Digital check in How?

Old Nov 15, 2018, 11:42 am
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Digital check in How?

Booking with HH for the first time to Honolulu. I am gold and wondering how digital check in works. Do I download app and check in myself before arrival just like airlines? I never have to stand on line and check in at all? Many people are saying Hilton is always busy and check in takes at least half hour (or much more).
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Old Nov 15, 2018, 12:16 pm
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Originally Posted by paulzone2k
Booking with HH for the first time to Honolulu. I am gold and wondering how digital check in works. Do I download app and check in myself before arrival just like airlines? I never have to stand on line and check in at all? Many people are saying Hilton is always busy and check in takes at least half hour (or much more).
Never seen it take half hour. People have to wait a few minutes and it becomes "I waited a hour." Yes can checkin via app, and if property has digital key available (and no legal requirement to see ID) you go straight to room you pick. (Hotel releases the digital key normally once room is marked cleanned) Even if no digital key, you can at least select your room. Still have to get keys from FD.
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Old Nov 15, 2018, 4:50 pm
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In my view, online check-in is only beneficial if you know the hotel well. Whenever I'm a first-time guest at a hotel, I always want to talk to a Front Desk representative because she or he knows the hotel better than I do when it comes to room assignments.

When you go online, you'll be assigned a room. There's no way to know if that room was assigned by the property management system or by a human who noted your preferences and selected that room because it matches those preferences.

You should be able to change your room, but unless you know the hotel well it's tough to know the best room. Online floorplans don't show locations of loading docks, garbage dumpsters, HVAC equipment, restaurant exhaust hoods, nearby structures, or some service areas. Unless you get a brand new Front Desk representative, that person will know the quirks of the building. She or he should be able to assign a room that is "better" than an auto-assigned one or one from on a basic floorplan.
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Old Nov 15, 2018, 5:46 pm
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Originally Posted by writerguyfl
Online floorplans don't show locations of loading docks, garbage dumpsters, HVAC equipment, restaurant exhaust hoods, nearby structures, or some service areas.
no, but google maps does in satellite view.
i have been very surprised many times at how little the front desk agents know about their hotel's rooms. using the 3D view gives a pretty close approximation of the view from a hotel room in my experience.
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Old Nov 15, 2018, 11:06 pm
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Originally Posted by BenSenise
no, but google maps does in satellite view.
i have been very surprised many times at how little the front desk agents know about their hotel's rooms. using the 3D view gives a pretty close approximation of the view from a hotel room in my experience.
If that works for you, go for it. I'll stick with the opinion of Front Desk.

But, maybe I'm biased from working in hotels. One hotel I worked had structural beams that blocked about 75% of the windows. That sort of thing wouldn't show up on a floor plan and can't be see via satellite maps.
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Old Nov 15, 2018, 11:57 pm
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Originally Posted by writerguyfl
Whenever I'm a first-time guest at a hotel, I always want to talk to a Front Desk representative because she or he knows the hotel better than I do when it comes to room assignments.
I find that FD staff is frequently clueless about rooms in their property.
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Old Nov 16, 2018, 4:38 am
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If you are hoping for an upgrade, wait until you get there to check in. No free upgrades are ever available through OLCI

and fwiw I've never known the FD staff to be clueless about the rooms.
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Old Nov 16, 2018, 7:27 am
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Originally Posted by eric_o
If you are hoping for an upgrade, wait until you get there to check in. No free upgrades are ever available through OLCI

and fwiw I've never known the FD staff to be clueless about the rooms.
OLCI doesn't prevent an upgrade.
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Old Nov 16, 2018, 8:54 am
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Originally Posted by flyerCO
OLCI doesn't prevent an upgrade.
No, but it does cause the FD to have your keys already set up for you in a pack, meaning that the agent is much less likely to want to go back into the system and redo your room selection. It also means that since you are checked into a room, they are counting on you being there, and thus more likely to give away the excess inventory to other people.
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Old Nov 16, 2018, 9:04 am
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Originally Posted by arlflyer
No, but it does cause the FD to have your keys already set up for you in a pack, meaning that the agent is much less likely to want to go back into the system and redo your room selection. It also means that since you are checked into a room, they are counting on you being there, and thus more likely to give away the excess inventory to other people.
Each hotel is different. It's been argued multiple times. It's a matter of the process the hotel follows. You're no more likely to not be upgraded, as to be upgraded doing OLCI.
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Old Nov 16, 2018, 10:03 am
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I never do OLCI anymore. I can count on one hand (with a couple of fingers missing) the number of times the room I picked is ever ready when I get there (even at check-in time). Unless they are giving me a fabulous upgrade at OLCI I just wait until I get to the desk.

If you have status (and your profile doesn't mention it) there is usually a shorter line.
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Old Nov 16, 2018, 11:36 am
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Originally Posted by flyerCO
You're no more likely to not be upgraded, as to be upgraded doing OLCI.
This is simply untrue. There is a finite number of rooms. If a room is pre-assigned, then that room is taken out of circulation and other rooms are free to be assigned to other guests, namely those guests who have not had pre-assignment of their room and thus who inquire at the desk. If even one hotel in the Hilton chain follows such a protocol, then the odds change, counter to what you assert.

And, as I noted in my previous comment, pre-assignment of rooms makes it more work for a desk agent to perform an upgrade - instead of simply handing over a key pack, they have to go into the system, look for a new room, un-assign the old room, assign the new one, and make new keys. This provides a disincentive for a desk agent to upgrade - much easier to just tell the guest that they are stuck with their pre-assigned room.
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Old Nov 16, 2018, 11:47 am
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Originally Posted by writerguyfl
In my view, online check-in is only beneficial if you know the hotel well. Whenever I'm a first-time guest at a hotel, I always want to talk to a Front Desk representative because she or he knows the hotel better than I do when it comes to room assignments.
...
I wish that was my experience. I remember confirming at the front desk that my room was a king and they assured me it was. Got to the room it was a double double! I called down to ask about a different room and while I was standing there between the two beds I was once again assured my room was a king! Fortunately there were other rooms available and as a compromise, she met me in the hallway so I didn't have to schlep all the way back to the FD for new keys. Now if we're talking about possible views (pool, mountains, etc.) or location of lounge and the sort, then yes, I would expect the FDC to know. But I seriously doubt many FDCs have seen the inside of the rooms in their property. Just my observation and surprised when proven wrong.
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Old Nov 16, 2018, 8:51 pm
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Originally Posted by eric_o
If you are hoping for an upgrade, wait until you get there to check in. No free upgrades are ever available through OLCI

and fwiw I've never known the FD staff to be clueless about the rooms.
For international properties I've often found they have upgraded the reservation allowing me to select a room in the upgraded category.

An interesting thing is when they upgrade the reservation the information in "my stay" goes away from the original. For example, flash sale 35% off and 25% off F&B goes away and only shows the name of the upgrade - executive, suite, etc. I always take a screen shot to show as it's easier than digging through all my email confirmations.
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Old Nov 17, 2018, 3:22 am
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Originally Posted by tkelvin69
For international properties I've often found they have upgraded the reservation allowing me to select a room in the upgraded category.

An interesting thing is when they upgrade the reservation the information in "my stay" goes away from the original. For example, flash sale 35% off and 25% off F&B goes away and only shows the name of the upgrade - executive, suite, etc. I always take a screen shot to show as it's easier than digging through all my email confirmations.
My experience has been limited to the US. I have never seen a complimentary upgrade available through OLCI.
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