Atxtrav

This property is showing reservations beginning June 6.
It appears to be a converted existing 4* property central to main tourism.

I have two rooms booked on points for my family of four starting June 10.
I will post a trip report after our stay. Rooms look like they can be quite small as is often the case in Europe. There aren't many photos of the property on the official website yet. Just one room rendering. The location is excellent for our family as a base for tourist sites. Hopefully the room product is worthy of the large number of points I burned to stay here. I am taking a chance that the Tapestry brand will come through for me and our family.
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The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

Hope you enjoy your stay. I might be tempted to make an alternative refundable reservation elsewhere just in case the Cosmopolita hotel is not ready for the 10th ( a 4 day leeway is a bit tight for me) esp if you need to rebook closer in prices might be higher.
Regards

TBS

Atxtrav

Thank you for the suggestion.
I already had a confirmed airbnb cancel on me which is why I looked at hotels.
This property is taking reservations as an independent property currently. Sounds like they are working around and thru any refub taking on a Hilton flag.
I agree a back res might be wise.
Although I am hopeful this property is able to deliver for us. It's always a bit risky booking site unseen. I have benefited for years from other FT members being first to report. So it will be my turn with this property and will be pleased to do so.
Will be curious to see how they handle Diamond amenities.
There isn't much to upgrade to with 70ish rooms. And Euro breakfasts are hit or miss anyway.
I would be happy with good rooms and quality service on this trip.

whimsey21

I’ve also got reservations for June - just a few days later than you. I’m making a backup booking; even though the hotel is open during the rebranding, I’ve seen some recent reviews that mention lots of ongoing construction, which would probably be a dealbreaker. I’ll stay tuned for more updates though, as the location of the property and the points rates are good.

Atxtrav

The Hilton site for this hotel now shows opening is July 2022.

I have reservations in June that were accepted. According to internet reviews the property is open under its current ownership during the renovation /rebrand
​I have never been in this situation before and am wondering what will happen to my points reservations.

Atxtrav

A new Tapestry Collection in Rome, The Cosmopolita, accepted my points reservation back in March. Two rooms for two nights each in June. At the time their opening was schedule for June 6. I noticed last night the website says opening in July.
I reached out to the hotel and they said they will be pleased to host me as an independent hotel but cannot accept Hilton points.
I reached out to the Diamond email and the response said they cannot cancel reservations, per policy and to contact the hotel. It basically said "not our problem."

​​​​I have never had this happen before. I have a confirmed points reservation that will not be honored. If I wanted a run around, I could have used airbnb. I've had all sorts of issues with them. I figured I use Hilton all the time for work. What could go wrong?

Any suggestions or experience with similar issues?
Edit: Cash rate quoted is now 1020€ per room. So this is a 2000€ conundrum vs 280k pts. When I booked the cash rate was far less per night.

hotscot

Can you clarify please?
What policy?
Is this not a Hilton?

Atxtrav

It is not a Hilton..... Yet. When I booked it wad thru the Hilton app opening date June 6. They have now delayed their opening until July. So I have a confirmed reservation on points for a hotel that says they cannot accept points.

The policy? The Diamond email response said "as per policy we do not have access to cancel reservation.".
I didn't ask them to cancel the reservation. I asked what our options are to make this right. The email essentially said it's between me and the property.

whimsey21

I have a points booking the week after you (2 rooms for 5 nights) and also saw the change in opening date this week. I’ve corresponded with Hilton (via a contact provided by William) and asked if they could transfer my booking to one of the nearby properties (Doubletree or Aleph). They have told me that they are unwilling to do that since neither property has standard rooms on the points rate available for booking. I’m pretty annoyed- i didn’t realize the property wasn’t a functional Hilton when I booked (the app didn’t show that fact anywhere) and had I known I would have booked the Doubletree, which was actually at a lower points rate. Given that we’re a month out from travel during a very busy time, it isn’t a surprise that the other properties aren’t offering standard rooms on points anymore. I’m surprised that Hilton corporate isn’t willing to stand by the booking. I’m glad at least that I (and Axtrav) noticed the change in opening and didn’t discover it a week before my trip (Hilton has not notified me that the hotel opening delayed and the app still shows the booking as if it is active.

hotscot

What happens when you try to cancel via website/app?
No joy I guess?

I'm disappointed in Hilton here.

Atxtrav

I am so sorry to hear you are having a similar experience. This is really frustrating. And I agree. You and I are the ones being proactive about this. How many others are going to show up to bookings that are not honored.
This is really disappointing service from the Hilton brand. Neither of us are looking for something for nothing. We just want help from a brand we have been loyal to with our travel (legit Diamond, not matched). I understand hoteliers are often independent, flagged, or franchised.
But it still stands that we both have confirmed bookings that will not be honored by the hotel and the brand we booked them with is essentially saying tough luck.
Not: let's figure this out
Not : let's find a way to help
Not: thanks for bringing this to our attention
Not: lets be creative with the Doubletree or Aleph.

Just: tough luck

Do they have to help us? I dunno
Could Hilton help? Of course they could.
This is a choice by Hilton to stand behind their product. Mistakes happen. Delays happen. So let's find a way through this.
I expect behavior like this from one off airbnb proprietors.
But a global brand? They can do better than "tough luck" and I would be willing to work with them to figure it out.

Atxtrav

The response from Hilton Diamond begins
"We are happy to help you with this issue"
"Please contact the hotel directly"

I explained in my message that I had already contacted the hotel directly. The hotel wants to charge me high dollar cash as an independent.
So I still have a confirmed Hilton points reservation.
This is interesting. The hotel cant cancel (they aren't a Hilton yet.) The Diamond Desk says they can't cancel - talk to the hotel.
As a customer, you'd think I should be doing a lot less lifting to resolve this.

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Atxtrav

The response from Hilton Diamond begins
"We are happy to help you with this issue"
"Please contact the hotel directly"

I explained in my message that I had already contacted the hotel directly. The hotel wants to charge me high dollar cash as an independent.
So I still have a confirmed Hilton points reservation.
This is interesting. The hotel cant cancel (they aren't a Hilton yet.) The Diamond Desk says they can't cancel - talk to the hotel.
As a customer, you'd think I should be doing a lot less lifting to resolve this.

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MP001

I suggest you to contact Hilton Honors Ambassador and see if the team can coordinate a response between Hilton corporate and the Hotel.

demue

I'd try to reach out to William again and request his help to get this escalated to someone at Hilton that is actually willing and able to appreciate and comprehend that this is a Hilton created problem that they are on the hook to solve.

They decided together with the property to make Hhonors room redemptions available from a certain day onwards and while delays can happen, it is not the customers job to resolve such issues. They couldn't access Hilton's systems to load room inventory without any agreement in place. Likely, they will already have such a franchise agreement signed so there should be a contractual relationship to work things out.

The least they should do is refund the points and add a nice chunk of additional points though better to accommodate to other Hilton properties. Aleph will be a challenge on the best of days as they game the standard rooms already in normal situation, but Doubletree is entirely feasible and the hotel actually doesn't get more money if one redeems for more points (only if they reach certain occupancy levels). Of course, redemption of Premium rooms will cost Hilton a tad more, but overall this whole spiel mostly benefits Hhonors so they should suck it up to be blunt and stop playing this charade.

The Diamond Desk responses are beyond rubbish, sorry, no other way to say it. It is a pain to resolve this so they rather ignore customers and choose the easy way out by doing nothing. YMMV