escape4

Officially Hilton has not said so - you are correct. Unofficially, some bloggers said info was "leaked" that LTD will get preferential treatment for upgrades. My purpose here on FT is mostly information gathering: if they don't give better upgrades then fine, I will not speed up my progress to LTD because I will have no reason to do so, and if upgrades are more generous, then I will certainly do so. Some reports in this thread are positive, some not so much. Bottom line it's a mixed bag so far so the jury is still out!

lincolnjkc

I've found just being a nice person is far more likely to yield upgrades anywhere than any unpublished features for quasi-tiers -- I've wound up in a water-front suite at Fairmont and some palatial Hyatt rooms despite not even being a member of either programs (and for the Fairmont booking in a very sketchy way that I'm pretty sure involved arbitrage of multiple foreign currencies and I was not entirely counting on having a room at all when I checked in...long story). For LTD-specific benefits in particular since it's not published it's not something to count on, blogger leaks notwithstanding and as The Road Goes On Forever mentioned is something subject to phase of the moon/property's prerogative/the general mood of the front desk associate.

Given the relative "meh"-ness of most upgrade opportunities at Hilton properties (where upgrades are even a published benefit to start) I certainly wouldn't let a slightly better chance of an illusory upgrade drive my choices... but that's also easy for me to say as I'm already here...

escape4

Thank you for your perspective. From my experience, being nice AND having top tier status is what helps the most especially at brands such as Fairmont since you mention it. One or the other (status or being nice) is ok but both works the best at the most properties, that said it's not always the case everywhere of course.

I guess for you the choice is different as you are already Hilton LTD. For me the issue is whether I should stay at a non-Hilton and possibly get a better upgrade than the Hilton hotel, or "suck it up" and stay at the Hilton hotel as a regular Diamond because I want to speed up my progress to LTD. So far I am mostly doing the former which means my progress to Hilton LTD is slower than what it could be, but I obviously it's in my best interest to keep my ears open if I need to alter course.

hugolover

It would be a very small software update to add Lifetime to the main screen in OnQ. It's already in the profile showing "L", and shows as "LDIA" on the Best Guest List.

hfly

It really depends on the property and the agent more than anything (leaving ones frequency at an individual property out of this equation for a moment). I have been at properties that have never seen a LTD before, and front desk managers have asked to see the card "in real life" and they pass it around, and I have been at properties that probably see 2-3 LTD everyday. You can guess which ones give the better upgrade. Similarly, I have had agents (or perhaps their managers that have better reviewed arrivals) make a big deal about me being LTD without me saying anything, and properties where they literally are reading off a screen, and the agents barely know that Diamond is "bigger" than Gold.

worldiswide

Been Lifetime Diamond since the program was announced. We slmost never book a suite but Treatment varies and much of this is pre covid but Asia definitely recognized and treated us well...Beijing Waldorf Shanghai Conrads in Seoul Bali Tokyo Bangkok Hong Kong Singapore all received suite upgrades almost every time we stayed over a multi year time frame. Interesting suites like a two story in Beijing airport and river view in Shanghai and best location in Bali club suites..end wraparound suites in Bangkok Early check in and late check outs when needed.

US hotels not so much. Hawaii last December no suite upgrades and on big island no special treatment. Much US stays are in mid tier Hilton brands so nothing to really upgrade.

Europe varied in upgrade experiences but we also found that reservation manager do review incoming guest reservations and we received many welcoming messages and we do try to be that nice kind of guest that will yield good results for return stays so we are treated well in London. When we changed a reservation and the hotel was fully booked they adjusted the resevation in a day to make it work. A beautiful upgrade/price for a suite in Budapest Castle with the most magical view. Upgrades in Dubrovnik and Prague and Vienna.


Australia also very inconsistent.were there multi times per year.was upgraded to presidential suite once in Sydney ..junior suite over New Years one time which is the highest of high season in Sydney..and then sometimes no upgrade. NZ is too small a presence and too low end in the level of hotels Hilton has..with the exception of Auckland to really matter much. Waldorf in Jerusalem doesn't recognize anyone as special. Suite upgrade in Doha a couple of years ago but no upgrade in Dubai even though we had 3 rooms.

breakfast outside of the US has almost always been included whether we had 2 or 3 in the room.

Net net LTD has been a positive for us and keeps up loyal and coming back. There are old favorites we keep returning to and always on the lookout for new properties.

We are not resort travelers either as you can see our data points are mostly city properties so different types of perks to be had between city and resorts

GUWonder

Even on third party “opaque” bookings, the Hilton AMS hotel had been (more than) generous with upgrades and other at-hotel, Gold/Diamond status benefits/treatment even for those with (non-lifetime) Gold/Diamond status gotten by way of bank card status. My experience is that hotels which don’t have the “you are your rate this time” mentality (when it comes to their hotel elite status members) tend to be relatively better about status recognition and in not being miserly with delivering status benefits.

Oregonflyer

I have been LTD almost since the start. Great treatment in Europe and Asia. As noted, no recognition in the US, which is disappointing. I have asked multiple times, and have been told that all that shows is diamond, and Hilton as devalued that through credit cards and othe rmeans. I am with all those who wish that LTDIA showed on the reservation.

Hippo72

Why should a Hotel treat a LTD better than a non-lifetime Diamond?
I'd even see it as a disadvantage being LTD (for that matter) as the Hotel knows they do not need to be nice, you've already reached the highest status and there's no need to keep you happy to stay more at Hilton properties.
Or am I missing something?
I am still 3 years short of reaching LTD.

GentleGiant

Agree.

I would say that a Diamond with current stays showing is a bigger potential client than a lifetime diamond who doesn't need to stay.

lincolnjkc

So I'm both a LTD and a current head-in-bed Diamond (posting this from the Waldorf Astoria Caledonian in Edinburgh (where room rates have spiked over 1000% from when we booked for some reason) on my 50th Hilton night this year) and the business reasons for treating a LTD better than a Diamond and for not are roughly equal in my mind and cancel each other out.

For example in the "should column" I feel far less bound to Hilton now that I have no inherent incentive to stay within the portfolio to confirm status so a property that leaves me unimpressed is far more likely to push me to competing properties than it would have in the past. On the "shouldn't column" the status on its own isn't representative of current revenue potential.

Incidentally at this property I was greeted as a Diamond and while the anniversary my wife and I are celebrating was mentioned but no hint of Lifetime.

worldiswide

I find these comments very interesting. In our many years and Hilton nights we became friendly with hotel staff at different properties. They ..the good ones and there were many ..were very interested in customer perspectives. In discussions about award stay vs paid the best managers instructed their staff that award nights meant that it had been earned through many paid nights and these were top customers that should be treated well. I think the same about diamond vs lifetime. It was due to a sustained decision over many years that ltd was achieved. These are experiences outside the US where I think loyalty and or experiences might be more valued but I don't think it's all just here and now. So no we don't see it as a disadvantage and have been treated well in many properties some of which were outlined earlier. Ymmv

KayakingNow

Alternatively, a manager may think a guest with a history of Hilton stays, who no longer needs to worry about maintaining status, should receive *something* extra to motivate continuing loyalty and business. LTD since 2018, and I had >60 Hilton nights in 2021 and more than that already in 2022.

lorkers

A good point, although much of it is down to the manager having a clue as to what motivates a stay.

From my own perspective, I've finally achieved Diamond - the hard way, after lots of stays over many years.
And now I am, I've suddenly found myself looking at other chains, as I no longer have to count mattress runs to finally get that status.

Is this type of 'Tier Remorse' common?

Mind you, I really do wonder about the perks the managers offer. It has varied from Torquay, where you get two packets of biscuits, to Ealing, where only after asking do I get one free drink at the bar, to Victoria where I got the upgrade to one of the two rooms with a balcony on the top floor, to Cambridge, where the manager came out to welcome me specially, full suite upgrade, lounge access, free drinks, breakfast, you name it. But last week in Boston and they were just grumpy and nothing, no upgrades, no drinks, and no breakfast on the dubious grounds they were 'full'. Similar experience in San Francisco where after playing the really nice chatty card, the staff finally coughed a breakfast.

Consistency is not something Hilton do well.

lincolnjkc

For both my airline and rental car qualifications -- and hitting LTD in particular it was an odd...unfulfilled? feeling...It's like when I met my 1K qualifications for United last month it's like "what do I chase for the rest of the year now!?!!?!" just I know with that one it will reset January 1 an the "Will I make it again this year?!? panic will reset -- just with Hilton that feeling is permanently gone (particularly since the "x points after y nights" targets aren't particularly chase-worthy, IMO)

I appreciate the surprise that the lack of consistency delivers -- and I'm not being sarcastic about that. And sometimes a "nothing-grade" can be truly remarkable. I was "upgraded" from a Deluxe Queen to a Deluxe Queen - Castle View (on the lowest possible floor when I typically prefer high floors) at the hotel I'm at now... and while the view of Edinburgh castle is great I'm not sure in normal circumstances I'd really call it an upgrade, particularly since when I'm staying at a hotel I usually don't spend that much time looking out the window... except for the fact that the Queen's motorcade passed just below our window this afternoon yielding a spectacularly unique view to a world event. Sometimes the universe puts you at an interesting place at an interesting time by chance it seems.