mnredfox

I like that term , "genuine UG". Today I was upgraded from two double beds to a queen bed. Whoop de whoop.

Zeeb

I should be clear I'm not attacking people who do call in - if it works then why not go for it? All power to you. It just isn't something I feel comfortable doing.

GentleGiant

if I worked in a hotel and somebody called me asking for an upgrade, they would go to the bottom of the pile. LOL

baccarat_king

Why? Those who ask for things, often receive. My favorite quote from a loyalty person (forgot the exact person); "you know when you have "maximized" your benefits when they finally say "NO!""

why is that? To punish those who are proactive? So much customer service these days is handled improperly. Unfortunately, the customers or clients need to check and double check to make sure even the simplest things are handled correctly.

Personally, I do not call. I do note requests and email additional requests. My requests are usually quite simple, but I tend to judge the service at properties with regard to the little things. If I'm checking in late, I'll often request a large bottle of sparkling water and ice to be in the room. (of course, I will pay for this)

sethb

That's why you don't work for a hotel.

treppenlaeufer

My experiences and knowledge of the Hilton chain are entirely based on European properties.

I do know of staff withinsome reputable hotels within the Hilton chain that will "downgrade" your priority for upgrades when seeming a little too interested/keen. Booking lowest price room and requesting a top suite with champagne for the partner due to birthday/anniversary/promotion/having had a great holiday is a very common request in some properties, and could not always work in customer's favour.

Other properties certainly are very accomodating.

However, as a relatively low key Diamond (maybe 40 stays/year) I rarely contact hotels before, but have had a string of impressive upgrades and treats over the last 2 years nonetheless.

baccarat_king

My "method" has always been to not look like you want "something for nothing." When I am genuinely celebrating an occasion perks are often NOT an option. (they are a REQUIREMENT) I'll let the property know; but I'll also request things and give them my credit card # and tell them to charge me. For example, if I really want a arrival bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine, I'll say just that and request they put on my credit card. Why? Because if I'm celebrating, I'm not cheap. I do not only want the Champagne if it is FREE; I want it to celebrate with my SO.

Amazingly, or perhaps not, 70% of the time it winds up being comp'ed.

Perhaps, if you seem like you genuinely are interested in having an exemplary stay; hotel properties "get it."

slidergirl

My eyes roll immediately when I used to get the phone call; "My name is John Doe and I'm a HHonors diamond." The old comment added to a reservation of "please upgrade to suite per Diamond status" when someone booked the lowest level of room was always good for a chuckle. I once saw a comment of "always receive a suite upgrade at this hotel." I had no instructions nor directions from my management on who to upgrade. I started not looking at the folios and comments when I would start the upgrade blocking; I would do it strictly by what was available on check-in day for the entire length of stay (I did the upgrades the night before). It was the most even method available so those who beg and whine were on equal footing with those who did not ask. The reason some Golds would be upgraded instead of some Diamonds was strictly a consequence of availability and stay length. I always considered it an insult that someone thought I didn't have the intelligence and tools to appropriately and correctly dole out upgrades to my HHonors guests without waving his/her status in my face. As for phoning/emailing the GM to get the upgrade - I will say that I have never had the GM or his/her assistant come down to people blocking the rooms and say "John Doe called/email me to be sure he gets a suite upgrade." I've said before that, when confronted by someone who is pushing back because he/she did not get an upgrade, I would have loved to shown them the tape chart on the terminal and have them show/tell me who I needed to bump out of a room to give them something that I don't have available. Everyone needs to spend a few days at a Front Desk - after I did, I swore that I would never behave like some of my "guests" did...

GentleGiant

Well said.

Sadly some think they are more important than others.

Points Scrounger

Once, nicely. If not possible, challenging the person with (something like) "But, I see you're selling (suites) right now at this very minute, eh?" is smack in DYKWIA territory. LET. IT. GO.

baccarat_king

So, can you guarantee that at all Hilton full service properties GLOBALLY this process is followed; and if not followed the front desk people will be reprimanded?

I appreciate that you did your job correctly; but unless there are lean systems in place to insure this is carried out globally.... When some properties do things correctly, and others do not; the customers (paying guests) need to take things into their own hands.

This is, overall, the problem with customer service. Standards are not properly enforced. (and that includes elite and loyalty benefits)

Of course, if this is not correct, and Hilton does have a global policy; I will stand corrected.

FWIW, we are Hilton Diamond (x2) and Marriott Platinum (x1) as well as a number of other statuses. I regularly get a personal email from the general manager when we book Ritz Properties. I respond to the message, since it is sent to me personally.

My exact response to a recent email :

I do not think this is over the top, since I was sent an email to begin with that said :

BTW, they exceeded my expectations with regard to everything. One of the reasons why; we keep loyal to Ritz Carlton. (perhaps, much more loyal than any other hotel loyalty chain)

Frequie

Maybe you did this correctly and followed all procedures. But trust me, this is not the case every time. I have several examples of that. Here is a recent one.

I checked in at a European airport Hilton. At the check-in I small-talked a bit with the FD agent, a male in his 40s. Definitely not a "newbie". I asked him whether a "complementary Diamond upgrade to a suite was available". He told me "sorry but we are completely booked tonight".

Fair enough, I go up to my room and check the availability on Hilton.com. EVERY single room type was available to be booked for one night (length of my stay). I was angry - not because I did not get the upgrade, but because the FD lied to me.

I emailed hotel's GM and complained about this. GM wrote back and said that he was sorry about this, and that the hotel certainly was not overbooked and that I should have received an upgrade. He then offered me a guaranteed suite upgrade and extra HHonors points at my next visit.

From my point of view, if there is a suite TRULY available, if you are a nice person and ask in a non-demanding way if there is an upgrade available, and if you are Diamond then you SHOULD get the upgrade. If not, then be persistent. And if at any point someone lies to you, then complain.

CMK10

I put in my comments box "a suite upgrade would be most appreciated". I don't think it's too DYKWIA but I make Diamond on stays and I'm going to keep asking for upgrades every chance I get. I like a little loyalty in return for my dollar.

slidergirl

The way you write that is fine. It's the ones who say "upgrade to suite per Diamond status" sound more, well, demanding and DYKWIA.

As for corporate instructions/training on HHonors, when I worked for a Hilton family property, there wasn't one or my particular property didn't provide it. I actually had been a FTer long before I started working for them. I knew what was happening before I saw any paper in-house on things. I became our in-house HHonors go-to person.

My particular Hilton property was rather odd. It had private ownership of many of the suites and rooms. There were rules on whether or not points stays or upgrades could be placed in these rooms. So, online, a suite or room could show as "available", in reality it was not in the points/upgrade pool. Those unit owners were in it for the revenue; no matter how aggressive someone would be in demanding an upgrade, I could never use those for upgrades or points stays. Yet, to some, I was "lying" about availability

I just find it rather unsavory that there are FTers here who appear to go into every hotel check-in with the built-in notion that any agent they encounter will be lazy, untrained, or a liar (or a combination thereof). I hope that you don't go into every encounter with service personnel with the same mindset. I had the pleasure of meeting some FTers who stayed at my property and I will say that I would hope that they were the norm!

PowerMan572

I just made Diamond today ($40k on the Citi Reserve card.) So I most likely won't receive upgrades on my Hilton stays next month in Italy? 90% of the rooms are booked on points.

We're staying in Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan.

Hilton points are so easy to collect. That's why I decided to go with their loyalty program vs. Marriott and the others. I guess if I don't get upgrades left and right, I will still stick with them simply because of the points factor. I carry the Reserve and the Surpass card. The points come rolling in.