From the Ts & Cs of the offer: It may be bs, but it's the way the guarantee was set up...

Success! I checked into my first night on Sunday night. From the map it looked like it was walkable from the strip, but there doesn't seem to be any sidewalks on Tropicana west of the strip, so I had to spend $8 on a cab. That ate into my profits slightly.

I got my room key, went up to the room (nothing special - and no amenity :-( ), messed up the bed (not sure why I bothered), then took their shuttle bus back to the strip. I called the front desk early Monday morning (from my hotel room at Ballys) and asked to check out. There was no problem.

I got an e-mail Monday afternoon saying that my gift cheque would be sent out that day. It arrived Tuesday morning. They sent it International Priority, which according to FedEx.com cost them $22.62. Kudos to them on efficiency on this end of the transaction!

I can confirm that it is a paper gift cheque (similar to a travelers cheque), and not a pre-paid debit card.

My HHonors points (including the ACAQ bonus) posted this morning.

I repeated the same thing last night (this time I got an amenity of Oreos and a bottle of water). I checked out by phone this morning while waiting for a flight out of BOS! Got the confirmation e-mail this afternoon. Looking forward to getting another gift cheque tomorrow!

Part of me feels at least somewhat guilty, since this is NOT what Hilton intended with this guarantee. (But the rest of me will still be able to sleep at night, especially the night that I spend in the free room from all these HHonors points!)

I, too, wonder who they have working in the back room at Hilton. Some points of note:

- I claimed a lower rate at hotels.com and was given the lower rate based on orlando.com. The hotel is in California.

- One of my claims was denied via email (less than 72 hours) yet the rate was changed to the lower rate that I had found!

- In additon to the other email messages about my claims I received one that was some kind of M$-Exchange or Blotus Notes "recall message" message. Pretty funny.

I checked out of the first of these this morning. We'll see what posts and what gets sent. The dumbest thing about this promo IMHO is sending the checks via FedEx. What a waste of money. I'd venture to say that most of the time the guest won't be home by the time it arrives. At least most in *this* group won't be. I suppose, though, that for $50 they need some kind of proof that the check arrived.

In regards to the Fed Ex factor - realize that as a huge global company, they probably have a rebate program with Fed Ex based off their quantities. Even so, it's still a huge cost.

They seem to be handling requests out of the Hilton offices in Memphis. It's probably sacreligious to send anything out of Memphis that's not FedEx!

I doubt that they have hired extra people to handle these requests, so besides the monetary costs, there is also the cost of reduced levels of customer service for other requests.

[This message has been edited by Toronto1970 (edited Dec 10, 2003).]

Toronto1970, do you think you can go to a bank in Canada and just cash this thing and get $65CAD for it? That would be sweet and go towards my recently acquired $287 red light ticket - ouch http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif

Would the restricted ( book now / no cancellation) count as the lowest rate on the Hiltn site?

I am pretty sure that it's treated like any traveller's cheque, so your bank will most certainly take it and give you about $65CDN.

Hilton Rate Guarantee...Does this qualify?
 

I made a reservation for a Hilton in FL this morning for $179.00. Through Travelaxe I found the same hotel for $88 or $105. Its really through a site called HotelKingdom.com. Thats a pretty big difference.

The room I booked is for 2 queen beds..but the room on hotelkingdom specifies only 1-3 adults (I'm guessing King) or 2-3 adults (I'm guessing my dbl Queen room).

Think it will qualify? Anyone have any experience with booking on hotelkingdom.com?

Thanks

This whole thing is a huge cost! Not that I'm complaining, but they should have done more price corrections before releasing this guarantee to the public. I found it incredibly easy to find lower rates and submitted 4 claims last night.

Has anyone seen this come up with the Expedia Special Rate?

Example: Chicago. 12/31/03 check-in, 1/1/04 check-out. 2 people.

Pamlmer House Hilton $120
Chicago Hilton $120

BUT when you select the rate (which says maximum 2, 4 or 5 people for the room), it's just a BASE RATE for ONE PERSON and an ADDITIONAL CHARGE of $25 for the SECOND PERSON is added.

This doesn't sound LEGAL to me that they can display a rate and add to it being you've already selected two people (and they've already displayed the rate being $120, not $145 for two people which comes up when you select the $120 rate).

And have you ever heard of a rate at a Hilton in the U.S.A. based on one person?

This may be an issue for all those seeking the HILTON BEST RATE GUARANTEE and a legal issue for some state attorney general offices...

How long does it take Hilton to respond to an on-line submission? Sent a couple in on Thursday AM at 5am - still no response as of 5pm Friday.

You're not looking for the lowest rate on Hilton.com. You're looking for a lower rate on another website that beats whatever rate you booked on Hilton.com. That lower rate must meet the same parameters of the rate you posted. So you could even book a premium room on Hilton.com and if you found a lower rate on another website for that same room type, you should qualify for the Best Rate Guarantee.

Just go ahead and submit the guarantee request. You'll know when you hear back from them. If they deny it and you don't want to pay $179, then just cancel your reservation.

I undetstand we are trying to find a cheaper rate other than Hilton. My question is what if you find a $75 rate at Hotel.com and a $85 standard rate at Hilton, but Hilton has a restricted rate ( non-refundable) at $70?