Eujeanie

I can't tell you how many times I have thought I made a reservation, and only when it never appears as booked, do I realize Hilton has ONE MORE STEP that most hotels do not have...?

docbert

No, you're not.

It's not just the extra step as such, its the fact the the button on the last page is down the bottom, so it's not obvious that you haven't finished.

Thankfully this has only bitten me once, and not badly. I had booked a last-minute reservation and then driven to the hotel, getting there maybe 30 mins later. When I arrived, they said no reservation. Check my phone - no confirmation email. Opened by computer, and sure enough it was still sitting on that last page, waiting for me to click the final button... (Which not surprisingly timed out - but thankfully I was able to just rebook)

arlflyer

I've come really close to getting burned by that many, many times, so no, you're not the only one.

At least Hilton has gotten better about sending confirmations in a timely manner. In the past, I'd not think anything of not receiving a confirmation for hours after my booking. So, if I forgot to complete a reservation, it would probably be well out of my mind and never cross it again. Now if I don't get a confirmation, I wonder what's up.

smmrfld

Nope, honestly have never had that happen.

BlondeBomber

Just happened to me last week at one of my favorite hotels -- fortunately they had a room (at a slightly higher rate than I thought I had booked). This has happened a few times but I have always caught it before as I don't get the email confirmation when I don't do the final booking button. Easier on the phone app. I should know better but stuff happens when you are in a rush!

jphripjah

I've done that

birdiedouble

A couple of years ago I had to book a very last minute trip to Palm Beach Gardens. Booked the flight and hotel at 10:30 in the am. Drove 2 hours to the airport in Buffalo and flew into MCO. Drove 2+ hours to Jupiter, met with a family member for a couple hours ad showed up at the HGI in PBG at 1:00 am. FD had a very surprised look on his face as he knew me from numerous previous visits and I'm guessing he wasn't expecting any more checkins that night. He did find me a room, but it was right then I realized I didn't complete the reservation. That page before the final one really looks like it should be the last one. Lesson learned and now I always make sure I see a confirmation number.

corporate-wage-slave

I've come close a few times. It is compounded that it still takes about 2 hours for reservations to pop up on the Reservation tab / App whereas on IHG and Accor it's nearly instant. Something to keep in mind.

craigthemif

I guess people like you are the reason that we receive those waste-of-time emails suggesting we "finish our booking". I didn't realise that people actually make the mistake of not finishing their booking...

P.S. An extra step is really rather helpful in avoiding the inadvertent booking of non-refundable stays...

serpens

Ditto, but with emphasis on the delay for Hilton confirmation. Usually I book with Hilton but occasionally with IHG and rarely with Hyatt, and I'm pleasantly surprised when the confirmation emails appear in seconds. With Hilton, it's usually many minutes but can be an hour or more.

Eujeanie

I have never inadvertently booked a non-refundable stay. While I might not go to the last page on a Hilton booking, the "warning, the time for cancellation has past" usually warns me, if I'm ever careless enough to click on a non-refundable rate. I guess we all have our shortcomings.

And thanks to all who have made me feel not quite so stoo-pid.

Points Scrounger

I don't recognize the problem being discussed here, but I always book via the app if that makes a difference.

steve64

I've done it several times, though only once did it go several days before me noticing I didn't have a reservation.

I blamed it on my defecting back to HHonors after about an 8 year sprint with Hyatt ... that the Hilton site must have an extra page to go thru to complete a reservation so I must be subconsciously stopping one page too soon.
But since coming up with that theory, I've noticed I had done it again at least twice (while filling in a spreadsheet that I use to track my trips/reservations/points/etc.) The "final" page did not have my confirmation number. Scrolling down looking for it, I'd see that I needed to click one more button. I keep telling myself to watch page-by-page to determine why the page before the final one makes me think I'm done ... but I never think of it while booking. Perhaps learning that I'm not the only stoopid one will remind me to watch it next time.

arlflyer

The problem being discussed is that there is a page in the Hilton reservation process - page number 4 out of 5, to be specific - which generates a screen that looks eerily like a receipt, invoice, confirmation, other type of thingy that a person would see once an order has been placed, which says "Reservation Summary" atop it (thereby implying that there is a reservation, so as to be able to summarize it), and which obscures the button which must be clicked to actually complete said reservation such that one can only see said button by scrolling down the screen.

No, it isn't rocket science, yes it's been that way for years, and yes they have the progress bar on the top right. But in today's world of app-based everything and Amazon one-click ordering, the fact that they need a progress bar to complete a cancellable reservation using information which the guest already has on file is, in my opinion, indicative of the fact that they're swimming a bit against the current when it comes to user interface design.

To the point above, the app functionality is MUCH better, and Hilton, like so many other travel providers, has completely disparate functionality and design between the app and website.

Westcoaster

To my way of thinking the disparate functionality is not a bad thing in this situation. Turtles like me can use the website and those who want a faster experience can use the app. I don't use the app unless I have to.

And to answer the OP's question I've never unintentionally not completed a reservation on the website. I'm a turtle, like I said. I read enough of each page to make sure they haven't tried to slip some new/different cancellation policy or resort fee or whatever by me.