Hilton
When it comes to elite status downgrades, the landing can be either hard or soft, and each company in the travel industry has its own rules. Hilton’s harsh and inflexible policy has just made it easier for me to defect — a move I’ve been contemplating for more than a year.
I have previously written columns critical of Hilton HHonors, the hotel chain’s loyalty program. I haven’t enjoyed it, because I like the person in charge of the program — Jeff Diskin, senior vice president for global customer marketing at Hilton Worldwide. However, Hilton HHonors has lost much of its competitiveness in recent years.
I’ve been a Diamond member of the program consistently since 2003, and the Hilton chain was my first choice when booking hotel rooms for years. If it had no properties in the place I was going to — or they were too expensive — my second choice was Starwood, the program that includes Sheraton, Westin and St. Regis, among other brands.
I have two main criteria when I assess hotel loyalty schemes. The first is the meaningfulness of the benefits that come with elite status. The second is the number of points accrued on paid hotel stays and the points needed for an award stay. On both fronts, Hilton HHonors has fallen behind its competitors. Top elite benefits are not as good as those at Starwoord or Hyatt, for example, and award rates have been significantly inflated — more so when compared to other programs’ points devaluation.
My travel slowed down in 2010 — I flew just over 100,000 miles instead of the 200,000 the previous year — and I knew I wouldn’t accrue the 28 stays required to maintain my Diamond status. Many companies, including Starwood and the airline British Midland (BMI), offer elite members who haven’t met the requirements for re-qualification a soft landing — they downgrade you to the next lower elite tier, not the bottom one, regardless of how many points or miles you’ve accumulated in the last year.
I had only two stays with Starwood in 2010, and I needed 10 to qualify for Gold status. However, as a Platinum member last year who lost the status for 2011, I was given Gold status anyway. The same thing happened with my BMI membership — I went from Gold to Silver, even though I didn’t credit a single mile to my BMI account in 2010.
Ironically, I almost had the number of stays needed for Gold Hilton status but was still downgraded from Diamond to Silver last week. I could have had Silver after only four stays, instead of the 14 I made. I knew about Hilton’s hard-landing policy but thought that getting closer to the required 16 stays might help. On a trip to Las Vegas in December, my non-Hilton hotel was included in a prepaid package. Still, I decided to book a room at the Hilton and pay extra — that was my 14th stay.
However, Hilton HHonors showed no appreciation whatsoever. So I got Starwood Gold after two stays, but 14 stays weren’t enough for Hilton. I realize there are official policies, but that’s not the point. There are many ways to reward customer loyalty, especially after seven years of qualifying for Diamond status — not with credit card spending, but with actual hotel stays.
Hilton Worldwide has some great properties. The Conrad hotels are among my favorites, particularly those in Asia. I’ve been delaying the inevitable, but Hilton HHonors just made it easier to say goodbye. The program no doubt still works for many travelers, but it doesn’t work for me — and that’s what matters.
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Hilton devalues its loyalty program
Continue reading about Hilton tries hard to lose my business
How do you decide which hotel to choose in the city you are visiting if you want to redeem your points for a free night? I had to make that decision this month, and unlike in many similar situations, it wasn’t even a close call.
I usually start with the chains where I have top elite status — Hilton HHonors and Starwood. Hilton’s Diamond benefits are inferior to Starwood’s Platinum perks — Hilton doesn’t give you suite upgrades and free Internet. The only advantage with Hilton is that award stays count toward elite status, which is rather significant in my book.
However, in January, Hilton devalued its points by raising both the categories of many hotels and the number of points needed for a free night in some categories. Even though the affected properties weren’t as many as the unaffected ones, the average traveler wouldn’t know that, because those that remained unchanged are in places few people visit. I have the full list, but have yet to come across a hotel that stayed the same while making reservations.
Even before the devaluation, I thought all Hilton properties in Anchorage, AK, were a bit overrated, but I had stayed at three of them on points nevertheless. When I looked at the new categories last month, I was horrified — not only was the Hilton now Category 6 (previously the highest until a seventh tier was created this year), but the Hampton Inn, the lowest-end brand in the chain, was Category 5, requiring 35,000 points for one night.
By contrast, the only Starwood property in Anchorage, the Sheraton, is Category 3, which means only 7,000 points per night. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer the popular cash-and-points option.
So let’s compare the two full-service hotels — the Hilton and the Sheraton. At the first — Category 6 out of seven — I need 40,000 points out of a maximum of 50,000 for the highest category. At the second — Category 3 out of seven — I need 7,000 points out of maximum 35,000. Naturally, I chose the Sheraton.
There was another factor in my decision. I needed a conference room for my “On the Fly” Seminar, so I called and left messages for the sales managers at the Sheraton and four of the Hilton properties — the Embassy Suites, the Hilton Garden Inn, the Homewood Suites and the Hampton Inn. Of the last four, only the Embassy Suites — one of the newest and nicest hotels in town — bothered to call me back, but their price was too high. The Sheraton offered me a much better rate.
So I was happy with the Sheraton. Although it’s not a very attractive building from outside, it underwent a major renovation recently and is quite decent inside. I got a suite, lounge access, free Internet and free breakfast. My only cash expense was on the conference room.
What would you have done?
Continue reading about Hilton or Starwood? Not even a close call
I’m usually cautious about accepting invitations to visit Russia, because of the obscene amount of cigarette smoke I’m forced to put up with, but this time I was rather pleased, indeed.
I was invited by RIA Novosty, the news agency, to attend a conference on Afghan drug production, which was opened by President Dmitry Medvedev. I doubt he was the reason for the smoking ban anywhere in the conference center, but whoever decided to implement that policy deserves a big thank-you. Russian staff and participants actually stood outside the building to smoke and no one violated the ban. Very impressive.
If only the Egyptians could do the same…
The conference center belonged to the Swissôtel Krasnye Holmy in the Russian capital. Usually, if I make hotel decisions when I travel, I choose either a Hilton or Starwood property, because of my top elite status with those two chains. That way, not only do I get bonus points for my stays, but I also enjoy elite benefits, such as free room upgrades, free breakfast even if it’s not included in the room rate, executive lounge access and, with Starwood, free Internet.
This time, the choice wasn’t mine, and I was a bit concerned about how I’d be treated at the Swissôtel as a non-elite guest. But my concerns were unfounded. Although I couldn’t use the lounge, my room had everything an upgraded room would have at a Hilton or Starwood hotel, including a bathrobe and slippers, and breakfast was also provided.
I did have to pay for Internet access — about $25 a day — but I have to do that even as a Diamond Hilton member. As I wrote in March, Hilton is one of the major chains resisting the trend of offering top elites free Internet. In Moscow, free access was provided at the conference center, so I only had to pay for one day, before the forum began.
What most impressed me at the Swissôtel was the peace and quiet I enjoyed in my room. That hotel must have some of the least noisy elevators I’ve ever seen. You could barely hear them, even if you stood right in front of their doors.
In addition, the housekeeping staff was probably the quietest I’ve encountered. Typically, I’d be awaken early in the morning by door banging or maids talking loudly to each other as if they were in a park, and the thin walls of many U.S. hotels make it even worse. This time, had I not seen housekeeping staff in the corridor, I wouldn’t have known there were working.
Continue reading about Great hotel and non-smoking conference in Moscow
One of the biggest misconceptions about the travel industry is that it offers the worst customer service around. In fact, in the last couple of years, airline and hotel companies have achieved significant improvements, and it would be wise for other businesses to watch and learn.
Regular readers of this column can testify that I’m no apologist for the travel sector — I try to point out both good and bad practices, though the criticism may sometimes outweigh the praise. But I get angry when I read or hear in the media that airlines are synonymous with bad customer service.
As I wrote a year ago, the constant face-to-face interaction of thousands of front-line airline and hotel employees with customers around the world every day magnifies even a mundane incident, especially if splashed on Facebook or Twitter. The high visibility has taught carriers and hospitality companies valuable lessons, and many of them have learned from their mistakes…
Continue reading about Travel companies teach customer-service lessons
It’s no secret in the hotel loyalty business that Hilton HHonors has been probably the least creative and attractive among the major programs in recent years. Fortunately, its management has recognized that weakness and begun to address it, albeit cautiously.
While competitors such as Starwood, which includes the Sheraton, Westin and other brands, and to a lesser extent the InterContinental Hotel Groups Priority Club, came up with various promotions quarter after quarter, Hilton’s strategy seemed heavily reliant on name-recognition and reputation.
Jeff Diskin, senior vice president for global customer marketing at Hilton Worldwide, said in an interview last week that the company considers the quality of its hotels and the distribution of its network to be its main strengths…
