they're selling rooms. So I agree 100%.

Cymro

Sure, they're selling *some* rooms but there is a risk that they can be out-competed with status guests when properties fail to acknowledge benefits, or other properties feel that they are missing out by paying to provide benefits that their in-house rivals don't offer.

motytrah

Certainly if the conventional wisdom for HHonors becomes that Hilton is unable to enforce brand and program standards then the loyalty program becomes irrelevant in the booking decision.

I'm disappointed there hasn't been resolution to this. The handful of times I've had issues with SPG were usually addressed within hours, not weeks.

I suspect the reason for this is the GM for the property is interim and on the way out. Although I'm told the management company isn't changing. Maybe that's the real issue. More and more the franchisee properties are owned by anonymous investment groups with a Delaware PO Box (which is the case for this property). They hire a management company to run things day to day. I feel that when a property isn't run by the owners I think price and profit become the measures of success.

arlflyer

I think it is pretty clear that Hilton does not value loyalty to the same extent that other brands do. That is why their top tier benefits are not competitive with other major chains. So comparisons to SPG, Hyatt, etc. aren't necessarily direct. They have the numbers and we don't, though - and only they can say if the business model is working.

Pretty sure this is the case with most companies.

Hilton, either at the individual property level or the corporate level, would need to see significant adverse impact on their financials tied to customer service and loyalty issues before they effected any change. Until then it would be status quo so long as the numbers look good.

motytrah

Following up. The GM sent an apology letter, confirmed there was no reason to decline benefits and posted a decent amount of HH points. I consider the matter resolved.

Need

^

sethb

Nice. I'm still waiting.

BearX220

Good to hear, except it was your original impression that the same GM moved to deny those benefits, so I suppose the evidence suggests that Hilton corporate pressured him / her into line after your public complaint.

That's because rogue franchisees opting out of promos, reinterpreting or withholding elite benefits arbitrarily, etc. is a serious endemic problem across the Hilton system and it appears Hilton corporate can't do very much about it.

motytrah

Possibly. It could also be that the reply from the new GM for the property. My understanding from the event organizers was at the time of the event the GM was interim as well as the third GM in a 12 month period for the hotel.

The GM specifically quoted the following line from my message: "I can't figure out any logical reason why a standard full service hotel would want to aggravate customers over relatively inexpensive benefits."

My gut feeling is the issue is the franchisees don't run the properties like they used to. I know many hotels have management companies running the show now days. The actual owner may not know anything about hospitality management and may not care if they have a good reputation in the industry. In particular if the actual owner is just a hedge fund or investment group.

Hilton Honors Ambassador

Glad this was resolved and appreciate your patience while we got to the bottom of it. After working with the hotel, we learned that the confusion stemmed from the unique group booking that was made for the convention. The hotel was happy to post the HHonors points for motytrah. To confirm, it is not okay for a hotel to decide they aren't going to honor benefits, and if anyone else has a similar issue, please PM me with details! I'd be happy to look into it for you.