"No Locals" policy
 

Has anyone been challenged/refused for this?

I had a problem with a stay at the Sea-Tac Hampton last year; the manageress called me after I contacted HHonors, mentioning in passing "You're lucky you got to stay, I have a No Locals policy (presumed to be using rooms for drugs, etc.)." I believe I have seen reference to that elsewhere since, but have never been challenged during a mattress run myself.

No, never. I can see why a manager might be concerned about drug trafficking etc., but for some reason I wouldn't expect that to happen at Hilton family properties... There are plenty of cheaper hotels, I am sure. :confused:

Seems particularly bizarre at an airport, where a local might want to stay ahead of an early flight.

Doesn't sound right see:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...mpton-inn.html

Bob H

I would write to HHonors/Diamond Desk/etc about this situation. It's a crazy bit of feedback you were given by an operator. Even more amazing, after you've already bothered to report some sort of problem at that operator's property.

There's a million reasons to stay at a local hotel. Maybe your house was being renovated? Maybe the kids get a kick out of staying at a hotel and playing in the pool? Maybe you can't get enough of that fabulous Hampton breakfast?

:)

I'm 365 days a year in hotels. My Hilton billing/"home" address, a post office box, is near where I have one of my big clients. They've never had an issue with my 'local' stays. A strange situation you have, and I think something of an over-reaction to (possibly) a bad experience that hotel has had in the past.

Exactly. For a while we used this place for their park & jet rate that included a one night stay and 7 days parking. You'd think that having a park & jet rate was an attempt to appeal to locals. Although you did have to call the hotel directly to book it -- the park & jet rate wasn't on the website. Not sure if that is still true.

Now we use the HGI in Renton. Their park & fly rates are much lower on the weekend than the SEA Hampton plus it's a nicer place.

Whoever initiated this policy is in the wrong business. There are many, many hotels who depend to a certain extent on "local" customers for food and lodging business.

Odd indeed - maybe this hotel has had specific problems. We've stayed quite regularly in both of those Hamptons along with the Renton HGI, but then we're not locals.

As already mentioned, there are a variety of good reasons for a local to be staying in a hotel. One of our daughters and her family spent a couple of weeks in a Hampton courtesy of their insurance company while their flooring was being replaced.

I'd love to know how many hours this woman could last in her house w/o a functioning toilet, if her bathroom were being renovated, before heading for the closest hotel to wait it out in, even if just overnight...:rolleyes:

I do this all the time at YVR since I am usually taking a very early flight. However, I have stayed near the SEA airport and it does have a bit of an edgy feel so I can understand why this hotel would be cautious.

My mom's company represents a lot of hotels, and as such, she gets the benefit of employee and friends and family rates at most brands, Hilton included. I noticed in their information about the program for 2009, they are prohibiting employees from making reservations within a 50 mile radius of their home or work address.

I found this change interesting, and a bit stupid really.

It's very odd that they would have a "no locals" policy, between park and fly rates, renovations, or even if you had a fire or some such at your house, and needed to stay somewhere temporarily. Although, some hotels just do things that make no sense. In this case, perhaps they figure the benefits to the policy outweigh the negatives.

Thanks folks!

It was a strange conversation, during which she poured out a lot of her problems/frustrations with the position, including the "edgy" nature of the immediate area. I thought I'd seen the No Locals thing mentioned elsewhere, so I decided to ask here.

For the record, the reason I contacted Hilton in the first place concerned a night clerk who was threatening to walk myself and another diamond who'd arrived very late, before "finding" rooms for us at the last minute. I wanted Hilton to explain the walk penalty to the manager, who as it turned was well aware of it. The rooms she'd blocked off for us on an oversold night had been mistakenly understood by the clerk as unavailable for anyone, hence the talk of walking, until she called the manager at home, and learned otherwise.

It sounds like the night clerk might need some extra training. Perhaps the manager is having issues finding qualified employees who want to work at that location?