Category Archives for Hotels.
Proper room service is dying and that’s horrible. Many hotels dropped it entirely. Twelve years ago the Hilton New York eliminated it, the largest hotel at the time to do so. That saved them 55 positions (!) and they argued they had a grab and go market so you could still easily get food on property. Transferring the burden to the guest to go for the food, wait for it, and return to their room is not the same thing.
It’s running at 20% occupancy. Only half of the hotel’s chandeliers are turned on, to save electricity. The property’s HR manager has an M4 assault rifle and a Glock, and has bomb making skills.
Venetian and Palazzo Las Vegas are no longer affiliated with IHG after a 15 year partnership. As of today, they are now partners with Hyatt.
If there’s one thing I try to avoid when picking out a hotel for vacation it’s the ‘resort factory’ – the kind of large place where you have to get down to the beach or pool before 8 a.m. and place a book or other belongings out to have any hope of getting a chair.
The hotel room wasn’t great, but that’s the base room at the property and what they were entitled to. The problem here is the disconnect between expectation and reality, the dismissive tone of the hotel towards Honors redemptions, and… the hotel manager’s appalling response.
Hilton Honors is offering some members 4,000 bonus points for a single stay taken any time within the next year – but you have to register by December 31st.
Once registered, any eligible stay within 12 months earns the points. The promotion has apparently been around for quite awhile but I haven’t seen it. It’s been in my account – and the accounts of many other members! – for some time but hasn’t generated much discussion. I saw it mentioned online, checked my account, and there it was.
Eligible members must complete 1 stay, within 12 months from registration date.
Example: Member receives email on March 1, registers March 5, the member has 12 months to complete 1 stay from March 5 to receive 4,000 Bonus Points.
Log into your account and there, under ‘points’ you will see ‘points promotions’. Select that and you’ll see whether it’s available to you.
Here are the offer terms:
This offer is only valid and exclusive to select members and is not transferable. To be eligible for this offer from Hilton Honors, member (1) must have received this offer directly from Hilton Honors, (2) register to participate using the same e-mail address associated with the promotional invitation by December 31, 2024 and (3) complete 1 stay within 12 months from registration date. For examples and further details, please see the FAQ page.
It’s 4,000 easy points – you don’t have to be a regular with Hilton. A once a year Hilton type like I am is enough to earn the bonus. And while I only value Hilton points at around half a cent apiece, this is still $20 for a stay you may do anyway. And I am far more interested in collecting Honors points now that they can be spent with SLH Hotels.
Hotels say that encouraging tipping saves them from paying higher wages. All that matters is that the employee gets more money, and that helps with retention. It doesn’t matter who does the paying.
When former United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz introduced his airline’s new business class product – from better seats, to new lounges with sit down dining so you could board the plane having already eaten, to new bedding and pajamas – he declared, “Sleep is the new black.” Airlines delivering sleep comes at a premium. For hotels it’s pretty basic. Sometimes you need to hack it a bit, but you shouldn’t have to.
Hyatt, which has been on an acquisitions tear, is in talks to acquire Playa Hotels, which owns 24 all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Hyatt already has a 9.99% stake in the company which operates under the Hyatt Zilara, Hyatt Ziva, Hilton All-Inclusive, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Wyndham Alltra, Jewel Resorts and The Luxury Collection brands.
Hilton Honors quietly raised free award night redemption prices on the last Friday before the holidays. Since they stopped publishing award charts, they did not tell anyone that they did this, but your Honors points are now worth less than they were on Thursday.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
