Highly suspicious that this is nothing but a disguised marketing campaign. Room at the Santa Clara Hilton w/ this program + AAA discount is $89 + tax. I book that hotel all the time for clients + family at $50-$55 per night on Priceline. So "Gold Status" lets you pay more than 50% extra for your room, in return you get a bunch of "points" of little to no value. And Hilton gets all your personal info for marketing, tracking, spam, etc, etc. No thanks.
Ninjak said: Highly suspicious that this is nothing but a disguised marketing campaign. Room at the Santa Clara Hilton w/ this program + AAA discount is $89 + tax. I book that hotel all the time for clients + family at $50-$55 per night on Priceline. So "Gold Status" lets you pay more than 50% extra for your room, in return you get a bunch of "points" of little to no value. And Hilton gets all your personal info for marketing, tracking, spam, etc, etc. No thanks.
Sorry, but dark red for you OP.
Red? Really? Do you book the Hilton at that price or do you win it when using "Name Your Own Price"? Not sure how being Gold changes your booking plans. If you can get the rooms cheaper, being Gold level doesn't change that. Go ahead and book the $50-55 rate and see how many of the program benefits you still get without earning points for those stays. Even if you only use the free Internet acess, this deal is a definite green whether you get points or not. Of course, that only holds if we don't all receive emails in the weeks ahead telling us that they're not honoring these gold upgrades because we don't have the requisite credit card....
BTW, ALL frequent flier/frequent stayer/frequent buyer programs - including Cash Back right here on FW - are marketing strategies. I've been happy to participate and have received abundant returns for participating. I somewhat expect that is a majority opinion on FW.
Ninjak said: Highly suspicious that this is nothing but a disguised marketing campaign. Room at the Santa Clara Hilton w/ this program + AAA discount is $89 + tax. I book that hotel all the time for clients + family at $50-$55 per night on Priceline. So "Gold Status" lets you pay more than 50% extra for your room, in return you get a bunch of "points" of little to no value. And Hilton gets all your personal info for marketing, tracking, spam, etc, etc. No thanks.
Sorry, but dark red for you OP.
Priceline booking doesnt count for Hilton status re-qualification and most hotels dont give points or miles for those bookings either. If you're a FF or biz traveler, that kind of 'deals' are No-No.
Does being a Gold member actually result in getting a better price for the room (and not just an upgrade). The upgraded room is Possibly given at the time of check in. If it were a definite thing to get upgraded to a suite, I would be able to plan to take an extra person or book a cheaper room than needed. Quite frankly, I don't care to pare regular price and MAY get an upgrade when I could shop hotels like I normally do and get a better price on the room I need.
JameyF said: Does being a Gold member actually result in getting a better price for the room (and not just an upgrade). The upgraded room is Possibly given at the time of check in. If it were a definite thing to get upgraded to a suite, I would be able to plan to take an extra person or book a cheaper room than needed. Quite frankly, I don't care to pare regular price and MAY get an upgrade when I could shop hotels like I normally do and get a better price on the room I need.
As I mentioned in a few posts back, being Gold status doesn't change your ability to book whatever rate you want. You just need to be aware that some discounted rates - like Priceline - don't allow you to get points in the program or don't count as a night towards requalification. However, some of the other perks might apply such as free Internet or a free breakfast. Becoming Gold is free (via this deal) and you might get some useful perks. Occasionally the hotels might offer a special rate for HHonors members but that might not be the best rate you can book. You should ocnitnue to shop hotels like you normally do. Being Gold status doesn't really change that unless you need the night to qualify for something (renewal of status - special bonus prorgram, etc.) That's the only time you want to ensure you book a qualfiying rate and then only if the qualifying rate is worth it compared to what you'll be receiving.
Gold could land you a room upgrade but most likely it will not be asn upgrade to a suite. Instead, you might get a deluxe room when you book a standard room. You might get a better location, better view, or a slightly larger room. To me, the room upgrade feature of the HHonors gold level is one of the least valuable benefits.
Since this deal will mean more gold members competing for upgrades, I hope those who have any concerns will simply not upgrade to Gold status.
adodotnet said: how long is the gold status good for? whole 2012 or till May 31 2012?
The Gold status is good for one full year from date of registration. So assuming you signed up today, you would have Gold status through Christmas 2012.
JameyF said: Does being a Gold member actually result in getting a better price for the room (and not just an upgrade).
No. Nor does any other frequent flyer/stayer program, to my knowledge, give price discounts on the base rate or special rates only for program members.
Ninjak said: Highly suspicious that this is nothing but a disguised marketing campaign. Room at the Santa Clara Hilton w/ this program + AAA discount is $89 + tax. I book that hotel all the time for clients + family at $50-$55 per night on Priceline. So "Gold Status" lets you pay more than 50% extra for your room, in return you get a bunch of "points" of little to no value. And Hilton gets all your personal info for marketing, tracking, spam, etc, etc. No thanks.
Sorry, but dark red for you OP. You obviously know nothing about hotel points or airline miles. 'Nuff said...
Ninjak said: Highly suspicious that this is nothing but a disguised marketing campaign. Room at the Santa Clara Hilton w/ this program + AAA discount is $89 + tax. I book that hotel all the time for clients + family at $50-$55 per night on Priceline. So "Gold Status" lets you pay more than 50% extra for your room, in return you get a bunch of "points" of little to no value. And Hilton gets all your personal info for marketing, tracking, spam, etc, etc. No thanks.
Sorry, but dark red for you OP.
Is tha value really a value?
Now add the $10.00 to $12.00 a day for internet access, + lounge access (free breakfast and evening dessert/ snack) value ($10 -$20) a day. So now your $55 rate is now $75+, plus no gaurantees about Priceline, you may get any hotel in that class. Plus the water and snack for gold members ($5). If you travel a lot having the extra comforts makes the days away a bit more tolerable. Price line is great for vacations but business travel is a different story in my opinion.
As professorfreebie mentioned, the major benefits of Diamond and Gold membership are free internet, breakfast - worth at least $25 per night.
Regardless of the property or chain, Diamond, Gold VIPs are treated very well on-site, phone / online customer service. I tend to stay at Hampton, Garden Inns for business travel, redeem rewards for Hilton, doubletree. Particularly in resort / tourist destinations, staff go the extra mile to accommodate me.
hakujin said: is the breakfast pretty good? i don't really see the HSI as a value when one can tether a smartphone.
It depends which hotel chain you're actually staying at.
Also, not everyone is allowed to use tethering on their smartphones, assuming they even have one. I got forced into $10 per every 24 hours of internet during my last trip at a Hilton, so I'll be glad for this.
FYI, from the FAQ: Once the Member has reached a certain elite tier, the Member may keep such status for the calendar year in which the elite tier was earned and the subsequent calendar year.
Breakfast at most hotels will set you back between $10 - $20. Typical weekday spreads are buffet format, with both hot and cold items, often with an omlette bar. Weekends tend to be a bit more elaborate, but not always included in the free offering.
hakujin said: i don't really see the HSI as a value when one can tether a smartphone.
Wifi, ethernet speeds tend to be a bit faster than most mobile phone connections, mobile phone signal strength can vary in hotels - particularly older structures.
In Australia and Singapore it is common for a hotel to charge $25 a night for in-room WiFi access, and it isn't even very high speed access... The IBIS hotel chain across Europe, as well as other hotels in Europe, charge a similar nightly fee for in-room WiFi access (note that their advertising 'free internet' is often deceptive, it is free only when using the hotel computer in the foyer). I was recently charged $25 (approx) a night at the Hyatt in Vancouver, but when I complained, they made me fill out a lotalty-card application, and refunded my access fee.
After a 24 hour flight from LAX, it really was a big deal to arrive at the Singapore Conrad (Hilton), late at night, and know that WiFi was going to be freely available to me. I was not planning to go buy a Mobile SIM card until the morning (which ended up only costing S$7 for 1Gig over 1 week, as it happens). .
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