Rakesh Agrawal shares their Hilton Honors elite breakfast experience at Hotel Saski, a Curio Collection property in Krakow, Poland. There was a sign on the table indicating he was a Diamond guest (and thus breakfast is free).
- He felt called out as a freeloader, likening it to being “on free school lunch.”
- And says he’d “prefer not to be a billboard for their loyalty program.”
He put the sign down on the table so it wouldn’t be so obvious. But some people like the signed – he says that the guest sitting at the next table saw the sign and “wanted his own.”
Other Hilton properties have been doing this for awhile. I’ve seen reports of it at Doubletree Phuket, Millennium Hilton Bangkok, Hilton Mallorca, Hilton Gyoungju and the Petaling Jaya Hilton. Here’s the sign from DoubleTree Sukhumvit Bangkok.
Some guests relay feeling “really appreciated” by the sign, called out as more special than the rest of the guests dining in the restaurant. Others hate the public status display, drawing public attention to themselves.
Outside the U.S. this seems like status recognition and VIP hospitality. American’s seem to read it as “this person is here on a coupon.”
One problem is that the signs aren’t often replaced, and at some properties get put up in battered-looking condition. One Diamond member saw one so bad they offered, “I’m heading out to urgent care to treat a listeria infection I got from looking at the thing” while another commented it looked “about as thrashed as someone who earns diamond without the [credit card]” and another thought it looked “like someone has tried to eat it” perhaps because the breakfast itself wasn’t very good.
Has anyone seen this for Hilton Diamond Member Breakfast reserved table
by
u/schwa12 in
Hilton
Status recognition is great when it feels personal. Things get weird when it turns breakfast into a public accounting of who is paying and who is not.
Some people can’t be happy.
It’s only shaming if “being an elite” is shameful to begin with. But it’s good for some MAGA supporters to feel shameful I guess.
Somebody is too self conscious, get over it, really. Does he/she stand in the economy checkin instead of going to the star gold line? You stayed at least 60 nights, you earned that “free” meal.
Hilton Diamond guests have overpaid for their elite status so they are unable to afford to purchase a well-balanced breakfast at McDonald’s.
I stayed in the Crowne Plaza in Okayama last year, and they had similar “Status Recognition” flags.
I have to say I found them quite cringe-worthy
Does anyone actually ‘earn’ Hilton Diamond ‘organically’? I just assumed we all opened an Aspire credit card…
Highly prestigious from a program that serves donkey feed for breakfast or a 5 dollar coupon no guaranteed late check outs and little to no recognition at sky high redemption rates
@Dwondermeant — Is that what the ‘D’ in ‘Dwondermeant’ stands for? Donkey wonder mea(n)t?
I’ve encountered this practice a handful of times. I’ve always viewed the cards/chips as means for hostess to signal to server that breakfast is included rather than an intentional advertisement of Hilton Honors status. Of course, plenty of properties manage this more seamlessly and discretely.
@jnrfalcon
Congrats, you win retard comment of the day. 1990’s streak of 365 straight days is finally over.
reminds me of the IHG properties — mostly Holiday Inn — that have a board listing the first names of elites by tier. It just comes off cheesy even if the intention is to hold a good table for elites or personally recognize a guest.
@Mantis — How’s Asia, bud? It’s like middle-of-the-night over there… you got insomnia, or the-shits? Either way, hope you get some rest soon, dawg.