tmax777

I wondered if anyone can help?


I have a diamond challenge 8 stays in 90 days to keep the status and may not have time to complete them all.


Is it okay to book a room and not stay or check in?


Will this count towards my 8 stays target?


Thanks!

whimsey21

If you don't check in at all, you'll be a "no show" which won't count towards the challenge. Some people doing mattress runs will check in and then leave, and will call the hotel the next morning to let them know they've checked out. That does usually register as a stay. There are lots of old threads discussing the etiquette and ethics of this approach.

submonte

The room is sold, the room is paid, guest appeared. If room not entered at all, no cleaning is needed, or at least less cleaning, if the guest just went in for some minutes and left finally. Many such guests use up rooms less.

craigthemif

Just google "mattress run"...

In person check-in required. Actual overnight stay or physical check out not necessary.

tmax777

Does anyone know a way round this? How to book a cheap room for a challenge but not actually stay there?

submonte

I could imagine one which would be a clear violation of rules and eventually fraudulent (if deliberate). The hotel checks you in though your are not there. But normally they request your credit card physically (even if rate is prepaid) to pre-authorize at least possible extra-charges. Or compare your cc number with the one in their system. So forget it.

whimsey21

I've seen posts where people report having come to an agreement with the manager of a property to pay for a stay (or multiple stays) and have it registered as such without ever visiting the property. If you have a cheap hotel in mind, you could try contacting them directly to see if they're willing to make such an arrangement.

smmrfld

OP, this is very poor advice and should be avoided for a number of reasons, primarily the risk of having your account shut down.

whimsey21

That is a good point. I retract my suggestion to explore that option. Anyhow, as gets brought up in many other threads, if you're not able to stay enough to satisfy the challenge, you probably won't be getting the value out of the status.

smmrfld

Exactly!

PayItForward

If this could be done, the lower end properties around the world would suddenly be fully booked. The only way to earn Diamond without staying is to get the right credit card if you are based in US and is eligible. A lot (like myself) are not and have to do it the official way.

airmotive

This was the advice given to me by the Diamond line:
Book a room with points for a friend or family member who can actually stay at the room.
You must book the room via the diamond line, and add your friend's name as a guest who will be checking in, and explain to the rep that you're doing a diamond challenge and need the stay, but you're unable to stay yourself.
A points-only stay still counts as a stay. It might even help to call the hotel once you're booked, just to confirm that they understand what's going on.

I completed my 8th and final diamond challenge stay using this strategy on Saturday, and my nephew and his wife got to enjoy the new Garden Inn near their home. However, when my nephew checked in, I immediately received a notice on my Amex card that a $175 charge was placed by the hotel. I called the Diamond line, and the rep said it looked like the stay was switched to revenue. I explained the above and he said it was not problem, and switched it back to a points stay.

(I had two multi-stay trips in March that got pushed back to May, effectively ruining my diamond challenge.)

PayItForward

I am not doubting that this happened as we all know staff (of any organisation) may not always know the "right" things and it is not unheard of staff giving wrong advice or processing something not in line with policies.

Staff may do this out of ignorance or also out of goodwill but that does not make the practice official nor should that practice be considered a precedent and thus future events should follow the same (out of norm) practice.

I say this because what was described goes against the policy where benefits / credits will be accrued or given only when the member is staying (or at least checking in) at the property.

To be even more precise, only the room that the member is staying at will get benefits and stay / night accumulations although member may earn points for up to two rooms on the same folio.

jb2001

Another Scenario...

Airline books Hilton stay via hotels.com prepaid rate, due to my oversold flight. I add Diamond Honors # at checkin. Stay posts to my account, with no points accrual.

Would this count as stay for Diamond Challenge?