wwongo

I did this once on a one night stay that I wasn't going to use and switched it for the fee to another stay. This does seem to be an official policy for "Advance purchase" rates

Advance Purchase

I would be curious to know if it also applies to sale rates or one of the "another night in paradise" rates because I have hesitated to book those and I would be much more likely to if I could transfer the stay for a fee if something came up to prevent me from going on the trip.

azepine00

Came across this rather insane cancellation policy for BAR (or any other for that matter) rate while trying to book 3 months in advance (november stay in NZ). Aside from major events (and perhaps ski season resorts) i have never seem anything like that - very annoying..

BEST AVAILABLE RATE

Rules & Restrictions

Guarantee Policy

This reservation requires a credit card deposit of NZ$2,154.00 NZD which will be charged to your card.
If you use a debit/credit card to check in, a hold may be placed on your card account for the full anticipated amount to be owed to the hotel, including estimated incidentals, through your date of check-out and such hold may not be released for 72 hours from the date of check-out or longer at the discretion of your card issuer.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel for any reason, attempt to modify this reservation, or do not arrive on your specified check-in date, your payment is non-refundable.

Often1

These are becoming more and more coming during times of high demand which may fall well short of "special events."

If it is troublesome, call the property directly to determine whether there are other arrangements which may be made or make certain that you hedge this with good travel insurance which covers the eventualities you forsee as requiring cancellation.

escape4

I have seen a Double Tree in Turkey that only has non-refundable rates all year so nothing to do with periods of high demand. Even points redemptions are non-refundable year-round!

I had never seen this and thought it was a mistake so I called the Diamond desk. They confirmed it is what it is.

So I booked somewhere else...

MaHa

Hi guys, sorry for bumping an old thread. I'm new to earning HHonors and a bit confused. Do any of you guys know of any restrictions for earning Honors points on advance purchases at Hampton Inn?

I made a reservation for two rooms at Hampton Inn Vancouver Airport, Richmond. It was Honors Advanced purchase made 6 months prior to the stay. This was a stay prior to going to Hilton Waikiki Beach, Honolulu. I earned points for the Hilton Waikiki (although inadverdently failed to realize the max two rooms to earn points when I booked 6 rooms here) . The stay registered, but I was awarded zero points. I don't have any reason to suspect I shouldnt earn points. Emailing HHonors only results in the same auto-reply listing all the types of reservations ineligible for earning points. I forwarded the email again to HHonors, asking for clarification, Only to get the exact same response, with no explanation.

Before I make furthet phone calls/emails, is there something glaringly obvious I am overlooking? I waa hoping to start earning and obtaining status, but this whole thing is making me reconsider. Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated

Keyser

all stays including advance purchase rates earn stay credit & points unless the t&c of the rate specifically mention that the rate is ineligible for stay credit....if your rate didn't specify that then you should get the points....call them & they should be able to sort it out....

sbams

Did you book directly through Hilton or via a third-party (Expedia, booking.com or other online booking tool)? I guess directly as Waikiki posted correctly but just trying to think of reasons.

MaHa

Yup, booked through Hilton.com.

Just really frustrated with their online claim form.

MaHa

Thanks for the confirmation. I looked at my booking terms and conditions and cannot find anywhere that says the stay is ineligible for points.

So far, my experience with HH hasn't been smooth and havent a been fan so far. I really wanted to avoid calling, but now it is about what Im owed. Starting to consider whether to change my hotel loyalty.

RogerD408

I think you need to speak with a live body (if you can find one) and get them to look at what's going on. The one time I have points fail to post the property coded my stay as not eligible for points. My first response from HH took what the hotel did as valid. Not until I spoke with a CSR and clearly (read forcefully) explained the stay did qualify did they look past what the property did and determined they made a mistake. Finding a CSR that will look past what happened is rare as most of them these days will just try to justify what has happened and not want to dig in and actually fix an error.

MaHa

Ughh... got off the phone with Hilton. So because I booked multiple rooms for family members, this caused the days to overlap and hits the rule for having bookings at multiple locations.

Honolulu
Room #1 Nov 30 - Dec4 points received
Room #2 Nov 30- Dec 8 points received
Room #3 Dec 1- Dec 8 zero points (more than 2 rooms)
Room #4 Dec 2- Dec 8 zero points (more than 2 rooms)

Vancouver
Room#1 & 2 Dec 1-Dec2 Zero points (because I already at another room at another property)

Rather annoyed as I purposely booked at Hampton in Vancouver to earn more points. i guess I need to know the rules even more. I asked if they could make a one time credit for the business I gave, which they declined Sigh, these rules are annoying.

Anyway thanks guys for your help!

jbeckett

Just be happy that the Hawaii stays credited rather than the Vancouver stays. But it is "well-known" here that you can't earn credit for two different hotels on the same night - you can only be one place at a time.

And it is a good thing that you finally have an explanation that makes sense.

MaHa

Yeah for sure! I still had a good stay and great vacation nevertheless. Just gotta get more acquainted with these hotel program rules haha.

What I should have done is not book my aunt, uncle and cousin's stays on my number. Oh well live and learn!

sbams

What you did was actually not only not following the rules but blatantly against them, sort of approaching fraud. As Hilton points have a value you have to see it as something like "theft" in that way. The membership is personal and you are not allowed to book for anyone else in your name, even if you are not coincidentally staying somewhere else at the same time.

If you are found doing this more often (many hotels request ID at check in and they want to see you in front of them, not your uncle) your membership could possibly be terminated.

MaHa

Considering the chat agent with Hilton told me to reserve the rooms all under my account number so I can get the Honor's discount rate, I don't think I would have had my account terminated. I think these fraud situations are already prevented by having these earning rules put in place. After doing some reading, I have a better understanding why these rules are in place (prevent fraud through stacking points on a single membership etc.). I was just under the (incorrect) assumption that I would earn points on all the rooms since I paid for everyone's rooms. Probably in these cases, I will use 3rd party websites so I can earn points on other platforms should this situation arise again.

Regardless thank you and everyone for their help. I am brand new to earning points for hotel programs, so this was a good experience in getting to understand all the rules involved.