Suggestions for Hilton
 

I have read on this board that people from Hilton Corp. read this forum from time to time. With that in mind, I thought I'd start a thread related to helpful suggestions from FT members as to how they could improve.

My suggestion is that in the "Directions to Hotel" page at the website, that they include directions from the nearest subway or rail station, or even bus stop with bus number if appropriate. Many times when overseas I take trains instead of renting a car and such information would be incredibly helpful. It seems like the only directions listed are driving directions. Since that information is not there now, I inevitably have to hunt it down and hope that the source of the information I find is accurate.

Also helpful would be in the instances where the hotel provides a shuttle bus service, for the timetable for the shuttle to be listed online as well as detailed information (such as a landmark) about the location of the pick-up and drop-off spot.

This might exist already but I haven't seen it ...
is there anywhere that lists all the hotels that have point-stretcher deals at one-time or another throughout the year :confused:

I could then plan my holidays around this availability, and get even more for my hard earned points ;)

What I would find most useful is to get a printable taxi card on their site in the local language. Especially in places like China and Thailand where the character set is not the Roman alphabet, this makes life so much easier since most local taxi drivers don't understand the spoken hotel name (totally different name in the local language) and don't understand the English letters.

That sounds like a creative and excellent idea. I would also welcome something like that.

My main suggestion would be to increase the time until the connection to the Hilton website times out.

More than once, I have found myself in the situation that I wanted to book a stay, didn't do it fast enough, and had to start over again because the session was timed out.

Another suggestion would be to find a way to incorporate the Diamond booking guarantee in the web interface.

Water
 

Simple - just ensure that I have a bottle of water when I check in EVERY time - not every other time or every once in a while.

Also, every once in a while I ask to cash a check for cash (in accordance with the HHonors guidelines) - success rate is about 25%.

It would be nice to see some sort of recognition (ie more points!!!) for stays above some threshold - say 100 or 150 nights in a year.

Overall I like the Hilton level of service and the HHonor program.

where do I start...
 

so many peeves, so little time.

bottled water - especially for earned-it-the-hard-way diamonds, make sure it's waiting there in the room for us, and repenished each day. not sure if the policy addresses the bottled water issue or not, most places give me as much as I want when I ask for it, but a few places I could mention in Hawaii interpret their obligation as "one free bottle per stay" (hey I buy bottled water, in the lower 48 and also in Hawaii - it's not going to kill you to give out 20 cent bottles of water to your top customers).

suites - get serious about the "best available room at check-in" policy and stop using the fine print to weasel your way out of giving away actual decent rooms. if the presidential suite is available when I check in, I want you to give it to me. Or at least a base level "proper suite" (separate bedroom).

web site - when I search for a city and dates, why do I have to select the properties one by one to find out the lowest cost per room for a stay booked for those days? It seems like many business- and leisure- travelers will be making decisions based on cost, and so why not make it easy with "sort by lowest cost" option?

diamond desk - no change needed. you people rock my world.

breakfast - get your story straight here. it won't kill you to give me a basic hot meal, especially if you've got a breakfast buffet sitting out there already. you do this at the cheapest of the embassy suites, for customers of any status level or no status level at all. why ask Diamonds to pay money to upgrade to a hot meal when I'm at a high buck place like HHV?

general comment about all of these sorts of issues. If gold or diamond isn't sufficient for you to really roll out the red carpet, come out with a new status level. There's a huge gap between the 60 nights needed for diamond with hilton, and the 75 nights needed for platinum with marriott. Perhaps a new "80 night" status level is needed if diamond isn't good enough for you?

I second this suggestion. It is very frustrating to have to go back to each property. Most other web sites are capable of displaying the price for multiple properties simultaneously.

Diamond does not get you a suite. Suites are not a stated benefit. If you get one anywhere the hotel is being extra nice. You are not entitled to a suite.

From the HHonors website:

Upgraded Accommodations/Amenities: HHonors Diamond VIP members are offered upgraded accommodations or amenities at Hilton Family hotels. The type of upgraded accommodation or amenity varies by type of hotel, as follows:

At US Hilton hotels, and at Conrad and Doubletree hotels with Towers or Executive Levels, Diamond VIPs will be provided with a guest room on the Towers or Executive Level floor, whenever possible. In cases when Towers or Executive Level accommodations have been fully booked, Diamond VIP members will be offered the use of the Towers or Executive Level lounge, including complimentary continental breakfast each morning for the member and one additional person or (2) personalized certificates for each day of the stay for the member and one additional person valid for complimentary continental breakfast in the hotel coffee shop or all-purpose restaurant. At hotels without a Towers or Executive Level, Diamond VIP members will be offered complimentary continental breakfast each morning for the member and one additional person. And when in hotels or when paying a rate where a complimentary breakfast is a benefit for all guests, Diamond VIPs will be offered a special amenity as an expression of our appreciation.

At Hilton Family hotels outside the U.S. and Canada that have upgraded accommodation, Gold and Diamond VIPs will be upgraded to Executive Level or to the next best available room type. Upgraded rooms are subject to availability. At hotels that do not have upgraded types of accommodation, Gold and Diamond VIPs will receive additional amenities and/or services, which vary by property. For details and restrictions, as well as further information on benefits at Hilton Family hotels within the U.S. and Canada, click here.

At Hilton Garden Inn hotels, Diamond VIP members will receive complimentary continental breakfast each morning for the member and one additional person throughout the stay and a $5.00 coupon* for use during stay at the Pavilion Pantry® (excludes alcohol) if upgrade to a suite is not possible. *Coupon cannot be redeemed for cash.

At Hilton Grand Vacations Club, Diamond VIP members will receive a $10.00 deli coupon for use during their stay, valid for purchases within the Deli/Gift Shop (excluding alcohol due to local laws).

At Embassy Suites Hotels, Diamond VIP members will be offered "The Embassy Touch", including a light snack on night of arrival and a terry robe for use during the stay.

At Hampton Inn and Hampton Inn & Suites hotels, Diamond VIP members will be offered "The Hampton Touch", including a light snack on night of arrival.
At Homewood Suites by Hilton, Diamond VIP members will receive a welcome gift.

At Scandic hotels, Diamond VIP members will automatically receive the best available room (excluding suites), if available at check-in.

I'd settle for just not handing out Gold cards willy-nilly to people.

That way, with less Golds, less hotels might not withdraw Gold benefits.

Not that I will care next year, because I have 28 stays booked :D

[Originally Posted by wbl-mn-flyer

web site - when I search for a city and dates, why do I have to select the properties one by one to find out the lowest cost per room for a stay booked for those days? It seems like many business- and leisure- travelers will be making decisions based on cost, and so why not make it easy with "sort by lowest cost" option?

QUOTE=isogyre]I second this suggestion. It is very frustrating to have to go back to each property. Most other web sites are capable of displaying the price for multiple properties simultaneously.[/QUOTE]


Actually, I just discovered that the website is now showing the starting price on the first page -- BUT only when one does a search of the Hilton brand alone. When other brands are searched or when all brands are included in the search, the prices do not come up. If they can do it for the Hilton brand, why can't they do it for all the brands? Obviously, the website has the capability to do this.........

My pet peeve on the website is the current inability to list a range of rates for properties. When you're on dial-up clicking on every d*mn hotel to find out the rates is VERY frustrating. With Marriott I click city, dates, all properties - & voila, up they all pop w/ range. Makes it much faster & allows me to zero in on possible hotels.

I understand they're starting to do it w/ domestic Hiltons (although when I recently booked a trip to NYC - ie earlier in the week), it didn't crop up. Also, I do a lot of overseas & it doesn't work for intl properies. And I too agree it should be for all brands.

Cheers. Sharon

some sort of suite, if available, seems reasonable
 

thank you for quoting chapter and verse to me from the Hilton Bible. But my point was, there ought to be a level at which you get some sort of really nice treatment. When I was spending 5 nights a week away from house and family, nearly every week, my "home" was a hotel room. it isn't too much to hope for something more than a single room in that situation. there ought to be a level at which they throw you the smallest of bones - a basic suite.

I wholeheartedly agree that rates should be shown for multiple HH hotels at the same time.

I'd also like to be able to store my AAA and corporate rate numbers in my profile, so I don't have to copy and paste these in every time I search for a hotel. Oh, and also, show me the lowest rate for which I'm eligible, based on everything you know about me. So if I have entered my AAA number AND my corporate number AND there's a special promotion happening at the hotel, show me all of the rates that apply. Don't make me first search for AAA, then search for corporate, then search for "no" special codes.

Good suggestion - why can't they have an "inactivity" warning, like my credit union's website, that warns you that your session will expire in xx seconds unless you click on the provided button (which keeps the session alive and resets the timer).....

I have found and also read in this forum of other people who do LOTS of nights at the same hotel throughout the year do get extra bennies above what HHonors requires. Have you talked to the hotels management about this? If you have and they won't bend maybe it is time to find another hotel more appreciative of your business. Do you at least get the stated benefits of HHonors at this hotel? If not then you are definitely not at the right hotel.