I was told it would take 2-3 weeks for checks to arrive. Hmmm doesn't sound very FedEx-y to me.

As a practical note, all the major hotel chains best rate type programs make it difficult for you if you get even near any AAA or similar rate, regardless of which end this applies to (hotel web site or the cheaper site). To stay out of trouble, make sure you always use generally available rates.

Why are Canadian properties excluded from the "Best Rate Guarantee?"

Is it the exchange, or ... ???

And after a quick call to Guest relations this email arrived:

"Thank you for choosing the (name of hotel) for your recent stay. Our records reflect that you contacted us prior to arrival regarding Our Best Rates. Guaranteed. In support of our guarantee, your American Express Gift Cheque was sent via overnight FedEx today.

We look forward to having you visit our website when making your future travel plans. We realize that every guest has a choice in where to stay and we thank you for choosing the Hilton Family of brands.
1
Regards,"


A Fedex will cost them a fortune!

A fedex would cost you or I a fortune. I'm betting it costs Hilton less then a priotity mail would cost. They cut unbelieveable deals with the companies.

[This message has been edited by cordelli (edited Jan 05, 2004).]

Perhaps not a fortune but couriers to/from Canada are much more expensive than the domestic version - like double or more. Oh well, I'll be happy when it comes tomorrow.

what a joke! especially as the AAA rates are often higher than some of the other promotional rates.

this is why i refuse to book thru hotel chain sites unless there is some sort of massive bonus (e.g. the sheraton 5000 AA mile promotion). i would rather give the business to orbitz, expedia or some other agent who doesn't provide bogus guarantees.

Help with Terms & Conditions of Best Rate Guarantee
 

I recently found a hotel near me that had higher prices than I could get on expedia. I booked a room for a friday night, then verified that expedia still had the lower rate, then submitted a claim. My wife booked a room at the same hotel on Saturday night in her name and also submitted a claim.

Today, after 5 days, I finally received a response to my claim. The claim was approved, but was also told:

"Please be advised that your claim was flagged by our audit department, as there have been consecutive night claims for your address at the same hotel. In order for each of these claims to be valid, there should be a night in between the check in dates. As a goodwill gesture since you are a HHonors Diamond member , we did validate both you and your wife's claims."

I can understand that if I make 2 separate but consecutive 1 night stays in my name, that regardless of the fact that I have separate reservations, it is only one stay, and therefore should only qualify for one claim. Makes sense.

What I cannot understand is why two separate reservations made in different names under different hhonors account numbers, would not be considered two separate stays for purposes of this promotion. I've reviewed the "Complete" terms and conditions that Hilton has published for this guarantee, and nowhere can I find any limitation prohibiting such activity.

Does anybody else see it differently, and if so, why? I'm not trying to break any rules here, but it seems like this is a legitimate "loophole" to me.

Additionally, I had made a reservation at a different hotel for a stay in a few weeks. The lowest rate Hilton.com had was $59 a night for the stay, so I booked it. A few minutes later I discovered that expedia had a rate of $55 for the same night, so I immediately submitted a claim. It took hilton 5 days to respond to my claim, not the 24 hours it says on their website. I understand that they have quite a backlog and have no big gripe about it taking 5 days. However, sometime between when I submitted my claim and when Hilton responded, Expedia changed their rates (I suspect in response to a call from Hilton) and now Expedia is showing a rate of $66 per night, so my claim was denied. Anticipating the possibility of a rate change occuring while my claim was being processed, I printed out a copy of the expedia web page showing the lower rate for the same date, etc. That print-out is dated at the bottom of the page, so I can prove that at the time I submitted my claim expedia had a lower rate.

I made a call to hilton and spoke with the person who denied my claim. I offered to fax her the documentation, but she said don't bother because there was nothing she could do. She offered to have her supervisor give me a call. I'm still waiting for that call. Do you have any suggestions of how to handle the situation? Shouldn't my claim be honored? I fulfilled all of the requirements as they are stated on Hilton's website. Is it my problem that Expedia changed their rates in the meantime? What are your thoughts?


I asked this same representative about the Friday/Saturday night issue. She said that only one check will be issued per household for consecutive stays at a hotel. I can't find that limitation in the terms and conditions and neither could anyone at the Diamond desk. What are your thoughts on that? Any suggestions? I have similar Friday/Saturday stays booked under separate reservations for future weekends. Do you think I should cancel?


[This message has been edited by hhonorman (edited Jan 06, 2004).]

Just my opinion, but I think they are being fair with the household address issue. Look at it this way: Is it not the same guests at the same hotel two nights in a row?

Not that I'm opposed to working loopholes to your advantage. But I think HH has just as much right (responsibility to shareholders) to tighten them up on their end.

Bottom line, I think you were treated fairly, particularly in that they "caught" you but just gave you a warning this time. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

On the second issue, though, I'd say you're absolutely in the right -- and I also think you'll eventually get satisfaction. Just be calm, patient, polite, and persistent, and take things up the usual chain of command (supervisors, managers, [email protected], Adam Burke).

But I wouldn't wait for any call backs. The trick is to be proactive, but with minimum time investment. If you can scan the printout, you can then just start e-mailing people until you get satisfaction.

[This message has been edited by Rut Dog (edited Jan 06, 2004).]

Rutdog, thank you for your reply and advice. I will proactively follow up in writing to Hilton. Of course I'll be very polite, friendly and courteous and respectful in all of my dealings with Hilton. I find that is always the best way to handle problems. We'll see what happens. I agree with you that the claim where the expedia rate changed should be honored and I am optimistic that Hilton will agree and honor the claim.

Regarding the other issue, I do not disagree with you that consecutive stays by members of the same household seems to violate the spirit of the terms and conditions, but no where is that limitaion stated. I don't have a big problem with them denying a claim in such an instance (although I am glad they did allow my claim.) However, shouldn't they put that limitation in writing before they deny claims for that reason? If there is a loophole and they are aware of it, they should close it BEFORE denying claims. After all, they made the rules, not us. Seems like it's only fair to give notice. Since we're speaking of fairness though, I understand why they don't want to pay claims like the one above.

Is it wrong or unethical to exploit loopholes? I thought that finding loopholes was a goal of flyertalkers. Maybe I am wrong. I'm not talking about cheating or breaking the rules, but rather just playing by the rules and using them to an advantage where possible. Aren't tax lawyers and accountants praised for their brilliance when they discover legal loopholes in the tax code? Is this all that different?

I looking at this from a philosophical viewpoint and am interested in flyertalkers' opinions on the subject.

Philosophically, I would think that your case is actually what you said, exploiting a system instead of taking advantage of a loophole. For instance, I could open a Hilton account as James, Jim, and Jimmie and then file 3 separate BRG claims.

IMHO, the situation that you describe is unethical. However, ethics and morals certainly are based strictly on the opinion of the parties involved.

You are right - it will be interesting to hear the rest of the FT board put in their two cents.




[This message has been edited by bigjim (edited Jan 06, 2004).]

Thanks for the reply Bigjim. In your scenario of opening 3 different account in three different names (all the same person) is not permitted under hhonors terms and conditions. In the scenario I presented above, there has been no rules broken. However, I agree that it goes against the spirit of the program, even if it technically does not break any rules.

Let me add a variation to the discussion. Would your opinion change if there was a one day gap in between the stays. For example, I stay on a Friday night, my wife stays on a Sunday night, Saturday night we stay somewhere else. Would you consider that unethical if we were each to put in a claim, assuming of course that we met all the stated requirements and found a qualifying lower rate elsewhere?

It seems that we're all in agreement that the first scenario of consecutive nights is not fair even though it is not technically against the rules. I think most would agree that if there was a month in between the stays that it would not be unethical to submit two separate claims. For purposes of this discussion, I'd like to hear other flyertalkers' opinions about where the situation crosses the line from ethical to unethical. Is one day between stays enough, is one week, one month, etc.? Or is it never ethical to submit more than one claim for the same hotel?

Please don't think I'm encouraging bad behavior, I'm not. It's just that this topic came to mind and got me thinking, now I'm curious what others think.

[This message has been edited by hhonorman (edited Jan 06, 2004).]

Unless they have a rule that says that a claim can't be submitted for another stay in the same week, I personally don't see any problem if you stayed somewhere else in between nights.

I know a lot of people that have made Diamond by employing this exact same strategy.

I can see this BRG program having some limits put on it pretty quick though if people are actually employing any of these tactics.

It all really comes down to this:

Agreed Rutdog. However, for purposes of this discussion let's assume they don't change the rules. How do you weigh in on these ethical situations?

Another question: If expedia is consistantly less expensive than the rate at hilton.com for a particular property, is it unethical to take Hilton up on its BRG offer and book many stays there? For purposes of this question, assume all stays are not consecutive nights. For example assume you book a one night stay every Friday night for four or five weeks. Would you consider that unethical?

[This message has been edited by hhonorman (edited Jan 06, 2004).]