Do you have Gold (or Diamond) Hilton status? Having the free upgrade may be more difficult
Rather than a slow return to normalcy, it seems that the Hilton Honors loyalty program has taken the path of fast [...]
Rather than a slow return to normalcy, it seems that the Hilton Honors loyalty program Has gone down the road of rapid devaluation. Perhaps in preparation for the introduction of a higher level at Diamond.
In this article:
I have never hidden that I Prefer the Hilton Honors loyalty program to the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program., for us Italians it is definitely the easiest one to climb and the most rewarding one starting from the Gold level, status included in the American Express Platinum annual fee.
Hilton Honors is the most generous when it comes to promotions and bonus points, gives the gift of breakfast to Gold level holders and promises free upgrades to its elite customers.
There have been several changes in recent times, the one announced in these hours is partial bad news, although it is not new in absolute terms.
Upgrade the current situation
Hotels have always had the Faculty to tease their guests by proposing upgrades to better room.
Generally these offers are made by email in the days before arrival. It's only fair; everyone does it. Airlines also came up with auctions to make money On unsold seats, so why shouldn't hotels do it?
Frankly, I have never taken advantage of these emails, hoping for room availability at check-in. The reason is simple and we explained it well in a recent article: free upgrades to elite members are always "subject to availability."
From the end of 2021, Hilton has introduced a new feature. For its most loyal customers, automatic upgrades. Basically in the 48/72h prior to the arrival the guest receives an email notifying him that he has received the upgrade To a better room. This decision is not centralized by the system, but determined by the individual hotel.
What changes
As of these hours, however, Hilton has given a new faculty to its affiliated hotels (it must be remembered, the hotels are not owned by Hilton): now managers will be able to offer upgrades for sale through the app at the time of virtual check-in. Basically, when you open the window to register your arrival, you will receive, if available, an upgrade offer for a fee.
In the next few days I am planning to stay in New York at a Hilton hotel., I want to see what will happen. On the one hand, I think you will hardly get any more automatic upgrades via email, rather it will go back to the old upgrade at check-in.
On the other It will be interesting to see the fee required for the upgrade, since to date the ones I received by email were nothing more than the difference in cost between the room I had booked and those proposed in the upgrade, so no convenience whatsoever for the guest.
In conclusion
I don't think this means a farewell to free upgrades, rather a return to the old ways. The hotel will have the power i sell upgrades more easily than today, directly from the app. The guest will then be forced to wait, almost always, until the moment of arrival at the hotel to know whether or not he or she will be able to have access to an improved room.
Last but not least, I believe that this change will have A worsening impact only in stays in the United States of America. where already you are not entitled to free breakfast, but to a credit that is laughable compared to the cost of the breakfast itself. It should be noted that in the U.S. hundreds of thousands of users have status solely because they have a credit card in their wallet. This translates into the very high possibility of the hotel being full of guests with status compared to other nations.
In the rest of the world, where people with status are less and those who have the Diamond level in 95% of cases have earned it in the field, I don't foresee big shocks because the hotel is unlikely to be full of Diamond or Gold users.
It should also not be forgotten that this feature of paid upgrade in app was already present today for users with no status or Silver level, the lowest rung of the three Hilton Honors elite statuses.
