Jaxxon

If I pre-pay a reservation, do I have to show up to get credit for the stay in my HHonors account?

I am trying to get started on 2016 with some very inexpensive rates over the holidays.

Thanks in advance.

cargueiro

Yes you must stay

cjd

Yes, you've certainly got to check in at the hotel to get the stay credited to your account. Never tried it myself, but according to some reports here on Flyertalk, some people just check in, go to the room and then leave without staying the night and without telling the front desk.

RahRahMO

If you check-in online you don't have to go to the hotel. I just did that last week since I needed only one more night to keep Diamond and wasn't sure if it would work. Found a super cheap night, checked in online....next day it was pending in my account, two days later is was one of my stays. Now I just have to make it to all my reservations for our Christmas trip and I'll keep Diamond next year!

tkelvin69

I would not rely on the online check in for credit. You still need to stop at the desk to get keys.

PayItForward

This is a risk. The hotels obviously can tell if you actually turned up or not despite having checked-in online. This could be as simple as no keys were collected? In the case of properties with Digital Key, they also maintain logs of door usage. Some properties would post the stay regardless but some would keep the money and post the reservation as a no-show since it is pre-paid. They get to save on the points and amenities while adhering to the corporate policy.

RDU-Man

I agree that it's a risk to rely on online check-in being sufficient. Glad to hear it worked for someone, but I am going to stick with showing up in person. BUT, no need to waste time actually go to the room - just see the front desk, check in, take the keys, and hit the road. They don't know (or necessarily care) that you don't head immediately up to the room after checking in - people do that all the time when travelling.

I am doing this at a local Hampton Inn a few miles from my house that has rooms for 10k points - I needed four stays to requalify for Diamond, and it's worth 40k points to me. Did two nights Friday and Sunday (to separate them into different stays) and doing two more next weekend.

zgscl

That is incorrect (speaking with HH front desk experience). The hotel must physically check you in. That is not to say some hotels will do this but it is not standard and technically incorrect procedure. If you do not show up in person and do only an OLCI you risk getting charged the no show with no credit or points and no recourse.

RogerD408

This is fine as long as your "non"-stay doesn't get audited and credit pulled due to the property not following procedures. And it would be a shame if this happened after the end of the year and you have no way to make up the missing stay(s). It's a risk...

Baze

But 2 nights in a row would only count as 1 stay if at the same hotel. Even if you check out then check back in. So if the 4 nights are at the same hotel you would only get 2 stays so you would still be 2 stays short of re-qualifying.

RogerD408

Well under control.

Baze

Sorry, my eyes read it as Friday and Saturday. Misread.

writerguyfl

This is very, very bad advice. To get stay/night credits and points, you must physically be in the hotel.

In order to get credit for your stay without arriving, many people have to make mistakes...including the Front Desk and the Night Auditor. Larger hotels usually have an Income Auditor, which is the person that audits the Night Auditor. Then, the hotel Controller will have to sign off on everything. So, to get credit for a no-show, at least 3 people have to make mistakes.

Sorry to be a killjoy, but I wouldn't be surprised if phantom stay credit gets rescinded by the end of the month. In one of the hotels in which I worked as an Income Auditor, adjustments to frequent guest accounts were done in batches. We did it twice per month. Granted, it wasn't a Hilton.

RogerD408

Thank you.

Yes, a lot needs to go wrong to get credit without having to show up (easier in some properties than others). Also keep in mind just because this works at some point doesn't mean it will work forevermore. And I would suspect if HH believes you are truly gaming the system, that precious status could be rescinded at a point where you have no option to earn it back legitimately during the year or they could close your account altogether (I like the term: Fired as a customer).

Don't get me wrong, if they leave a gaping whole in the program (i.e. MVP moving from sports to anyone and some back to sports) I have no problem exploiting that. They write the rules and I expect them to follow them just like they expect us to follow them. So far every program I've looked at clearly states the member must stay (read: show up at property) to earn credit. If a property messes up I don't consider that a program change.

We each get to decide what risk level we are willing to accept, so if you wish to skip the personal appearance, be grateful if it posts, but not surprised if it doesn't.

smmrfld

This is very poor advice and should not be followed.